To quote Independence Day, "That's not entirely accurate." But for the purpose of this thread, it may be close enough. "Goretex" (waterproof breathable membrane), is (IIRC) teflon sheet that has been very precisely stretched to yield gazillions of microholes that are large enough for water vapor to pass through, but water liquid, not. In my experience, there is not enough breathability for high activity sports, and that may be due to the limited size of the holes, or insufficient "fresh" air inside the coat, thus the air inside becomes saturated and cannot hold more air in solution (humidity), which is how it works because the water is not boiling off, it's evaporating into air which will then be vented out of the jacket. So yeah, for me, I need physical vents.

Someone mentioned microfiber; I forgot about that. In the '90s I gave my brother an expensive microfiber windbreaker, the water would just bead off immediately, he said it was awesome. I cannot recall if it had a membrane liner. He didn't do anything high activity, just walking to school or work.