I regularly bike in the rain for 30 minutes or more. My gear is all nylon with a non-PFOA wax coating. It doesn't perform as well, and my jacket will get saturated after about 45 minutes. I deal with that by wearing something under the jacket (usually a fleece). Absolutely worst case, the fleece gets slightly damp but I am still perfectly comfortable for many hours.
The only other issue I see is that I have to reapply the coating about once a year, or after I machine-wash the jacket.
Overall these are very minor inconveniences. I wonder if anyone really needs the performance gains of these chemicals - you only see the advantage in really bad weather conditions over long periods of time. How many people are doing day-long hikes in pouring rain?
The only other issue I see is that I have to reapply the coating about once a year, or after I machine-wash the jacket.
Overall these are very minor inconveniences. I wonder if anyone really needs the performance gains of these chemicals - you only see the advantage in really bad weather conditions over long periods of time. How many people are doing day-long hikes in pouring rain?