eVent material - limits on breathability?

[coolba]

Hi all,

First time post, long time reader.

I just recently bought a rain jacket - a Macpac Prophet XPD. I have taken it on a couple of day hikes so far where I have used it over a tshirt, as a windbreak rather than to keep me dry from rain. I've noticed that the inside of sleeves from about elbow down seem to get quite wet (from my sweat). It's not the end of the world, but should I be expecting better performance from the event material? I do sweat quite a bit, so I'm just not sure if my expectations are to high. Any thoughts would be great!

Thanks

[wayno]

The prophet was designed for mountaineering, it has a much heavier denier nylon than other designs in reinforced areas like the backs of the arms to cope with abrasion from ice and rock.
The heavier nylon might be causing breathability problems for the membrane in those areas.
You have to wash eVent regularly to avoid the pores in the membrane clogging up from the oil and debris from your skin.
I use a resolution jacket, it uses a thinner denier nylon for its reinforced areas. I only have problems with the resolution jacket when its raining and the outside gets saturated. the breathablility goes right down once that happens and you'll get wet from sweat buildup then.
thing is theres more breathable fabrics coming out that are twice as breathable as eVent , columbia re bringing out the peak 2 peak omni dry jacket in aus and nz
theres also neoshell being brought out by marmot and the north face but it will be about $700 for that jacket...

[ULWalkingPhil]

I purchased a Macpac Prophet event trousers. First time use, I got wet, and it was a cool day, it was not till I washed the garment and redone the DWR Finnish before the event fabric performed as expected. I used Grangers all in one, but there are many products out there that will do the job.

Regular washing is important I've found to keep the breathability.

And also if your wearing a cotton t-shirt under your jacket, thats not a good idea.

I wear merino under my rain jackets.

[wayno]

you can get washing liquid from outdoor shops that doesnt leave any residue on the fabric, aromatics may cause a problem clogging up the pores...

[adzza]

I have just got back from Mt Feathertop on the weekend.

I have both the Prophet Jacket and Pants. The pants are great. The ability to unzip them all the way up means you stay dry when its hot, and cool when its cold. I was dripping with sweat half way up the mountain until we hit the snow, and my legs were dry the entire way up. I used the Jacket to hit the summit. As someone stated above, this is designed for mountaineering, etc. It broke all wind, and kept me very dry all the way up and down the summit. I had only the under arm zips undone. We had great weather, but it was freezing cold obviously. Just my 2c on these two great piece of gear.