Waterproofness of Polartec Neoshell

[DanYong]

Hi all,

There's a post attributed to Polartech that says 5,000 MM is not waterproof but 'pretty resistant'. It was comparing Power Shield Pro (5,000mm HH) to Neoshell (10,000 mm HH)

http://forum.kuiu.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=585

Yet, on Polartech's own site it says Neoshell's HH drops to 5,000 MM after 20 washes. Which going by what's said by Polartec in the link above, would make Neoshell less than fully waterproof after 20 washes.

So which is which? Does anyone know?

Quote below taken from link above:
"Polartec NeoShell is waterproof to 10,000mm - that's 10 meters of water pressure - we have been testing this fabric in the field for the past 2 years and are very confident in its ability to keep you dry. While many other waterproof fabrics go to 20,000mm of water resistance, we believe this is overkill and in fact becomes a liability because you directly trade off breathability.

Polartec NeoShell has an excellent DWR (keeps the surface fabric from wetting out) and the membrane allows a tiny amount of air to flow through the fabric (0.5 CFM). Other waterproof technologies require heat and pressure inside the jacket (that clammy feeling of traditional shells) while Polartec NeoShell does not require this pressure - even a small amount of airflow through the fabric massively accelerates moisture vapor transport away from your body. It's not so much air flow that you get wind chilled - but enough to keep you feeling much drier inside the jacket than full film shells.

As a bow hunter myself (Colorado - elk), I'm very anxious to have some Polartec NeoShell produced in camo.

Hunters should also take a look at Polartec Power Shield Pro - this utilizes the same membrane technology as Polartec NeoShell but offers 5000mm of water resistance (not waterproof but pretty resistant), a great DWR and 2 CFM of airflow. This is the ultimate softshell technology...again, hoping to see this in camo sometime soon."

[wayno]

polartechs powershield pro membrane is rated at 6000mm and that is only rated as water resistant.
under storm conditions you may not be able to rely on it, the pressure of shoulder straps and belt on the fabric could exceed the pressure of 5000mm as well as sitting on it...
question is, how long would you ahve it before yhou washed it twenty times>? it could take a very long time to drop to 5000mm.... have you washed other shells that many times? if not then the loss of waterproofness may not become an issue esp itf you replace your shells after a few years.

[icemancometh]

In the outdoor world, WP is 1000mm. Although functionally as noted above this may not translate to real world WP in harsh conditions.

Re washing, it refers to usage...even if you don't wash it. 20 washes isn't that much...

[wayno]

NEOSHELL ISNT LIKE A LOT OF OTHER MEMBRANES,
it's really microfilament strands layers over each other.
I'd imagine over time those filaments break , opening up bigger gaps in the fabric
most membranes are sheets of fabric with holes in them.