Almost everybody knows the situation. You're outside, it's rainy and you're totally wet because your jacket didn't keep the water out or at least it feels like this. Often it's your own sweat that make you feel wet. The wet fabric of the parka cannot transport your sweat out of the coat when the outer layers are wet and so you think the jacket is permeable. This is the point it starts to feel nasty. If you want to avoid the scene described above you need two things: A jacket that is really impermeable and a material that is able to breath.
If you buy a parka which can't handle a good amount of water even the ability totransfer your sweat out of the parka isn't useful anymore, that should be clear. But if you have too strong waterproofed material, the effect described in the situation above will appear. Goretex is a fabric that is made for thispurpose. It's a breathable material made of different layers.
The pores of goretex are 20000 times smaller than a water drop. That's what makes the covering layer really good to protect against water and additionally wind. The evaporated sweat is still able to make its way trough the material, so the jacket becomes breathable. This ability of goretex is extremely important for the regulation of the human body temperature. The body tries to cool itself by transudationing. But if the sweat isn't able to find its way out of the jacket, this system doesn't work the right way.
There is one important thing you should take care about. The normal goretex covering layer does only work if there is a relevant difference in the temperatures of the exterior world and inside the coat. The human body temperature is around 36 degrees Celsius. As goretex needs a difference around 15 degrees Celsius it's working up to anwarmth about 20 degrees Celsius, whats about 68 degrees Fahrenheit. If you need a parka for higher temperatures you should look for special goretex fabrics with a more powerful membrane technology.
If you got your goretex jacket already, there are still some things to take care about, to use your coat the most effective way. The clothes you wear under your coat should also be able to let pass your transudation instead of absorbing it. So cotton wouldn't be the best choice, because your parka won't be of great use if you block the sweat already with the first layer of clothes. When you're going to buy a new jacket the next time, think about all this information.
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