macpac eVent rainshells no longer on website

[wayno]

anyone been to or worked in their stores and can say they arent selling eVent rainshells anymore? or they are just out of stock temporarily? almost all their event jackets are in the clearance section... click by category for jackets and rainshells and they don't even show up there.

[Giddy_up]

wayno I spoke to the Brisbane store about jackets some months ago and they said that the rain jackets such as the Hollyford etc, where being completely redesigned and that they are running old stock to zero with the new jackets being ready for next winter. It will be interesting to see what they come up with?

[wayno]

i contacted macpac, i was told the new rainwear would be out in time for this summer.. no date given

[Giddy_up]

That's better than what I was told. Keen to see what they have done.

[wayno]

i've got the resolution, didnt like it, heavy, two sets of pockets on the front that overlap, meaning theres three layers that moisture has to get through to get out... found the moisture would often just condence in the pockets forming puddles on wet days. DWR lasted about half an hour in the rain, then the outside would wet out and it wouldnt breathe at all. and no venting to alleviate it.... they seldom put vents on their jackets..
even though its eVent which is one of the more breathable membranes, nothing will let moisture through fabric thats wet on the outside...
I relegated my jacket to using it about town.. and went and bought other brands that have venting.

[casey79]

Word on the street is that MP has dropped eVent and moved to Pertex. Launching in October.

[Strider]

Word on the street is that MP has dropped eVent and moved to Pertex. Launching in October.

That would be very interesting. Particularly considering Macpac were previously using Pertex under their Wilderness label about 20 years ago.

[wayno]

Word on the street is that MP has dropped eVent and moved to Pertex. Launching in October.

That would be very interesting. Particularly considering Macpac were previously using Pertex under their Wilderness label about 20 years ago.

i think cam mentioned macpac were able to rename pertex for their non event range of rainshells. pertex membranes arent all proprietary... they can be rebadged products from the japanese firm Toray, good way to avoid having to deal with end users hwo are nowhere near your operation. just remove your name from the product...

[slparker]

what's the real world performance of pertex jackets? I have some pertex pants which have served me well but I don't know how the fabric would go as a jacket.

[wayno]

[

what's the real world performance of pertex jackets? I have some pertex pants which have served me well but I don't know how the fabric would go as a jacket.

on par with gore tex... as good as you'll get in the non air permeable membranes. which is mediocre compared to the air permeable membranes.

[blacksheep]

Pertex is from Mitsui in Japan (not Toray). Mitsui also are a major laminator of GE's "e-Vent" membrane- they buy the membrane and combine with their fabrics. There is no doubt eVent is one of the best option for high activity/ aerobic pursuits, but it is difficult to maintain a high quality standard with big production runs of goods as it is very difficult to seam seal, and the QC standards and testing regime is very important. Unless you are committed to following a rigorous production standard you will most likely get leakage within your production batch as glue melt variances on a non PU substrate are very susceptible to failure.
Pertex make some extremely good waterproof breathable fabrics- the most often used in Pertex Shield, which is a mid range (10k/10k) PU coated fabric. Then at the top of the tree are Pertex Shield+ and Pertex AP (air permeable), each offering 20k + wp/br performance. Since I am not making products that are aimed at aerobic/ high activity end use I am not using eVent for Alchemy Equipment gear- I am using Pertex Shield+. I'd wager that Macpac will follow the Pertex direction too. Just buy your eVent for active end uses elsewhere, from a company that is really focussed on quality and performance- i.e.: I think the Mtn Hardware and RAB would be my go to gear for the best breathable rainwear!

[wayno]

thanks for clearing that up cam, most informative.
montane also sell quality gear, they and mountain hardwear include pit zips on a lot of their lineup.
neoshell is rated as even more breathable than eVent. not cheap though unless you can score a deal in the sales... rab, montane. westcomb, mountain equipment, are brands that are using neoshell. some brands are currently only using it with a fleece lining, like marmot and the north face.

[wayno]

the new gore tex pro is essentially an eVent membrane
the older Pro shell is non air permeable.

[wayno]

macpac have updated their rainshell range online, all pertex or reflex membrane shells. no eVent membrane shells, some of the models have gone, some new models there

[GPSGuided]

Doesn't sound good. A downgrade.

[wayno]

Doesn't sound good. A downgrade.

probably not from a vendors point of view.
event needs to be looked after properly or it breaks down or stops breathing,, it needs to be manufactured carefully, there have been bad batches of it that have degenerated in the past.
its the subject of a lot of warranty returns... plus it's pricey,
that may be at least in part a couple of reasons why macpac stopped using it.
pertex by contrast is a pretty reliable fabric... bivouac staff told me they had less warranty issues with pertex than goretex. and goretex is pretty reliable as far as breathable membranes go.

[rsser]

Interesting stuff.

My eVent jacket started to wet out after about 11 days of snow use and the DWR had to be redone. Now using a Rab Neoshell. So far so good.

