Early 1990s. The visit to the outdoor speciality store ended with a promise. For now on you will have all of the gear you need. No matter what you face, you can defy weather, storms, rain and snow. That was quite a feeling. I left the store wrapped up in a green jacket with a floppy mesh lining, equipped with lots of generous pockets and an even more generous cut. I was happy and proud. And about 280 German Marks poorer. Lots of money back then, even with the sale price. It wasn't even a GORE-TEX jacket, I must admit, but a "whatever-you-call it" jacket from a name brand manufacturer. It served me well for awhile, but then it starting not keeping out the weather quite right or didn't look cool enough -- or maybe both. I had to have something better. For myself, by now a pretty knowledgeable outdoor enthusiast, the only choice at this point was an authentic GORE-TEX jacket. The original. The mother of all performance fabrics. The Swiss Army Knife of apparel, the Mercedes among jackets, the status symbol of adventurers, the calling card of real expertise. Three layers. No wimpy, loose lining. Ripstop Nylon. Sturdy. Rockhard duds for a rockhard young man. Yeah, baby. A white logo emblazoned on the chest, a stylized silhouette of Half Dome in Yosemite. The North Face.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="690"] Pic: Tobias Hase[/caption]
After a few years – and this is one of my true #GORETEX40 moments – even this bullheaded guy became a believer. In pouring rain, the front wheel of my bike slipped out from me under me during a bike tour in Chile. I flew over the handlebars and my upper body served to brake me. Even 3 layers could not keep the rough gravel from penetrating the jacket and reaching my skin, but it still prevented even worse. I was basically OK, but the jacket was riddled with holes. Nevertheless, I continued to use it for three years – 95 per cent of the outer layer was still in fact intact. Then I got to know a new, super cool brand from Canada as a part of my work with a PR agency in Munich. The Alpha SV Jacket by Arc'teryx was then just as it still is today truly state of the art. Ten years later I resold it to someone else. In sum: Over 20 years I "consumed" two GORE-TEX 3-layer jackets.
Pic: Tobias Hase
GTX Moment 2: (Not) the end
Another GORE-TEX jacket still lives and does duty today under my watch. The Sirrus SL by Arc'teryx is not a real 3-layer jacket, but a blend of Paclite and XCR, which was then pretty innovative. I estimate I got it back in about 2003 or 2004. Still, it's quite in style with its timeless design. After coming along with me on every ski touring outing for years, it ended up at some point in a box as I acquired higher-performance softshell jackets. There, it had to persevere a few years, all scrunched up and ignored. In early 2016, it saw the light of day again, so I tossed it in the washer and saw immediately that although it still had its DWR, it wasn't so ideal or totally functional. And it was this "old buddy" of a jacket that bestowed upon me yet another unforgettable moment.
Pic: Tobias Hase
The weather service forecast the risk of thunderstorms on this day as extremely low, plus it was supposed to be dry. So we decided to climb the "Steger" route on the Rosengartenspitze. Of course, this jacket plus gloves and a cap were in my pack as backup. Halfway up the face the first shower took us by surprise. As we were in the final chimney all hell broke loose. Rain and hail, not to mention a lightening storm, forced us to hole up for two hours hanging clipped in below the summit ridge. Without the good old Sirrus Jacket this story would not have ended well. After the storm moved away, we made it to the top mostly dry and were able to warm ourselves up again with a little movement. The crag was perfect so even though the ridge was strewn with hailstones and there was no further problems. All's well that ends well with Gore.
Joachim Stark
Joachim is and all-round mountain athlete: Alpine, ice and sport climbing; backcountry skiing; and mountain biking are at the top of his list of leisure activities – when he finds time in between his work with the media, photography, and graphic design and layout for companies in the outdoor industry. He has worked with GORE-TEX as a freelancer since 2012.
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Pic: Tobias Hase[/caption]
After a few years – and this is one of my true #GORETEX40 moments – even this bullheaded guy became a believer. In pouring rain, the front wheel of my bike slipped out from me under me during a bike tour in Chile. I flew over the handlebars and my upper body served to brake me. Even 3 layers could not keep the rough gravel from penetrating the jacket and reaching my skin, but it still prevented even worse. I was basically OK, but the jacket was riddled with holes. Nevertheless, I continued to use it for three years – 95 per cent of the outer layer was still in fact intact. Then I got to know a new, super cool brand from Canada as a part of my work with a PR agency in Munich. The Alpha SV Jacket by Arc'teryx was then just as it still is today truly state of the art. Ten years later I resold it to someone else. In sum: Over 20 years I "consumed" two GORE-TEX 3-layer jackets.
