The choice guide

Quick answer and summary — the choice guide

Quick answer, if you just want one

Out all day, hard wear, cold or salt water → PVC-coated fabric.

Short, intense activity in light to moderate rain → Breathable garment.

Want low weight without compromising on lifespan → Raintex Light+.

Not sure? Base your choice on the hardest use the garment sees in an ordinary week, not the average.

Recommendations by situation

You work outdoors all day —

farming, fishing, construction, forestry
Choose a heavy-duty PVC-coated fabric. It withstands abrasion, chemicals and hard wear better than any other material in this comparison. It can be repaired if it tears, and lasts for decades rather than seasons.
Read more: PVC — waterproof, hard-wearing rainwear

You want low weight but still real durability

Raintex Light+ weighs as little as many PU garments (250 g/m²) but doesn’t yellow in UV light and doesn’t age through hydrolysis the way PU does. A good middle ground for anyone who’s active a lot but doesn’t want to compromise on lifespan.
Read more: PVC — waterproof, hard-wearing rainwear, the section on Raintex Light+ and PU — light, flexible rainwear

You’re running, hiking or cycling in moderate rain

A breathable garment is the right choice for high physical activity in brief or moderate rain — body heat and your own movement help the membrane do its job. Needs regular reproofing to keep working over time.
Read more: Breathable garments — how membranes work and where they fall short

Preschool-age children — mud, puddles, sandpits

Galon (PVC) is the easy choice: completely waterproof, rinses clean in five seconds, and takes it without harm when a child sits and slides on a wet swing. There’s no reproofing to remember.
Read more: PVC — waterproof, hard-wearing rainwear and FAQ: ‘Galon or shell clothing for children?

Severe cold

Farmerrain’s own PVC fabrics with Pevalen™ Pro 100 have kept their flexibility well below −20 °C in user testing — conventional PVC without a cold-resistant plasticiser stiffens in the cold, so always ask which plasticiser a garment contains if winter use matters to you.
Read more: PVC — waterproof, hard-wearing rainwear

Salt water and professional fishing

PVC, exclusively. Membranes get clogged by salt and fish residue and wear out fast; a coated fabric simply rinses clean and won’t let you down mid-shift.
Read more: PVC — waterproof, hard-wearing rainwear and FAQ: ‘Why don’t professional fishermen use Gore-Tex?’

You want to know how waterproof a garment actually is

Ask for the water column rating in mm and how the seams are made — welded or taped. Those two facts tell you more about real-world performance than anything else on the label.
Read more: Water column, seams and EN 343

Your garment has torn or broken

The garment can almost always be repaired, whether the damage is wear or an accident. Spare buttons and a patch already come with the jacket; a full repair kit can be added to your order.
Read more: Repair and recycling

You’re curious about the material’s history or origin

The word galon has a seventy-year Swedish history that’s well worth knowing before buying a garment described that way.
Read more: The word galon — the story behind it