Rain Jacket bliss - ID thru hiker

The Integral Design thru-hiker jacket is my new shell of choice. I purchased it to save about 600 grams over my winter alpine shell, a MacPac Prophet.

After researching into the latest fabric advances and never being completely happy with the 'breathability' of Gore-tex XCR I decided to try out eVENT. The goals for the new jacket were:

1. Lighter weight
2. Greater breathability
3. Less pack spack

So the thru-hiker was chosen as one of the most likely candidates. I still had some questions that only using the rain jacket in the field would answer.

1. Would it be tough enough for off trail use (bush bashing)?
2. Would I miss the features of an alpine jacket (pit zips, better hood etc)?
3. Would the front zip without storm enclosure keep rain out?
4. Would it perform well enough for long extended rain on long remote trips where getting wet is a serious risk?

Use on track

I've used the jacket on about 4 trips so far. These have including a 3 day walk with constant rain and a bit of scrubby off track use as well as a remote 9 day walk in South Western Tasmania where it really can rain. I've been know to sweat as well as most guys when walking up a hill and the eVENT really does work well. They say eVENT breathes better than cotton, an outrageous claim that just may be true. Some say that eVENT on ultralight weight fabrics could be less wind proof than a heavy Gore-Tex.

I've been extremely happy with the jacket and would highly recommend it to others

The two things I'd change about the jacket:

1. It's too short. Another 5-10cm would be nice
2. The cuffs don't go tight enough for me