2020.02.05

イッシー&ウキコの
教えて!山のワンダー
レインウェアとウィンドブレーカーの違いand wander journal #06

第2回
レインウェア?ウィンドブレーカー?

kaikai

Hey, Isshi. Guess what happened! I went out for a jog the other day and it was a bit chilly. So, I thought it would be nice if I ran with this jacket on, but against all odds, I got soaked with sweat!

tateishitateishi

No wonder, that’s a hardshell jacket.

kaikai

What?! It makes this crinkly sound. How can I be wrong?

tateishitateishi

Your jacket is made of a waterproof breathable PERTEX fabric that uses a non-porous membrane. It’s basically a rain jacket.

kaikai
tateishitateishi

Uh… Ukiko?

kaikai

Oops! Sorry, I couldn’t resist. All these technical terms and all that... Oh, but actually, I have read about waterproof breathable fabrics before. It can maintain comfort by letting the water vapor to escape out through the fabric layer, right?

tateishitateishi

Exactly. At the same time, it’s also waterproof, and that means it has two contradicting functions. However, everything has its limits. So, if you exercise too hard with a hardshell jacket on, it will get steamy inside.

kaikai

I see… Then, this jacket wouldn’t be suited for jogging on a sunny day, right?

tateishitateishi

Of course if you compare it to a vinyl raincoat, the hardshell jacket is much more comfortable. You would have no problem wearing it for a light exercise, like walking on a flat terrain, but it would be better if you think of it as a water-resistant jacket that protects your body from the rain. If you want to put some kind of a jacket on when it’s a bit chilly or a bit windy, I recommend that you choose what is called a “windbreaker”. You might get confused because windbreakers also make the crinkly sound like the hardshell jacket, but it can effectively resist wind chill. Plus, at the same time, since it doesn’t have a waterproof membrane, it’s highly breathable, thus allowing the vapor to escape. Another option would be to use Merino wool inner wear for the base layer and a padding vest with Polartec Alpha fabric for the top layer.

kaikai
tateishitateishi

W…well, I guess we can talk about the basics of layering some other time…

Isshi イッシー

Plays the teacher role in this program. A 15-year experienced hiker who heads out to the mountains under the pretext of a “field test” every time he buys a new outdoor gear. A mid-career staff at and wander, who realized that he gained much more weight himself than the weight he succeeded to save over the past 10 years by lightening the gears.

Ukiko ウキコ

Plays the student role in this program. Although she is interested in backpacking trips, she is a new recruit at and wander and still has a lot to learn. Fluent speaker of English and well-versed in fashion but tends to get panicked when she hears too many technical outdoor terms.

text Takashi Sakurai
illustration Mizumaru Kawahara
translation Masumi Tokugawa