Rain Jacket

[uintafly]

After 7 years of use my Mountain Hardware rainjacket is pretty much toast, and it's time to get a new one. What type of rain protection for backpacking do people use on here?

 

[Waynee-ack]

After 7 years of use my Mountain Hardware rainjacket is pretty much toast, and it's time to get a new one. What type of rain protection for backpacking do people use on here?

I am also in the market for a new rain jacket. I can't decide between a lightweight nylon or a Gore-tex jacket.

 

[FourisTheNewOne]

I love my Marmot Mica - it's reight between light-heavyweight. not as packable as I like, but a BEAR in the rain.

 

[DOSS]

I recently replaced my old Mt Hardwear jacket with another one from Mt Hardwear. http://www.backcountry.com/mountain-hardwear-cohesion-stretch-jacket-mens Packs pretty small.. good venting seems thin but has held up well, about a 1/4 the weight of my old jacket

 

[IntrepidXJ]

I actually just picked up a Marmot Precip last week. I've used it once already, and it seemed to do the job, but I need to give it more thorough testing before really recommending it. It does come in tall, which fits me great. That's what steered me that direction originally.

 

[Aldaron]

I finally decided I hated the condensation of a laminate jacket and bought this REI eVent. Don't think I'm made of money, though...I got it on sale and used my dividend money to get it. I wore it this week climbing up Jackass Pass in the Winds in a rain storm and there wasn't a drop of condensation on the inside.

I'm happy.

 

[Yvonne]

I actually just picked up a Marmot Precip last week.

I have the same one, but so far I couldn't use it due to the lack of rain here in Western New York.
I got mine on sale a few weeks back and it packs much smaller than my old one. And I can't wait to test it in a real soaking rain hopefully soon.

 

[uintafly]

I recently replaced my old Mt Hardwear jacket with another one from Mt Hardwear. http://www.backcountry.com/mountain-hardwear-cohesion-stretch-jacket-mens Packs pretty small.. good venting seems thin but has held up well, about a 1/4 the weight of my old jacket

This was on sale for 50% off adn got good reviews, so I went ahead and picked it up. Free 2day shipping as well.

 

[gnwatts]

I have worn Arcteryx 3 ply goretex shells for the past decade or so. Expensive, but I have only had to buy 2 of them.
Greg

 

[Dan]

rain jackets are tough because you can't have everything in one jacket. do you want lightweight? highly breathable? there is no one jacket that hits the sweetspot on everything.

for backpacking - it's hard to get a jacket that breathes well enough when you are actually hiking. it's damn near impossible. most will agree that eVent is the best fabric, but it is expensive, and Gore has done a good job forcing manufactures to not use it, or risk losing their Gore licenses. So it's hard to find.

the three layer gore tex jackets do well too, but they are heavy. paclite is a decent option, not the lightest, but a decent value can be found sometimes.

then you have all the proprietary laminate fabrics, like TNF's hyvent. it's easy to find a nice value in jackets in these fabrics, but they don't tend to breathe as well. but they are light, and less expensive.

i personally either use a driducks jacket (super cheap, super light, very fragile) for low chance of rain, or currently a TNF hyvent jacket that weighs 10 oz, but is full featured, with pit zips and pockets and cost 65 bucks. You can find WPB jackets as light as 7 ounces, but they will start to reduce features at that weight. it all depends on your price/features list that you need to hit.

i have more specific recommendations if you know what features and what your price point are.

 

[Deadeye008]

I have two rain jackets that I use. I bought a Colombia Carabiner Moutain Parka a few years back. It has a waterproof breathable shell and a 550 down removable liner that can be worn on it's own. I really like it. It has held up well in the three years that I've use it and I have never gotten wet in it. I believe it's 10k waterproof, I recently bought a Woolrich rain jacket and like it also. I used it on my last trip to the Winds and stayed dry. Both are very packable and come in at 9oz and 10oz respectively. I only picked up the Woolrich jacket because I got it for around $20 from STP. You can find some great deals from them when using a coupon. Backcountrypost also gets a kickback from them

 

[Nick]

I have a Mountain Hardware goretex paclite shell I like quite a bit. It's definitely the lightest yet most robust shell I've had yet. But with that said, I don't pack it unless I think it's going to be really bad. Lately I've just been packing my GoLite Poncho. It weighs very little and can completely cover me and my pack down to below my knees.

 

[Nurrgle]

I love my Golite: http://www.golite.com/Ms-Kenai-Pertex-25-Layer-Hardshell-P722.aspx

Also noticed this sucker is only $69. I paid $200 and would pay that again in a hart beat. Actually I just noticed everything on the site is on a huge sale! They are opening a new outlet store in Boulder so maybe that has something to do with it.

 

[Mast3rShake]

I am looking for some rain gear too and I noticed no one mentioned a Patagonia, any reason why?

What do you folks think between these two:

http://www.backcountry.com/patagonia-torrentshell-jacket-mens or patagonia houdini

or as someone mentioned above http://www.golite.com/Ms-Kenai-Pertex-25-Layer-Hardshell-P722.aspx (unfortunately they have only smalls left, and even at 5'5" 150lbs I think that is too small)

I think I have a pretty high metabolism and am usually hot, so breathability is important to me. Any help and more suggestions would be great.

 

[Nick]

I am looking for some rain gear too and I noticed no one mentioned a Patagonia, any reason why?

...

I think I have a pretty high metabolism and am usually hot, so breathability is important to me. Any help and more suggestions would be great.

Welcome to backcountrypost, Mast3rShake!

I've never really owned any Patagonia stuff other than my Patagonia Down Sweater. Most of the time they just don't carry anything in my size or it's crazy expensive.

As for the GoLite jacket, I've been really impressed with their stuff I've used and seen so far. That looks like a sweet coat. I run really hot too and I've mostly just used the GoLite Poncho Tarp on all of my backpacking trips this year. Easy to take on and off without removing the backpack so you don't have to wear it unless you really need it. Protects down past the knees and weighs 7 oz. Not too shabby.

 

[Dan]

i use the houdini constantly, probably my favorite piece of hiking gear. but it is daaamn expensive. super breathable, but it is not a rainshell, it is a windshirt.

however, the torrentshell is pretty well regarded, as is the kenai. if you are hiking in rain though, it's hard to stay dry no matter what shell you have on. i seem to sweat in anything. there is no silver bullet, i'm afraid.

 

[Jimmy Olsen]

I have the REI Kimtah jacket. It has stood up real well to rain. It doesn't have pit zips but I've stayed fairly dry underneath. Probably due to the EVent fabric. Got it with a 20% coupon, too.