okay, here's my dissertation on waterproof gear. the concept of the goretex, ultrex, type membrane-breathable gear is great. water vapor droplets (sweat) are smaller than water droplets in the liquid state, there fore some super-engineers are able to make a membrane which allow the sweaty bits to exit, while keeping the rain out. these garments work very well at altitude where the air pressure is far less on the exterior than on the warm interior. however, it has been my experience that they don't work all that well at higher external pressure, and work even less well (at breathing) when it is raining. the pressure of the water on the outside of the fabric prevents a lot of the water vapor from being able to escape. it seems to work ok when the garment is new, and the water beads up on the exterior during rainfall, but seems to fade as the factory coating wears off. if you scotchgard, or treat the fabric with silicone or something, forget about breathability, 'cause the pores will clog. unless you're hiking, or running and building pressure inside the garment to force the pressure out, it aint gonna breathe. so, my opinion is that for fairly sedate activity (like fishing) you could probably save a little dough and go with a urethane coated fabric with pit-zips. it will allow you to ventilate when you're hiking in, and zip 'em up if you get cold. also, if you're wearing a fishing vest over your jacket, you're blocking about 80% of the surface area which is supposed to breathe anyway. i've been using a $35 nylon waterproof for a few years now, and now it's starting to leak, so i'm gonna chuck it and get another. if i bought a $350 simms or patagucci, i'd be stuck getting wet for the next couple of years, trying to get that one by the wife! i did spent some money this year on a set of river's west waterproofs this year for bow hunting. it's a water proof fleece material which is very quiet. for winter fishing, that'll be my main outerwear. they also make non-camo fishing stuff too. it's pretty warm, though. i think that the design of the more expensive stuff is stellar--that simms makes me drool--but i think i'll put my big bucks into rods and reels for now.


willy