Jump to content

Acronym.


Westbrook

Recommended Posts

Well I have the GT-J28, and while it is very breathable, it's not exactly a light summer jacket so in my opinion you might want to go for the Epic version. That said, i can't really imagine my J28 built in cotton, it's a badass rigid Sherman tank of a jacket in GT and personally i think the design works with the rigidity of the material. I can't quite imagine feeling the same indestructible power it bestows upon the wearer if it had a cotton drape.

You actually find goretex breathable? Don't get me wrong, I love my GT pieces, but if I'm honest I find tales of its breathability to be a complete myth. Once it gets to late May in DC, the only GT piece I'll wear is my GT-J22. Anything proshell gets to stay in the closet until fall.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well I have the GT-J28, and while it is very breathable, it's not exactly a light summer jacket so in my opinion you might want to go for the Epic version. That said, i can't really imagine my J28 built in cotton, it's a badass rigid Sherman tank of a jacket in GT and personally i think the design works with the rigidity of the material. I can't quite imagine feeling the same indestructible power it bestows upon the wearer if it had a cotton drape.

 

Having had both the GT and Epic versions of the J28, the Epic version is actually more "rigid" and breathable, though of course not as water resistant. With the hood unpacked, the collar on the Epic version maintains its structure better due to thickness/stiffness of the material compared to the GT version.  

 

 

You actually find goretex breathable? Don't get me wrong, I love my GT pieces, but if I'm honest I find tales of its breathability to be a complete myth. Once it gets to late May in DC, the only GT piece I'll wear is my GT-J22. Anything proshell gets to stay in the closet until fall.

 

In my experience, the new proshells are very breathable; no myth there! So much so that you lose dynamic warmth quickly without proper layering, much more than the previous generation proshells. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Having had both the GT and Epic versions of the J28, the Epic version is actually more "rigid" and breathable, though of course not as water resistant. With the hood unpacked, the collar on the Epic version maintains its structure better due to thickness/stiffness of the material compared to the GT version.  

 

 

 

In my experience, the new proshells are very breathable; no myth there! So much so that you lose dynamic warmth quickly without proper layering, much more than the previous generation proshells.

You should share the temperatures/wind/humidity when commenting on breathability. Or the location; summer in San Francisco or Vancouver is very different from summer or DC/NY

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was talking about the breathability of the various fabrics irrespective of local conditions. The new proshells are more breathable than the older versions, hence cooler when hot and colder when cold. Epic is in general more breathable than GT, but the new Proshell does well to close or narrow that gap. But without proper testing equipment I can't say for sure, just my observations.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was talking about the breathability of the various fabrics irrespective of local conditions. The new proshells are more breathable than the older versions, hence cooler when hot and colder when cold. Epic is in general more breathable than GT, but the new Proshell does well to close or narrow that gap. But without proper testing equipment I can't say for sure, just my observations.

 

Drgitlin was talking about his local conditions. Not many people have 'proper testing equipment' so your observations would be even more helpful if you added some more context.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow dude you are asking a lot to get this typed out on an iPad! ;)

As far as I know, the properties of the fabrics mentioned do not change in different temperatures unlike say, diaplex. So my observations should be valid across all ranges.

But for the sake of tech wear science :)

In air conditioned environments in the tropics, Stotz is the most breathable, followed by Epic, Windstopper GT then GT Proshell (last gen, summer and winter versions have different thickness). Have yet to try new gen GT Proshell in this condition but I fully expect it to way surpass the old gen by quite a margin. The 30% more breathable spec on paper is not an exaggeration. You feel it immediately even when you put it on. It is the closest GT has come to performing like cotton fabrics. I'm guessing slightly ahead of WS GT. Again, can't confirm without further testing. Just a gut feel based on claminess factor when wearing the jackets.

When wearing the GT Proshells in fall to winter conditions, the old Proshells (winter versions) allowed me to get away with little layering even in sub zero conditions. The thinner proshell even let's me wear just a Tee in the low tens to high single digits (deg celcius) and it is due to its lack of breathability. While initially cold, the GTs did well to trap the dynamic warmth my body generated over time.

I couldn't do the same with the new Proshell, with similar amount of layers it was way too cold. I was constantly freezing and I couldn't generate enough dynamic warmth because the shell kept breathing it out. I had to double up on the layering and wear neck warmers and beanie or put up the hood to stay warm. It's breathability is almost like a double-edged sword.

Hope that helps!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think the J43-K might be the lightest, most breathable, Acronym jacket? How waterproof is it though? 

 

Lightest would be a WS garment. J29B is 163g, J42 is 197g. If you think a hood is necessary for a fair comparison (I think it is), J43K is 459g while J25 is 226g, less than half.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think the J43-K might be the lightest, most breathable, Acronym jacket? How waterproof is it though?

No way is the 43K as breathable as the current generation Proshell. Proshell is probably king among membrane tech right now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In air conditioned environments in the tropics, Stotz is the most breathable, followed by Epic, Windstopper GT then GT Proshell (last gen, summer and winter versions have different thickness). Have yet to try new gen GT Proshell in this condition but I fully expect it to way surpass the old gen by quite a margin. The 30% more breathable spec on paper is not an exaggeration. You feel it immediately even when you put it on. It is the closest GT has come to performing like cotton fabrics. I'm guessing slightly ahead of WS GT. Again, can't confirm without further testing. Just a gut feel based on claminess factor when wearing the jackets.

 

 

See, if anything I find the new proshell stuff worse, because of the rubber-like backing (as opposed to the face fabric ACR on something like a GT-J5A. Maybe it's perceptual, but it feels more like wearing an old fashioned macintosh or something.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey Jon what rubber-like backing? Which current proshell jacket are you referring to? I don't have the jackets with me now, but if I recall correctly, the new proshell does feel a tiny bit thicker and stiffer (more paper-like), but breathability is in a different league.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

See, if anything I find the new proshell stuff worse, because of the rubber-like backing (as opposed to the face fabric ACR on something like a GT-J5A. Maybe it's perceptual, but it feels more like wearing an old fashioned macintosh or something.

 

when you say rubber-like backing, do you mean the linerless paclite® jackets? j41-gt, j43-gtpl? if so, i agree. no breathability at all. i don't understand why these don't have pit zips.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey Jon what rubber-like backing? Which current proshell jacket are you referring to? I don't have the jackets with me now, but if I recall correctly, the new proshell does feel a tiny bit thicker and stiffer (more paper-like), but breathability is in a different league.

J44, J41.

when you say rubber-like backing, do you mean the linerless paclite® jackets? j41-gt, j43-gtpl? if so, i agree. no breathability at all. i don't understand why these don't have pit zips.

This, 100%

Edited by drgitlin
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...