Hello, my name is Warren. I plan to go west to Vancouver Island, B.C. this spring and do some hiking and I am trying figure out which rain jacket to buy.

I was looking at both the Marmot Precip and the minimalist but I have a few questions I'm hoping someone can clear up.

First, I am curious about the difference in durability between the goretex material on the minimalist and the ripstop nylon of the precip. Many reviews talk very vaguely about the difference between the two fabrics and a few seem to explain it something to the effect of "well, they're both waterproof but gore-tex is branded"

Second, both jackets received rave reviews on different sites but on the marmot website there are several reviews slamming the minimalist for not actually standing up to water after a few months. I'm hoping someone can shed light on how the reviews could be so polarized. Is there some kind of care instructions these people may not be following or whats the deal type thing.

I'm hoping i've provided enough information and that someone can attempt to answer my questions. Thanks for reading and if you have any other suggestions please let me know. Thanks.

Also, I'm on a budget but no too tight of one. I'm mostly interested in a worry free jacket that I won't cry over if I manage to screw it up.

Your replies may trickle in a bit slowly for this question, mainly because of Christmas taking up so much time and energy. I'll try to start the ball rolling.

In my experience, waterproof-breathable fabrics rarely fail to be waterproof at the start of their working life. Their problems almost always relate to their breathability, which is easily overwhelmed by perspiration when you are working hard, such as hiking. This allows moisture to accumulate inside the jacket and may appear like a failure of waterproofness to the wearer. Unfortunately, the breathability of every WB fabric can fail, and even the best of them are only fair to middling in real world conditions.

One factor that can cause poor breathability is when the DWR (durable water resistant) finish stops beading water, so that heavy rain coats the outside of the jacket with water and prevents the pores from releasing water vapor. The thing to do is to renew the DWR finish. There are products for this.

Another factor that can cause poor breathability is when the ambient air temperature and humidity are not much different than the warm, humid air inside the jacket. There is no simple or easy cure for this other than taking the jacket off. You're going to get soaked either way.

Overall, the best solution to perspiration is ventilation. Open the collar as much as you can. Use any pit zips provided. Add an umbrella, if it isn't too windy. And wear a base layer inside the jacket that wicks moisture away from your skin and isolates your skin from the moisture that is inside your jacket, so you don't feel the wetness, even though it is there.

As for the two Marmot jackets you are considering, I expect either of them will perform reasonably well, given the inherent limits of the waterproof-breathable technology. Have fun on Vancouver Island. It is full of lovely rain forest.

Thank you for your quick and informative reply. ^^ It answered everything i needed to know.