How waterproof is too little waterproof?
Today’s reader question:
“I’m looking to buy some budget snowboard gear, but there’s not much variety in the discount bin and I’m having problems finding gear that looks nice and is 10k/10k waterproofing and breathability. Is it okay to go below that?”
Firstly, for anyone who reads this and is confused by what 10k/10k means, go download our free snowboard gear guide, it’ll explain all of this in more detail. Okay, now as for the question, this is one of those things where my answer is ‘yes’ with a ‘but’.
Yes you can go below 10k/10k and it won’t be the end of the world. Lots of people do it, particularly with jackets, because your jacket tends to stay drier than your pants.
However, I wouldn’t be doing it if you want to stay dry in wetter snow conditions. Jackets under 10k waterproof don’t hold out water for very long and under 10k breathability means it can kind of sweaty on the inside of your jacket.
I do understand that sometimes budgets are tight and you have to go with what you can find, so if you must go below 10k/10k, I recommend one thing:
Make sure it has fully taped seams. Fully taped seams are really important because it means that all the connecting parts of your jacket/pants have been sealed properly.
Many low end jackets and pants come with what they call ‘critically taped seams’, which means they only waterproof the main sections. What this means is you get water seeping into your jacket from the non waterproofed areas.
I’d say that fully taped seams are just as important, if not more important than having a good breathability and waterproof rating.
Hope that helps!
– Jed