The garment's waterproofing
This garment was validated in a shower test under 60 L of water/m²/hour for 2 hours. This test reproduces the average conditions of a rain shower. These top-layer pants are made with a water-repellent fabric that lets water slide over its surface without seeping in. This keeps the fabric from soaking up water, so the pants stay lightweight and breathable. Water repellency is achieved by treating the fabric’s exterior. What's more, all the seams are taped.
How to ensure your top-layer pants stay waterproof over time
To maintain waterproofing over time, the fabric's water-repellent properties must be restored regularly. We recommend doing this every three washes or after a dozen uses in the rain. The waterproof property is easily reactivated by warming the fabric: using your clothes dryer or a hair dryer, for example, over a relatively short period. If you wash the garment, it must be thoroughly rinsed.
Waterproof rating expressed in mm or Schmerber
We measure a fabric's resistance to water pressure, expressed in terms of the height of a water column in mm (based on the ISO 811 standard).
The higher the water pressure, the more waterproof the fabric. Waterproof material with a rating of 2,000 mm withstands the pressure exerted by a 2,000 mm column of water, roughly equivalent to a two-hour shower.
Component breathability
To determine a fabric’s breathability, we measure its thermal evaporative resistance coefficient (RET) based on the ISO 11092 standard. The lower the fabric's resistance, the more water vapour generated by physical activity can escape, and the higher the fabric's breathability.
- RET <9 = extremely breathable fabric
9 < RET <12 = very breathable fabric
12 < RET <20 = breathable fabric
RET >20 = little or no breathability
Our products' environmental impact
On a scale of A to E, this jacket obtained a B rating. An ABCDE rating shows the environmental impact of a product. A rating given to each product helps you easily identify the more eco-friendly products within a particular family (t-shirts, pants, backpacks).
Decathlon displays this information voluntarily to help you identify products with lower environmental impact.
Working toward more environmentally-friendly dyes
Our teams work to find innovative processes that reduce water consumption and pollution during the production process. The dope-dying (bulk dying) process uses as much as 60% less water and significantly reduces CO2 emissions. This also reduces colour fading in the garment over time. We've been using this new procedure on these top-layer pants since 2019.
How to choose waterproof rain pants based on activity and level of exertion
When you're active, you perspire to varying degrees, depending on the intensity or length of the effort. If the fabric's breathability is not suited to the type of activity/exercise, your perspiration will condense inside the garment. This makes you feel damp: this isn't rain getting through, but condensation from sweat. This means you need to choose top-layer pants suitable for your activity. This product is designed for 2-hour hikes at no more than 5 km/h.
Warranty
Our hiking top-layer pants are guaranteed for 2 years.
Our commitment? To offer you long-lasting products that you can use on all your country hikes and walks. Because the products we love the most are those that have a story behind them...and plenty of life in them yet!
