There are several products on the market, and this is one of the last details I'm trying to decide on on the home I'm building (breaking ground next Spring).

I have specified to the builders (for bidding) Tyvek Drainscreen (capillary action) wrap over OSB sheathing.  But I am still chewing on possibly nixing that part of the spec, using regular Tyvek wrap and plastic air gap strips.

There are several on the market.  I'd like to poll anyone who has any experience or comparisons with any of them.

Copied and pasted from another site, below is a summary from a little research

At least six manufacturers sell plastic air gap strips:

• BattensPlus manufactures BattenUp furring strips. These pieces of polypropylene strapping measure 1 1/2 inch wide by 1/2 inch thick by 48 inches long. (more for roofs, not sure I like the dimensions of this product)
  
• Drain-Plane sells polyethylene furring strips.
• El Dorado makes plastic battens that measure 1 5/8 inch wide by 3/8 inch deep by 8 feet long.
• VaproShield makes a plastic batten called VaproBatten.
• Cor-a-Vent makes plastic furring strips called Sturdi-Strips.
• DCI Products makes plastic furring strips called CedarVent strips.

Coroplast battens, BattenUp battens, El Dorado battens, Sturdi-Strip battens, and CedarVent strips all have channels that allow water to drain right through the products, even when installed horizontally. VaproBattens aren’t designed for horizontal installation, and won’t drain that way.

I know several of you are advocates of either furring strips or 1/4-inch-thick fanfold insulation (cut on a table saw).  If I use any type of strip, I think I'd like to use a plastic product that won't rot.  I also like that most of these products are semi hollow or grooved so that water can also channel down the strip too.  And most are much wider than fur strips (typically appx 3"?), so the wavy effect of the finished installation look of the cement fiber is somewhat mitigated (a few of the builders have warned me about this when installing horizontal cement fiber over fur strips).

I'm trying to keep the strips in the 1/4"-3/8" thickness range and would like to avoid anything over 3/8"

I'm unsure how much any of these products cost or if they are cost effective.  There's not much to them (can't cost too much?) and they are light, so shipping should not be a cost factor.  As with any of these products, installation labor can be a big factor.  I've met some resistance from the builders I've been talking to about extra added installation time and those associated costs (unlike drains screen which takes virtually no extra time time to install than a standard WSB)

So if anyone has any experience with any of these products, I'd like to hear about it.

house details:

Trinidad, Nothern CA

40-60 inches of rain a year

2 x 6 wall, OSB sheathing; I plan on air sealing with a DIY spray, on the interior of the outside walls before insulation.

Window sills will use Tyvek FlexWrap

Tyvek StraightFlash around window header and sides of the window flange

I haven't used any of the plastic material, so can't comment on those. I do think, though, that wood,installed over the tyvek Drainwrap would work fine and will not rot. I think rot is unlikely simply because the wood will be able to drain along the grain, and therefore will remain dry on all sides. Except where it is in contact with the siding, wood strapping will have air movement on four sides and will not hold water.

I suspect that all of them would work, although some say that drainwrap needs two layers to work well. Note that when it comes to attaching things with fasteners, friction is beneficial in distributing the force. Ie, screw or nail something to a slippery, rigid plastic and strain will be more concentrated at the nail/screw (than say wood which is rougher).

Hi there, Just wondering if you built that house you were planning to build and what weather barrier and drain plane option you chose. It appears Drain Plane company is no longer in business- I'm considering the vaprobatten for a project in Texas. We do a lot of work in CA though and are interested in using these but most of the contractors we send details with these in sort of shrug and say why not use a 1x4. In any case- would love to hear how this worked for you or if you defaulted back to wood. Thanks, L. Steele