I highly recommend spending a bunch of money on a well-constructed waterproof shell. My last Gore-Tex jacket lasted 13 years before finally breaking down in one

I highly recommend spending a bunch of money on a well-constructed waterproof shell. My last Gore-Tex jacket lasted 13 years before finally breaking down in one of the pit zips. And pretty much every time I put it on, I was really glad to have it for the comfort it provided in cold, wet, or windy conditions. You just need to be realistic about what a “breathable” shell can do. If you’re moving enough that you would be sweating without a shell, then of course adding a shell is just going to make the situation much worse. In practice this often means that I’ll be wearing just a thin base layer when I’m actually moving, and often prefer to get rained on than drenched in my own sweat. And then as soon as I stop and my body temperature starts to drop, the shell and extra thermal layers come out. To me breathability is less important than a number of other factors like hood design, size, weight, durability, looks, how it feels against bare skin, venting options, zippers, etc.