How to Choose the Best Waterproof Jacket for UK Camping
· Updated
Two numbers decide whether a waterproof jacket keeps you dry on a British campsite: its hydrostatic head, which measures how much water pressure the fabric holds out, and its breathability, which measures how fast your own sweat escapes. For UK camping, aim for a hydrostatic head of at least 10,000mm to shrug off sustained rain, and 20,000mm if you expect proper hill weather or carry a heavy pack. Everything else, the membrane brand, the hood, the taped seams, is detail that either protects those two numbers or wastes them.
Ignore the marketing words. "Storm-proof" and "technical" mean nothing on a label. The ratings do, and once you can read them you can spot a genuine £120 jacket and an overpriced £250 one in about ten seconds.
This is part of the complete UK camping gear guide from Camping Sites in Britain, where you can find and compare campsites, caravan parks and glamping across the country.
The first number: hydrostatic head
Hydrostatic head is how waterproof the fabric is, measured in millimetres. The test, ISO 811, stands a tube of water on the fabric and records the height of the water column, in millimetres, at which the first drops push through. A jacket rated 10,000mm holds out a 10 metre column of water before it leaks.
Under the British and European standard, fabric is only allowed to be called waterproof at 1,500mm. That is the floor, not a target. A 1,500mm jacket survives a light shower and fails the moment you kneel on wet grass or shoulder a rucksack, because pressure from a strap or a knee concentrates on one spot and drives water through far below the rated figure.
| Hydrostatic head | What it copes with |
|---|---|
| 1,500mm | Legally "waterproof", but only a light shower. Avoid for camping |
| 5,000mm | Light to moderate rain for a short spell. Festival-grade |
| 10,000mm | Sustained rain, a full day out. The sensible minimum for UK camping |
| 20,000mm | Heavy, wind-driven rain, heavy packs, serious hill weather |
| 28,000mm and up | Mountain and expedition use. More than most campers need |
For pitching up in the Lake District or Snowdonia, where a wet week is a normal week, 10,000mm is the number to clear and 20,000mm is money well spent. If you plan to sit on damp ground, carry a loaded pack all day, or camp somewhere like the Lake District campsites in autumn, treat 20,000mm as your baseline. The pressure under a hip belt alone can exceed 10,000mm.
The second number: breathability
Breathability is how fast the jacket lets your sweat vapour out, and it matters as much as waterproofing. A completely waterproof jacket with no breathability is a bin bag: you stay dry from the rain and soak yourself from the inside within twenty minutes of walking uphill. Manufacturers quote it in one of two ways.
MVTR (moisture vapour transmission rate) is grams of water vapour passing through a square metre of fabric in 24 hours, written as g/m2/24h. Higher is better. RET (resistance to evaporative heat loss) measures the same thing from the other end: how much the fabric resists your sweat escaping. Lower is better. Watch which one is on the label, because the scales run in opposite directions.
| Use | MVTR (higher is better) | RET (lower is better) |
|---|---|---|
| Standing about, low effort | 5,000 to 10,000 | 13 to 20 |
| Hillwalking, camp chores, cycling | 10,000 to 15,000 | 6 to 13 |
| Hard uphill graft, trail running | 20,000 and up | Under 6 |
For general camping and walking, 10,000 to 15,000 MVTR, or an RET under 13, keeps you comfortable. Anything with an RET below 6 is genuinely excellent and priced to match. Treat the exact figure as a guide rather than gospel, because there are several test methods and brands quote the most flattering one.
Membranes: Gore-Tex and the cheaper alternatives
The waterproofing lives in a thin membrane or coating bonded to the inside of the face fabric. This is where most of the price difference sits, and where the biggest names earn their premium.
Gore-Tex is the best known. Its membrane has billions of pores per square inch, each far too small for a rain drop but large enough for a vapour molecule, which is how it stays waterproof and breathable at once. Gore-Tex jackets typically run an RET around 3 to 6, hold well above 20,000mm, and cost from roughly £180 into the £400s. Gore-Tex Pro is the top tier, Gore-Tex Paclite the lightweight packable version.
eVent works on the same air-permeable principle and many walkers rate it as more breathable than standard Gore-Tex. Paramo, a British brand, skips the membrane entirely and uses a Nikwax pump liquid system that physically moves water outward, which is warm, quiet and easy to repair, though heavier and less packable.
The cheaper alternatives are usually polyurethane (PU) coatings or brands' own membranes such as Berghaus Hydroshell, Rab Proflex, Montane or Decathlon's Novadry. A good own-brand jacket at 10,000mm to 20,000mm from Rab, Berghaus, Montane, Alpkit, Regatta or Decathlon's Quechua range performs perfectly well for campsite and trail use at £60 to £150. You are paying Gore-Tex prices for durability, long-term breathability and the licensing, not for staying dry on a wet weekend.
One more spec worth knowing: fabric is built as 2-layer, 2.5-layer or 3-layer. A 3-layer jacket bonds the membrane between the face fabric and an inner scrim, making it tougher and more breathable, which is why hardwearing jackets are 3-layer and light packable ones are 2.5-layer.
