More On FortNine Vs GoreTex

[advrider]

Our esteemed editor Zac recently wrote up a reaction to FortNine’s GoreTex piece. I’m here to add a few details about tech, construction, and use cases.

Labor Is Expensive

As detailed in the video, GoreTex itself isn’t really all that different from any other waterproof membrane these days. The difference between expensive and inexpensive “waterproof” gear isn’t so much the materials but the construction. Well-constructed gear will always be more waterproof, because a poorly-sealed leaky seam with a hole in it is going to leak no matter what it’s made out of.

Breathable… Sometimes

Ryan touches on GoreTex’s breathability, but does not articulate well that its waterproof breathability (due to those forces he does articulate, pressure and humidity) is directional. Further, its pores might be smaller than a water droplet, but they are not smaller than water molecules. Suspend water in air and you’re sticky no matter what.

Wrong-Way, Water

I bet if you have run heated grips in cold rain, you have felt your waterproof gloves fail. GoreTex “breathes” best when one side of it is warm and one side is cold. For most outdoor activities, the person is on the warm side – so keeping the moisture on the cold side is a-ok. Unfortunately while motorcycling and holding heated grips, we’re on the cold side. That’s when the membrane fails, “breathing” the rain right onto your cold fingers, and you stomp on over to the ADV Forum to ask “are there REALLY any truly waterproof gloves out there?”

We’re Special

Compared to all of the other outdoor activities GoreTex is marketed toward, motorcycling is a somewhat unique use case. We need our gear to keep wind out when it’s cold, let wind in when it’s warm, protect us in case of an unplanned excursion off the bike, and oh yeah, keep us dry in the rain, too. And all this needs to happen at speeds over 50mph. 

The waterproofing/breathability job is a lot harder when you add the physics of motorcycling into the mix. Photo: sunrise_studio/Shutterstock.com

Sweaty Either Way

And here’s Ryan, traipsing through … a rainforest. On foot. In his motorcycle gear. To prove he’s getting sweaty, I guess. All of us who live in humid climates know, it doesn’t have to be Gore-Tex to get you sweaty in that situation.

The basic rule is, if it’s waterproof it doesn’t breathe. If it breathes, it’s not waterproof. Here’s the thing: GoreTex has never been “breathable” in the way motorcyclists need breathability. And that is fully down to garment construction.

The Real Use Case

I want armored textile motorcycle gear that vents well in the heat. And when I say “vents well,” I mean wind should come through. If it also keeps me dry during a rainstorm, that functionality is less the waterproof barrier itself, and more the construction around the seams and vents. That means waterproof zippers or flaps that don’t let water in, and vents that go all the way through to the inside of the jacket when those vents are open. Oh! For bonus points, make it fit tall women, too. Yeah, I know, I’m still looking for that unicorn.

It’s Called Rain Gear For a Reason

After a quarter century of riding motorcycles in all kinds of weather and getting soaked even in Gore-Tex, I carry separate rain gear.

To FortNine’s point: Gore-Tex on the label doesn’t guarantee anything. You’re on a motorcycle, and that teaches us to have a little …fortitude.

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