Raincoats
FAQ – Frequently asked questions about raincoats
Put your rain coat in the washing machine without thinking, and you might start to feel very wet very quickly. To ensure your jacket stays waterproof, you need to make a watertight choice in terms of maintenance.
- Follow the washing instructions: if you really want to wash your jacket in the washing machine, make sure you read the label first.
- Use special maintenance products: regular washing powder or detergent can damage your coat’s waterproofness.
- Rewaterproof your raincoat: jackets with a waterproof coating and those with a membrane both need proofing from time to time. Waterproofing treatment will restore the fabric’s water-repellent and breathability properties.
- Beware the dryer: it’s best to hang wet jackets on a drying rack to dry. If you want to use a tumble dryer, first check the label and don’t put too many clothes in the machine at the same time.
This depends on what kind of trip you are going on and how much stuff you like to take with you. Your travel destination (sunny south or cold north) also plays an important role. However, a suitcase of 80 to 100 litres is generally not a luxury for a two-week trip. Do keep in mind that the larger the contents of the suitcase or travel bag, the more likely it is that you will use up all that space, resulting in a heavier trolley (and possibly extra charges from the airline).
Choosing the right rain jacket can be quite a challenge. Before you know it, you’re reading about things such as water column, breathability, membranes and coatings. And one interpretation of ‘waterproof’ isn’t necessarily the same as the next. What you need to look out for:
- The water column: this is the amount of water in millimetres that the fabric can withstand per square centimetre before it starts to leak. A rating of 1,000 to 5,000 mm is waterproof against the rain, but not resistant to water at high pressure. So if the pressure increases, for example when you sit down in the fabric, there’s a risk it will leak. A water column of 5,000 to 15,000 mm is completely watertight, even if the rain is bucketing down.
- The seams and zips: it’s not just the water column that determines how watertight your jacket is. You also need to check that the zips are water-repellent or have a double flap, and that the jacket has taped seams as well.
- Watertight and breathable: special technical features such as membranes and coatings mean waterproof clothing is often breathable now too. So rain jackets that feel wet and clammy after a trip through a rain shower can be a thing of the past.
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