After my soaking on Tuesday, I was considering the purchase of a new lightweight. waterproof jacket. After a bit of research, I decided on a little number from Decathlon.

According to Decathlon’s website the jacket is a  …

Waterproof jacket for running in rainy, windy and cold weather over every distance (training or competition). Meets the requirements of the major trail runs.

Lightweight, waterproof to 10,000 Schmerbers thanks to the material and fully taped seams and easy to store at the bottom of a bag. Compliant with the waterproofing standards for ultra-trail runs.

If you’re wondering what Schmerbers are, so was I. Again, from Decathlon’s website …

This test measures the resistance of a fabric to water pressure.

The results of the test are expressed in mm of a water column or mm Schmerber (the name of the textile manufacturer Charles Edouard Schmerber who created this measuring tool).

1 Schmerber = 1 mm water column = 0.1 mbar .
Average rain pressure is in the range of 1000 to 2000 Schmerber.

It is therefore considered that a garment which resists the pressure of a 1.3-metre water column (i.e. 1300 mm) is waterproof (according to the standard ISO 811). But beware, a jacket designed with a waterproof fabric to the level of 2000mm Schmerber will protect you from the rain, but maybe not a downpour or a long storm.

Indeed, the higher the Schmerber rating, the more waterproof the material.

So, hopefully, my new jacket with a rating of 10,000 should be quite waterproof. 

Anyways, I ordered one on Wednesday and it arrived this afternoon (Thursday). 

It had been raining most of the day so I thought that I could give it a bit of a test drive this evening. I put on my wet weather gear which includes leggings for the bottom half (quick drying). On the top was a technical tee and the new jacket. I also dug out my old Raidlight pack.

All prepared I headed out of the front door into … a light drizzle. Hoping that the rain would intensify I headed out through Water Orton to Coleshill parkway. Nothing exciting and at Parkway, I did a little loop and headed back.

I walked through Water Orton a slightly different way before climbing (just) up Attleboro Lane passing the bright lights of HS2’s tunnelling works.

I arrived home after just shy of six miles. As it hadn’t really rained too much,  I can’t really comment on how waterproof the jacket is but I didn’t get wet from the drizzle. Luckily, the jacket folds up quite small and will slip into my pack – just in case.

With today’s six miles, my weekly total now stands at 29.47 miles. 

Tomorrow is a rest day, then a long walk on Saturday (perhaps including a parkrun) and a medium length (ten miles) on Sunday to round off the week.