Patagonia Torrentshell any good?

[Brian3211]

I am wanting to upgrade from frogg toggs this year, I was at REI the other day and the Patagonia Torrentshell caught my eye. Have any of you guys ever used one? How are they?

[ParkRat09]

Well I sell a ton of these at my gear shop in Tennessee. As far as the coated rain jackets in the $100 price range (or in this case $129) it's the better of most of them (including Marmot Precip jacket and North Face Venture jacket). However, if you are using it for anything more than floating around town (aka backcountry stuff) I always recommend customers go with Gore-Tex. It will be MUCH more breathable and will last at least 4 times as long as jackets that use chemical coatings as water-proofers. Also, jackets like the Torrentshell DO react with things like deet and will break down that chemical coating super fast as will your natural body oils over time.

Let me know if this answers your question

[Wise Old Owl]

Brian while you are on line see this for reviews as well - and I agree with Park Rats post.

http://www.rei.com/product/796005/pa...ll-jacket-mens

[saltysack]

I had one... Returned it went back to dri ducks better and $100 less! It didn't breath at all...

[Brian3211]

I had one... Returned it went back to dri ducks better and $100 less! It didn't breath at all...

The Patagonia didnt breathe at all? I currently have dri ducks and was looking for something that breathed a little better.

[Canada Goose]

http://www.outdoorgearlab.com/Rain-Jacket-Reviews

[saltysack]

Too be fair I have yet to find a light weight rain jacket that I stayed dry with! I sweat very easy. I was sweating last week at 20 degrees and raining.....

[ParkRat09]

Too be fair I have yet to find a light weight rain jacket that I stayed dry with! I sweat very easy. I was sweating last week at 20 degrees and raining.....

I can tell you one jacket that DEF keeps you dry AND breathes but you're not gonna like the price haha! It's the Arc'Teryx Beta FL using Gore-Tex Active Shell which is by far the most breathable form of Gore-Tex ever! I have one and love it! Unfortunately with tax you're looking at $500...oh and it weighs about 8oz

[Tinker]

The more waterproof a garment is, the less breathable it will be. The more breathable a garment is, the less waterproof (over time) it will be. My experience with the old Goretex bonded fabrics vs. the free hanging Gore liner is that the free hanging liner (actually hanging between the outer shell and an inner liner of mesh and nylon) is that the bonding (with glue) limits the amount of pores (the glue fills them up). The jacket with the free hanging Gore membrane was much more breathable (and much heavier). More recently I bought a Gore Paclite jacket on sale at REI (I think it was an Arc-Teryx, but I'm not sure -anyhow the features and quality of the jacket were not an issue). I returned it right after the trip, much to the consternation of the staff at the store. It did not breathe at all. Just like a Marmot Precip that I used to own. It had better ventilation, but the Gore membrane was coated (lightly) with polyurethane (which is not very breathable - it was used to waterproof virtually every tent fly and floor before silnylon became available).
Why was it coated in polyurethane? To keep your sweat from contacting the membrane. Once Goretex membrane is contaminated by sweat, and more specifically salt from the sweat, it loses its waterproofness because salt actually attracts water to itself (through the membrane).

Anyhow, I'm getting tired of typing, so I'll just say that getting an oversized jacket with pit zips and mesh lined, storm flap protected chest pockets will get more air to your body than any waterproof/breathable "miracle" fabric (including eVent - yeah, I have one of those jackets, too, and I like it better than the Gore or Precip but it still doesn't breathe like a windbreaker).
Heck - even a poncho with fully open sides is too hot to wear in a summer shower. Last time I tried it, I was sweating like a pig just from the effort of getting it on in the middle of a downpour, so I took it off and hiked the rest of the way to camp in my t-shirt.