EN 343

Protection against rain

Requirements & test methods

EN 343:2019 classifies rain-protection clothing by resistance to water penetration and water-vapor resistance.

EN 20811

Measures water penetration at a pressure increase of 980 ± 50 Pa/min. Material pretreatments include cleaning, abrasion, flexing and fuel/oil exposure.

The lowest material or seam result determines the class.

Water penetration — EN 343:2019
Class	Material	Seams
1	≥ 8,000 Pa before pretreatment	≥ 8,000 Pa before pretreatment
2	≥ 8,000 Pa after each pretreatment	≥ 8,000 Pa before pretreatment
3	≥ 13,000 Pa after each pretreatment	≥ 13,000 Pa before pretreatment
4	≥ 20,000 Pa after each pretreatment	≥ 20,000 Pa after cleaning

ISO 11092

Measures water-vapor resistance Ret of the combined garment layers.

Water-vapor resistance has a separate classification.

Water-vapor classes — EN 343:2019
Class	Ret (m²·Pa/W)
1	> 40
2	> 25 to ≤ 40
3	> 15 to ≤ 25
4	≤ 15

Woven outer-shell strength

Measures tensile and tear resistance in both fabric directions.

Tensile strength ≥ 450 N; tear resistance ≥ 20 N. The tensile requirement excludes materials with elongation above 50%.

ISO 13938-1 / ISO 13938-2

Measures bursting strength of knitted outer materials.

≥ 100 kPa at 50 cm² or ≥ 200 kPa at 7.3 cm².

ISO 13935-2

Measures outer-shell seam strength.

Seam strength ≥ 200 N.

EN 14360

Optional rain-tower test on a manikin wearing the assembled garment.

Underlying tricot wet area: 0 cm². Maximum wicking: 5 cm at sleeves/lower hems, 10 cm at trouser hems and 4 cm at hood hems.

Where the standard is used

Oil & Gas

Outdoor work in rain and wet conditions.

Explore industry

Electrical

Rain protection for outdoor utility tasks.

Explore industry

Related protective fabrics

Arc flash + wind + rain

MARKO® SSH

PFAS-free tri-laminate protection for changing outdoor conditions.

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Flame resistance test on a protective fabric

Need help choosing the right standard and protective fabric?

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