Thread: Raincoat/Outer layer advice required

Speaking as someone who lived in the era before goretex, if it's just a light shell to stow away, warehouse $20 should do fine. You pay top dollar for the breathability, not for the waterproofing which comes cheap as long as the seams are good (sticky point).

Problem with goretex and other "breathable fabrics" (the idea that sweat vapours can exit so you don't wet clothes from your sweat) is that water vapours actually travel IN as well as out! If it's really peeing down, like if you have to stand in a cow stable using a water hose for three hours, you really don't want to be blessed with nice GoreTex or other "breathable" waterproofs, as you will have NO sweat vapour exiting the jacket, what with the moisture gradient running the other way. Cheap vinyl oilskins and gumboots do just nicely then.