[Strider]

This just popped up on their Facebook page. All shells now look to be pertex.

http://www.macpac.co.nz/macpac-rainwear ... off-launch

[wayno]

turns out some of the latest pertex they are using is an air permeable membrane, i've got no idea how it compares in performance to other air permeable membranes , they put AP in the title to indicate its air permeable.. pertex is usually pretty reliable for durability for what it is, but they have been specialising in lightweight fabrics mainly 2.5 layer membranes in the past. although some of these are reasonable weight garments that should be reasonably durable

[rsser]

Yeah, Rab uses a lot of Pertex & collaborated on its development starting decades ago.

[wayno]

the pertex air permeable membrane is very new onto the market, I'm not aware of it being released anywhere else yet. certainly not very widespread

[slparker]

the pertex air permeable membrane is very new onto the market, I'm not aware of it being released anywhere else yet. certainly not very widespread

I have the macpac cycling/running jacket. I've used it for cycling in cold miserable weather. So far so good. I am very impressed with the water vapour transfer which seems better than my gore windstopper tops - even without vents. It does get clammy, naturally enough, when working hard but does seem to shift vapour impressively when stopped -which is when you get really cold when cycling. It has no hood, which is perfect for my needs but obviously makes it a no go for walking. I would consider the Macpac hooded walking specific jacket in this fabric when my old paclite finally dies.

I note that Groundeffect (a kiwi company) makes jackets with Pertex shield plus with a hood. I don't know what this fabric is like but the jackets have good venting designed for bikes (forearm and front panel zips) which would probably be good for walking. Likely to be lightweight and suffer potential packstrap/abrasion damage though.

[rsser]

Macpac have gone into Pertex AP (air permeable) in a big way.

[Aidan]

the pertex air permeable membrane is very new onto the market, I'm not aware of it being released anywhere else yet. certainly not very widespread

I have the macpac cycling/running jacket. I've used it for cycling in cold miserable weather. So far so good. I am very impressed with the water vapour transfer which seems better than my gore windstopper tops - even without vents. It does get clammy, naturally enough, when working hard but does seem to shift vapour impressively when stopped -which is when you get really cold when cycling. It has no hood, which is perfect for my needs but obviously makes it a no go for walking. I would consider the Macpac hooded walking specific jacket in this fabric when my old paclite finally dies.

I note that Groundeffect (a kiwi company) makes jackets with Pertex shield plus with a hood. I don't know what this fabric is like but the jackets have good venting designed for bikes (forearm and front panel zips) which would probably be good for walking. Likely to be lightweight and suffer potential packstrap/abrasion damage though.

I had a Macpac "Reflex" hooded cycling jacket that folded up into its front pocket.
I bought it a couple of decades ago and loved it.
Suitable for showers but not sustained torrential rain which I refuse to ride in anyway.
Alas I walked into a saw poking out from a wheelbarrow and didn't want the "look" of a repaired jacket.
I'd buy another one, were they available in a heartbeat.

These days for cycling, I recommend the excellently vented Showers Pass Elite which is made from Event, has a good online reputation and one year on, still providing good service.
I still don't bother riding in torrential rain, but even for sustained showers its doing a good job although admittedly much better when the temps are lower (>15 degrees).
The back panel is a "flap" and it sports zip pits under the arms.
I'm someone who cycle tours at a leisurely pace so can't comment for the more sports inclined sweat inducing riders.

[aloftas]

you know, with all the thousands of dollars thrown at the problem of breathable fabrics...I am given to wonder if an impermeable fabric with wicking to drains and condenser tubes wouldn't be better.
Go a bit sci fi.
http://www.macpac.com.au/clearance/mens ... ution.html

[rsser]

It's worth asking how 'breathable' even the latest air permeables are when you've got two or three layers inc air gaps underneath.

[aloftas]

It's worth asking how 'breathable' even the latest air permeables are when you've got two or three layers inc air gaps underneath.

I could think of nothing worse, than to be in wet gear, in the rain, if it was cold and windy.
To feel the moisture freeze on the back is chilling.
*cough*
I do wonder about the hyperbole versus the facts.

These arguments didn't exist back in the day of a woollen greatcoat.

Clue was in the name, I think.

Anyway, we shall see how these new Pertex Jackets perform.

[rsser]

You can sometimes find the numbers for a fabric: waterproofness (hydrostatic head) and MVTR - how much moisture it can pass through a given area of fabric and a given time. Out in the bush however it can be warm and humid outside and there goes the 'breathability' or you can have multiple barriers between your sweat glands and that exxy shell.

[GPSGuided]

All good in cooler and dryer climate. Cold and rain is ok too but not hot, humid and rain. It's all relative and try to control one's exertion. Recently I was in East Asia (summer) and wondered why fellow pedestrians were all so much slower than I. Then it dawned on me that I was the only one on the street to sweat out the whole shirt.