The bits that leak: seams, hoods and zips
Waterproof fabric is only half the jacket. Water gets in through the gaps, so check these before you buy.
- Taped seams. Every needle hole is a leak until it is sealed with waterproof tape over the stitching. "Fully taped" means every seam; "critically taped" means only the shoulders and hood, which is fine for a budget jacket but not for a downpour. Run your hand inside and look for the shiny tape strips.
- The hood. The single most important feature for British rain. You want a wired or stiffened peak to keep rain off your face, a volume adjuster at the back, and drawcords that pull the hood in around your cheeks without blocking your side vision. A floppy, single-size hood is a sign of a cheap jacket.
- Zips. A storm flap over the main zip, or a water-resistant zip, stops the rain sneaking down the front. Note that water-resistant zips are not fully waterproof, hence the flap.
- Cuffs and hem. Adjustable Velcro cuffs seal rain out at the wrists, and a drawcord hem stops it billowing up your back in the wind.
- Pit zips. Underarm zips you can open to dump heat fast. On a jacket you will walk in, they matter more than an extra pocket.
DWR coatings and reproofing
Every waterproof jacket leaves the factory with a durable water repellent (DWR) finish sprayed on the outer face fabric. This is not the waterproofing itself, it is a coating that makes rain bead up and roll off the surface. When it works, the fabric looks like a duck's back. When it wears out, the face fabric soaks up water and looks wet through, a state called "wetting out".
Here is the part most people get wrong: a wetted-out jacket is usually still waterproof, but it stops breathing, so your sweat condenses inside and you feel damp and cold. People blame the membrane and buy a new jacket when all they needed was to reproof the old one.
DWR is a consumable. It fades with washing, dirt and abrasion, typically within a season or two of regular use. To bring it back: wash the jacket in a technical cleaner such as Nikwax Tech Wash, never ordinary detergent, then reproof with a wash-in or spray-on product like Nikwax TX.Direct. Nikwax, usefully, is a British company. Warming the jacket afterwards in a cool tumble dryer or with a low iron through a cloth reactivates the finish. Do this a couple of times a year and a good jacket lasts many.
What to look for, in short
For UK campsite and trail use, buy a jacket with a hydrostatic head of 10,000mm or more (20,000mm if you carry a pack or camp in the hills), an MVTR around 10,000 to 15,000 or an RET under 13, fully taped seams, and an adjustable wired hood. A capable own-brand jacket does all of that for £60 to £150. Layer a warm mid layer under it in cold weather using our guide to thermal clothing for cold weather camping, keep your spare kit dry with a proper waterproof camping bag, and if you are counting grams for a backpacking trip, check our best lightweight camping gear for packable shell options.
Frequently asked questions
What hydrostatic head do I need for camping in the UK?
At least 10,000mm for sustained British rain, and 20,000mm if you carry a heavy pack or camp in the hills, because rucksack straps and kneeling concentrate pressure and force water through low-rated fabric. Anything under 5,000mm is only good for a light shower.
Is a higher waterproof rating always better?
Not on its own. A 28,000mm jacket that does not breathe will leave you soaked in sweat, which feels the same as leaking. Match the waterproof rating to a breathability figure suited to how hard you will work, an MVTR around 10,000 to 15,000 for general walking.
Is Gore-Tex worth the money for camping?
For most campers, no. A good own-brand jacket from Rab, Berghaus, Montane, Regatta or Decathlon at 10,000mm to 20,000mm keeps you just as dry for a fraction of the price. Gore-Tex buys durability and long-term breathability, which matters more for daily mountain use than the odd wet weekend.
Why does my waterproof jacket leak when it is old?
It usually is not leaking. The DWR finish on the outer fabric has worn off, so the face fabric soaks up water and stops breathing, and your trapped sweat feels like a leak. Wash it in a technical cleaner and reproof it with a product like Nikwax TX.Direct to fix it.
What does RET mean on a jacket label?
RET is resistance to evaporative heat loss, a breathability measure where lower is better. Under 6 is excellent, 6 to 13 is good for active use, 13 to 20 is acceptable for general wear, and above 20 is poor. It is the inverse of MVTR, where higher is better.
How often should I reproof a waterproof jacket?
Roughly once or twice a year with regular use, or whenever the outer fabric stops beading and starts looking wet through. DWR is a consumable that fades with washing and wear, and reproofing costs a few pounds against replacing the whole jacket.
The short version
Read two numbers and ignore the marketing. Hydrostatic head of 10,000mm or more keeps British rain out, 20,000mm handles the hills and a heavy pack, and a breathability of 10,000 to 15,000 MVTR (or RET under 13) stops you steaming inside. Add fully taped seams, a wired adjustable hood, and a reproof twice a year, and a £100 jacket will outperform a neglected £300 one.
Sorted on the jacket? Work through the rest of your kit with the complete UK camping gear guide, then find your pitch across our UK campsite listings.
Waterproof and breathability guidance verified against Alpkit's technical explainer on how waterproof jackets work and Advnture's guide to breathability ratings.
