Gore-Tex

Gore licenses, it does not make jackets

Gore doesn't make jackets. It makes membrane and laminate, licenses it to brands, and enforces how the finished garment is built, including which seams get taped and how the whole thing is tested. That control is a real part of what you're buying: a Gore-Tex jacket from any brand has passed the same construction requirements.

What the membrane actually is

The original membrane is ePTFE, expanded polytetrafluoroethylene, a stretched fluoropolymer film full of microscopic pores. Newer Gore-Tex products increasingly use an ePE membrane, expanded polyethylene, developed to move away from PFC chemistry. Both do the same job for a wearer.

What Pro, Active and Paclite mean

The product names describe construction more than performance. Gore-Tex Pro is the heavy-duty 3-layer build for mountaineering and hard use. Paclite is a stripped-down 2.5-layer build aimed at packability. Infinium is not waterproof at all, which surprises people, and Gore-Tex Shakedry put the membrane on the outside for exceptional breathability before being discontinued.

Why a Gore-Tex jacket can still feel wet inside

Almost always condensation rather than a leak. A membrane moves vapour by letting it pass into drier air on the other side, so it needs a gradient. Work hard in warm, humid rain and you produce sweat faster than any membrane can move it, and the difference condenses on the inside of the jacket exactly where a leak would.

The other cause is wetting out: once the face fabric is saturated there is no dry air on the far side of the membrane and breathability collapses entirely. That is a maintenance problem, not a fabric failure, and it is the reason a five-year-old shell feels so much worse than a new one.

How to wash and maintain it

Wash it, and more often than feels right. Body oils, sunscreen and detergent residue are what kill the DWR, and a jacket that has never been washed is usually the one that wets out first. Use a technical cleaner rather than ordinary detergent, run a second rinse, and never use fabric softener.

Then tumble dry on low to medium heat for twenty minutes, which reactivates the existing finish. If water still soaks in rather than beading after that, top it up with a wash-in or spray-on DWR. The whole cycle takes an evening and restores most shells to something close to new.

Is it worth it over other membranes?

Gore-Tex is not the only competent membrane and has not been for a long time. Competing laminates and brands' own membranes reach comparable waterproofing, and some beat it on breathability. What Gore reliably brings is consistency: it licenses under construction rules and tests the finished garment, so a Gore-Tex shell from an unfamiliar brand is a much safer bet than an unnamed membrane from the same brand.

The practical read is that a named membrane of any kind tells you the maker is willing to be measured, and an unnamed one usually means a polyurethane coating that will not last as long.