Originally Posted by
DunderXIII
Staying dry is a losing battle, don't beleive deodorant marketing.
My best setup so far: Gore Tex Arc't'ryx jacket. It keeps light rain off but gets sweat *out*. When its pouring the rain goes through the jacket; it gets soaked. *BUT* that's the weird thing; there is a kind of equilibrium that happens and you do not get
that wet afterall. And at bike speeds it ends-up drying crazy fast, so if the rain stops the jacket dries in no time and continues to pull the sweat out. Its awesome.
You cannot stay dry but you can manage it
It sounds like the DWR on you Dead Bird jacket is worn out. A refresher is probably in order. The getting soaked is known as "wetting out" -- which means the fabric is saturated. However, unless the fabric is compromised it will never let water droplets through to the inside. (The basic principal of waterproof breathable is that they are woven loosely enough to let water vapor out, but not liquid water in.) What a "wetted out" fabric will do is clog the fabric such that most all its breathability is lost resulting in additional condensation on the inside. Effectively it is the same because you're getting wet. Except condensation that is caused by sweat smells far worse.