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They both are waterproof but what are the differences and is one better?

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I can't speak to all products, but I believe that one reason we saw a proliferation of "water-proof breathable" fabrics hit the market a few years back was because Gore's exclusive patent ran out on Gore-Tex(TM), allowing the same exact membrane to be manufactured by other companies under other names. – LBell Jan 27 '12 at 1:33

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Gore-Tex is a family of products and even DryQ isn’t a single fabric. Probably a better comparison would be between Gore-Tex Active Shell and DryQ. Both are a new generation of waterproof fabrics that has only recently come to the market. Both are supposed to be much more breathable than older membranes like Paclite, eVent, Gelanots and others.

I would venture to say that the comparison would be quite similar to the previous generation of waterproof fabrics – it does not matter much which fabric you choose, as long as it’s a high-quality one. Personally I would choose either one, and care much more about the item’s fit, manufacturing quality, design etc.

I could be wrong and it might be that one of the new generation of fabrics comes out as a clear winner, but I doubt the real-world difference will be significant.

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Do you have any numbers or stats on each of them? – Ross Feb 19 '12 at 3:56
@Ross, sorry, no numbers. But I’m not sure if the numbers are going to play a substantial role, even after they are available. I have read and thought about various breathability and water resistance ratings for the older membranes and still can’t really imagine a practical difference between a 20/25 kg/m²/day jacket or between a 10k/20k mm jacket. – zoul Feb 28 '12 at 9:01

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