# Hyvent vs. Gore-tex



## jeffgothro (Mar 10, 2007)

I'm considering buying a The North Face jacket and the shell is made from Hyvent material. I already have a decent Gore-tex jacket, but I'm not familiar with this Hyvent material. Has anyone owned any clothing made from Hyvent, how does it compare to Gore-tex?


----------



## The_Pitbull (Nov 13, 2008)

its a similar thing to toh-may-toe vs toh-mah-toe

basically its gore-tex, but with a different brand name. works wicked good


----------



## jeffgothro (Mar 10, 2007)

Erm...ok, I actually signed up and posted this in a mountain climbing forum summitpost.org as of I wasnt sure I would get any replys here.



bdub said:


> Jeff,
> 
> It's been a couple years since I was working in a shop so my "technical" info may be outdated, but as of 2005, Hyvent was a chemical coating (DWR) whereas Goretex is an actual membrane adhered to the textile more like Hyvent Alpha. The rep admitted that he thought Hyvent was approximately 90% the breathability of Goretex.
> 
> The bonus is Hyvent is it is a lot cheaper since they don't have to license Goretex. I had a North Face jacket a couple of years ago, no complaints. It held up fine for awhile, then I believe I washed/wore the DWR off and had to use Granger's to make it water resistant again after a couple of seasons. I would have kept doing that for some time, but it was lost in a hazy night at the bars.





kellendv said:


> Gore-tex is a laminate, a material that is laminated to the inside of the outer shell fabric.
> 
> Hyvent is a coating that is "painted" onto the inside of the outer shell material. It is less durable, and less breathable.
> 
> DWR is a coating that is applied to the outside of the jacket in order to make water bead off of the outer shell. This keeps the outer shell from wetting out thus allowing the jacket to remain breathable.


I'll probably buy the coat, its super awsome 3-1 M Windwall Triclimate Jacket - I spose spraying granger's every couple years (if I will even have to do that) is a small price to pay considering this stuff is half the cost of gore-tex. I read a couple reviewes on the jacket, folks love it.


----------



## womble (Sep 8, 2006)

They basically both suck compared to eVent. Search around on Google- there's some really compelling test data out there.

Gortex was superceeded about 4 years ago, but the WL Gore marketing juggernaut powers on and people keep buying it.


----------



## jeffgothro (Mar 10, 2007)

Yeah I just googled...it does sound better, nobodys making jackets out of it though and the few I did find are in the UK..


----------



## formica (Jul 4, 2004)

Note on DWR. A toss in the dryer will reactivate it. Letting your coat get really dirty will deactivate both the coating/laminate and the DWR. Use Nikwax or Grangers to take care of your shell clothing.
DWR ( Durable Water Repellent) is an exterior coating to the shell. Hyvent, Goretex, Conduit, Helly Tech etc are all different kinds of waterproof breathables ( laminates or monolithic coatings, depending on manufacture) and they all have DWR on them, it has nothing to do with what is on the inside of the shell to make it a waterproof breathable fabric. The differences between all these and other fabrics has much less to do with the DWR and much more to do with the factory process/design of the laminate or coating.

It's all measured in vapor porosity ( how many billions of molecules move from the inside to the outside) and water repellency.


----------



## jeffgothro (Mar 10, 2007)

Yeah I chatted with TNF yesterday and they confirmed just what you said, the dryer reactivates it. Thanks for explaining though, thats more then what I got out of my chat, very helpful to know.


----------



## formica (Jul 4, 2004)

There is the myth out there that if you wash your goretex or whatever brand shell clothing you will ruin it. Not true. In correct laundering will wreck it, but with proper washing ( nikwax or grangers) and the occasional toss in the dryer, it should perform for many years.

For the average person, the differences between the various brands are going to be pretty unnoticeable.


----------



## womble (Sep 8, 2006)

What sort of biking do you intend to do with it? I've found softshells better for any type of commuting or non-'epic' mountain biking as I easily generate enough sweat to overload a full waterproof shell.

My biking jacket of choice is a simple, cheap Marmot Driclime treated with Nikwax softshell proof. I'd only wear a full shell in weather close to zero if it was likely to rain (in which case I'd be a wuss and just stay home), or if I was touring.

Oh, I believe that REI is already (or about to) produce an inhouse line of eVent clothing.


----------



## mtnbiker72 (Jan 22, 2007)

Gore-Tex, Hyvent, Precip, TEK 2.5, etc...They all suck for breath ability during high intensity workouts (I have not tried eVent). Plus, if your DWR is working correctly, you DON'T NEED a waterproof jacket.

I own an LL-Bean TEK 2.5 for walking in the rain, but for riding I use a lightweight soft shell. I layer with synthetic (wool is nice, but stays wet so I only use it on cold/dry days) and I might get a little wet. But what ends up happening is since I'm generating so much heat from riding, it acts as a micro-climate and my skin stays dry even if my outer layer is wet.


----------



## formica (Jul 4, 2004)

> Gore-Tex, Hyvent, Precip, TEK 2.5, etc...They all suck for breath ability during high intensity workouts (I have not tried eVent). Plus, if your DWR is working correctly, you DON'T NEED a waterproof jacket.


all these fabrics are designed to perform best in cold temps, at low aerobic effort. Think winter mountaineering. The reason you get damp or wet in rain, humidity or high aerobic effort is the sauna suit effect: the moisture just can't move through the fabric fast enough.


----------



## jeffgothro (Mar 10, 2007)

This is for more camping and less bike riding - I have a gore-tex coat I just bought and took for a ride a few minuts ago, no sweat but I only rode a mile.

What I usually wear during mt biking is a Hein Gericke motorcycle touring jacket w/ liner. Its not waterproof that I know of, I've worn it in the rain and got wet if I remember. Nice thing about this coat though is it has removable arms, shoulder, and back foam padding for wipe-outs and the its talored long in the arms and back for when your leaning over the front of the bike.


----------



## mtnbiker72 (Jan 22, 2007)

Exactly (though I've climbed many 10K plus mountains...its not a "low aerobic" effort). 

If its cold and dry (or cold and snowing for that matter) you still do not need a waterproof jacket. A more breathable soft shell works better in those conditions. 

I only use "waterproof/breathable" jackets for casual walks and work, they are better than plain old PVC but the advertising for these things are total BS. They will not keep you dry in aerobic activities because you end up drowning in your own sweat.


----------



## JimC. (Dec 30, 2003)

*You're both on the money*



formica said:


> all these fabrics are designed to perform best in cold temps, at low aerobic effort. Think winter mountaineering. The reason you get damp or wet in rain, humidity or high aerobic effort is the sauna suit effect: the moisture just can't move through the fabric fast enough.


Up here in the frozen north (Norshore) Goretex doesn't breath well, if at all, in a winter rain forest. Even local sailors (think really low physical output) don't buy Goretex any more as it simply doesn't breath well enough in damp, cool/cold weather.

As a friend once said, it really doesn't matter trying to stay dry, you're going to get wet from the inside out anyway.

Like you two I have it for walking, outside winter chores and about town stuff, but not for biking.

I really screwed up years back and bought a Race Face Aquanot, which is totally WP, but even with pit zips it's a sauna jacket.

I now subscribe to the moving, warm sponge movement of riders; I try to dress as if I have a wet suit on that wicks away from the skin.

Jim (soft shell + layers, & maybe armour) C


----------

