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You shouldn’t move wearing Gore-TEX in my experience. If you stop and it’s wet you put it on while stopped. You take it off when you start moving again. If you’
by chrisseaton 4y ago
You shouldn’t move wearing Gore-TEX in my experience. If you stop and it’s wet you put it on while stopped. You take it off when you start moving again. If you’re moving you’re going to be wet anyway (sweat) so no point trying to stay dry from the outside.
Best application is sleeping bag covers. Worst application is boots. Makes no sense.
- PaulDavisThe1st 4y agoYep, goretex shoes are the height of stupid. If water ever goes over the top of the shoes, it is impossible for it to leave the shoe (since it is in liquid phase, not gaseous like water vapor).
- s0rce 4y agoThey work well in certain conditions, melting snow or muddy trails for example.
- snowwrestler 4y agoThe heat from your feet will drive the phase change and the water will evaporate through the Gore-Tex.
- vladvasiliu 4y agoHard disagree. Goretex motorcycling boots are a godsend. You can easily get a lot of water on the shoes, and if you have waterproof pants that go over the boots, the water will not get inside. Regular shoes that basically don't breathe are unusable when it's more than 20-25º C. It's not always practical to carry around two pairs of boots when out on a trip. My pair of boots are usable in the rainy European winters at 0º C, all the way to the scorching heat of the Arizona desert. With regular shoes, I'd just freeze in the winter or have swampy feet in the summer. The wind speed sure helps in the latter, but it works against you in the former.
- PaulDavisThe1st 4y agoThanks for an excellent description of a use-case where they make sense. Sounds great!
- AYBABTME 4y agoI used breathable boots but Goretex long socks (knee high) when doing infantry work in marshlands and wetted wood areas back in the military. It was a winning combination. The boot would get soaked and dry quickly, my feet kept dry. I'd put a lot of foot powder in my socks to avoid sweat ruining my feet. Waterproof boots though are counterproductive.
- tomatocracy 4y agoThis is also what I do on my bike. Waterproof socks instead of overshoes are much easier to use and work well for keeping feet warm and dry even when eg the boot gets completely soaked from spray or splashes.
- chrisseaton 4y agoThe problem for me is the failure mode - step into something deeper than you thought, not able to stop and take them off, you’re going to be in trouble. Terrible failure mode worse than not bothering in the first place. I would wear waterproof socks to dry my boots inside a patrol hide though.
- otherme123 4y agoMaybe for trail running, where you foot are constantly under water and the Gtx keeps the water inside. But for the daily walker in the rain, Gtx shoes are the best thing you can wear (eg the beat a well greased non Gtx Panamas), at least in my experience. Guess I'm at the height of stupidity.
- s0rce 4y agoThat doesn't work in cold rainy conditions, you'll freeze without something to keep you dry, sweaty and warm is better than wet and hypothermic. You don't need breathable jackets but you need the waterproof.
- chrisseaton 4y agoShort of specialist arctic conditions, if you’re moving you’re going to be a warm enough anyway.
- rootusrootus 4y agoKnowing more now about Chris Seaton than I ever did, ironic that this comment got downvoted. Chances are good he knew more about cold, wet, and moving than the vast majority of people on HN.
- medellin 4y agoGortex works amazing for snowboarding bibs. You do quite a bit of moving in those. You dont need to wrap your entire body in it for it to be effective. My gortex snowboard jacket has side vents that work great when you need to cool off a bit.