Every snow jacket has a waterproofing rating on the label. Most people ignore it. The ones who have spent a wet afternoon at Falls Creek in a jacket that stopped being waterproof at lunch do not ignore it anymore.
Here is what the ratings mean, what the technologies actually deliver, and how to choose for Australian conditions.
The Numbers — What They Actually Mean
Waterproofing is rated in millimetres. The test works by sitting a column of water on a fabric sample and measuring how high the column gets before water starts to pass through. A 10,000mm rating means 10 metres of water pressure before the fabric leaks. A 20,000mm rating means 20 metres.
In practice:
- 5,000mm and below: light rain, short duration. Not suitable for a full day in Australian mountain conditions.
- 10,000mm: adequate for most conditions. Fine for light to moderate snow, short periods of wet weather.
- 15,000mm: good for Australian conditions including wet snow and rain. What we recommend as a minimum for a week-long trip to Falls Creek or Hotham.
- 20,000mm and above: serious all-day wet weather capability. What you want if you are riding through a Victorian storm system.
The second number you will see is breathability — how much moisture vapour can escape through the fabric in a 24-hour period, measured in grams per square metre. Snowboarding generates a lot of body heat. If moisture cannot escape, you get wet from the inside. 10,000g is the minimum for real breathability. 20,000g and above is genuinely comfortable across varying output levels.
What is GORE-TEX?
GORE-TEX is a membrane technology — a thin layer of expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) bonded to the jacket fabric. The membrane has billions of tiny pores that are large enough to let water vapour escape from inside the jacket but small enough to prevent liquid water from entering from outside.
GORE-TEX is the benchmark because it delivers on both waterproofing and breathability consistently. Gore licenses the technology to jacket brands — Burton, L1, Jones, Salomon and others all offer GORE-TEX lines. The licence comes with strict quality requirements, which is why a GORE-TEX jacket from any reputable brand performs to a similar standard.
The GORE-TEX range includes: GORE-TEX (the standard, excellent performance), GORE-TEX Pro (higher breathability for high-output activities), and GORE-TEX Paclite (lighter weight, packable, slightly less durability).
For snowboarding: standard GORE-TEX is the right call for most riders. GORE-TEX Pro is worth it for riders who are highly active and generating maximum body heat.
Other Waterproofing Technologies
GORE-TEX is not the only option. Several brands use proprietary membranes that perform comparably at a lower price point:
Burton DryRide: Burton's proprietary waterproofing technology. Well-performing at its respective rating. 10K DryRide on entry-level jackets, 20K on upper-tier models. Reliable within its rating.
L1 DWR and fully taped seams: L1 uses treated fabrics with full seam taping rather than a proprietary named technology. Their outerwear performs well in real conditions and tends to be more street-influenced in cut.
Salomon HyVent and AdvancedSkin: Salomon's proprietary membranes. Competitive with GORE-TEX at mid-range price points.
Airblaster: Uses standard DWR-treated fabrics. Better suited to cold, dry conditions than wet heavy snow. Excellent for low-precipitation days.
DWR — The Coating That Fails
Every waterproof jacket also has a Durable Water Repellent coating on the outer fabric. This is what makes water bead on the surface rather than soaking into the face fabric. It is separate from the membrane waterproofing.
DWR wears off. After 20 to 30 days of use and washing, most DWR treatments become less effective and water starts to wet out the face fabric rather than beading. A wetted-out face fabric does not leak — the membrane below still blocks water — but it becomes heavy and cold feeling.
DWR can be restored. A warm tumble dry after washing reactivates most treatments. Specific DWR re-treatment sprays (Nikwax, Grangers) restore a more worn-out coating. We stock both in store.
Seam Taping — Why It Matters
Every stitch in a jacket creates a hole. Untaped seams leak. Seam taping is a strip of waterproof tape applied over the seam on the inside of the jacket to seal those holes.
Critically taped: only the main exposed seams are taped — shoulders, chest. Less expensive. Fine for light conditions.
Fully taped: every seam in the jacket is taped. More expensive. Genuinely waterproof across the whole jacket. Worth the extra spend for serious mountain use.
If a jacket's listing does not specify seam taping — ask. On a wet Falls Creek afternoon, untaped seams at your cuffs and underarms are the first place water gets in.
What to Buy for Australian Conditions
For a serious week at Falls Creek, Mt Hotham or Thredbo: 15,000mm minimum, fully taped seams, 10,000g breathability minimum. GORE-TEX if budget allows. Burton DryRide 20K or Salomon equivalents at the mid-range are solid alternatives.
For day trips and mild conditions: 10,000mm with taped seams is adequate.
For NSW mountains at altitude in winter: conditions can be genuinely cold and dry — breathability matters more than waterproofing for many days. GORE-TEX Pro is worth considering for high-output riders.
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