PH wrote:On a more general point about Gortex, it's has become a bit of a generic term, hardly surprising as the main patent ran out in the 90's and referring to it a multi layered membrane and shell fabric is a bit much!
My current breathable jacket is Event fabric, which in tests is more breathable than Gortex, in practice I don't notice much difference between it and the Gortex one it replaced.
Gore-tex is still a patented fabric. Others try to copy it but none put the time and money into producing a membrane that matches Gore-tex for waterproofness or breathability. There are various thicknesses of Gore-tex fabric each having different levels of breathability, robustness and durability depending on their intended use. The Gore-tex is just the membrane to which a face fabric is applied. There is lots of care information on the Gore-tex website. Once clean it can be reactivated by placing a warm iron over the fabric protected with a table cloth or similar fabric. Do not apply the iron directly to the fabric as it will melt. As I say there is a lot of information on the Gore-tex website. Gore-text were offering a life time warranty on their fabric should it fail prematurely. However this does not cover fair wear and tear. So if you've owned a Gore-tex jacket for 9-10 years worn it every day and basically it is shagged, time to buy a new one, where as if your jacket really has had little use then Gore-tex may opt to replace it for you.
Event fabric was initially used by Rab for their waterproof clothing.
Owing to the intense activity that cycling can some times be, any "waterproof" fabric will struggle to get moisture away from your skin and through the membrane. Some fabrics are much better than others. Waterproof breathable fabrics tend to work better in cooler less humid climates and where activity is not intense. It's all compromise, dependent on what activity you are doing.