Might be true for jackets, but my anecdata hiking with friends in the Scandinavian mountains where it rains constantly and there are lots of rivers to ford is that wax is not good enough for boots. Time and time again the waxers hit leaks in my groups, and the GoreTexers stay bone dry.
GoreTex of course isn’t a perfect material for boots. I think the main downside I see with the GoreTex is that it’s stiffer, harder to break in, and subsequently produces more blisters. That is fine for me though. I can control how many blister pads I apply and when, and ultimately whether the blister comes. I can’t control water ingress when fording a stream.
For jackets, rather than invest in super pricey thousand dollar jackets, I usually bring two sets of Frogg Toggs and don’t expect them to survive the trek.
It feels like the pick two for jackets is “cheap”, “light”, and “durable”. Maybe add “breathable” in there as well. Frogg Toggs definitely checks all the boxes except for durable, they will disintegrate if you simply fart the wrong ways. For an intermediate adventurer like myself who only treks once or twice a year for not longer than 10 days at a time that is totally fine
GoreTex of course isn’t a perfect material for boots. I think the main downside I see with the GoreTex is that it’s stiffer, harder to break in, and subsequently produces more blisters. That is fine for me though. I can control how many blister pads I apply and when, and ultimately whether the blister comes. I can’t control water ingress when fording a stream.
For jackets, rather than invest in super pricey thousand dollar jackets, I usually bring two sets of Frogg Toggs and don’t expect them to survive the trek.
It feels like the pick two for jackets is “cheap”, “light”, and “durable”. Maybe add “breathable” in there as well. Frogg Toggs definitely checks all the boxes except for durable, they will disintegrate if you simply fart the wrong ways. For an intermediate adventurer like myself who only treks once or twice a year for not longer than 10 days at a time that is totally fine