Each time I slip on a rain jacket, I give thanks that we now not need to wrap ourselves in thick, smelly sealskin to remain dry. One of the best rain jackets at this time are extra comfy and watertight than ever, due to advances in weatherproof textiles and attire design. However relying on the local weather and your degree of exercise, sorting by way of completely different kinds, applied sciences, and waterproof rankings will be complicated.
Yearly, I take a look at a dozen or so rain jackets by way of the soggy Pacific Northwest winter and false spring. I hike, bike, run, and stroll my canines—generally I even stand within the bathe with my garments on when the climate isn’t cooperating. I additionally received recommendation from Amber Williams, a shopper science educator and lecturer in textile science and sample making at Utah State College’s Out of doors Product Design program. All to search out the rain jackets value your money and time.
Do not forget to take a look at the remainder of our out of doors protection, together with the Greatest Umbrellas, Greatest Puffer Jackets, Greatest Operating Shorts, and Greatest Merino Wool Garments.
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Up to date April 2025: We added the Gorewear Concurve Windbreaker, the MEC x Aquanator, the Montbell Versalite, the Rab Cinder Phantom, and the 66 North Snaefell rain jacket.
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Understanding Rain Jacket Tech
Greatest Rain Jacket for On a regular basis Use
For the reason that Nineteen Sixties, fashionable rainwear has relied on carcinogenic perfluorocarbons (PFCs), or “forever chemicals.” Fashionable sturdy water repellents (DWRs) use PFCs in manufacturing, which then migrate out of your clothes into soil and streams as you tromp round exterior. Right this moment, many firms are making steps to cut back the degrees of PFAS of their merchandise, in all probability as a result of states are banning these sorts of chemical substances. In 2023, in style out of doors retailer REI introduced it might section out any merchandise with PFAS in its shops.
If you wish to be useless sure that your jacket doesn’t have PFAS, you possibly can’t go fallacious with a basic rubber raincoat, like Stutterheim’s Stockholm raincoat. Technical rain jacket producers are inclined to draw back from polyurethane, as a result of it is, nicely, rubbery. However the materials is sturdy, long-lasting, windproof, waterproof, and PFC-free! I additionally favor rubber rain jackets in damp coastal climates, just like the Pacific Northwest. Breathability is much less of a sticking level when the air is already humid.
That is the one rain jacket I’ve ever purchased with my very own cash, as a result of I am so bored with having to switch my rain jacket each few years when the waterproofing wears off. I put on the Stockholm virtually daily. The outer overlaying is constituted of one hundred pc rubberized PVC with a cotton lining, so you do not squeak like a duck when sporting it.
It is true to dimension and roomy sufficient to layer a down vest below it. It has double-welded seams to maintain the water out, and the hood is massive sufficient for a baseball cap or a big beanie. I additionally just like the buttons; once I’m simply throwing on a jacket to stroll the canine, it is sooner and simpler than ensuring a seam-sealed zipper does not get caught in a storm flap. Should you additionally stay in a wet local weather and are sick of re-waterproofing your rain jacket each season, get considered one of these.
★ Alternate options: The worth of the Stockholm may make you gag. If you would like a fundamental rubber slicker, I’ve additionally had Rains’ waterproof jacket ($140) for a number of years now, which has a really comparable, Scandinavian-inspired design however at a way more affordable value. Baxter Woods ($300) can be a fairly nice rubber slicker that is rather less than the Stockholm.
Greatest Waterproof Operating Jacket
My necessities for a operating rain jacket are a lot completely different than these for an on a regular basis one. I am sweating, so I am already damp, and I do not care as a lot if the jacket is a bit more permeable. Nevertheless, I would like it to suit nicely, not chafe or rustle annoyingly, and have good air flow so I do not develop into clammy when figuring out.
Gorewear’s windbreaker is billed as essentially the most comfy operating jacket ever, and it is completely true. I have been sporting this jacket exterior for my 3- to 5-mile rain runs, and I barely even discover it is on. This magic is as a result of cloth—it is a permeable, double-weave cloth that’s DWR-treated and has a 3D cloth construction inside. Mainly, there are a billion tiny cloth tent poles that maintain it, suspended, over the floor of your pores and skin so you aren’t getting that horrible sticky feeling when your operating rain jacket begins clinging to you want plastic wrap. It does not look like this could work, but it does.
It has all the standard operating jacket necessities, like reflective particulars and elastic cuffs. There is a stowaway pocket, and it packs down extremely small, almost to the scale of a handkerchief. This can be a blessing, since you possibly can stuff it in a operating vest when it stops raining, and a curse, as a result of I maintain shedding it. (I spent about 20 minutes looking for it in my home, since I take it with me in all places.) Better of all, it is a mere $100, which is inexpensive for a high-tech rain jacket.
Different Operating Rain Jackets to Take into account
I’ve tried so many rain jackets within the operating class. Listed below are a number of that I like:
- Showers Move Cloudburst for $199: That is the most effective if you need a operating rain jacket that sheds a bit extra, er, rain. It is thicker than the Gorewear windbreaker however nonetheless extremely delicate and versatile. I put on this when the out of doors temperatures drop below 40 levels with a wool layer beneath.
- Patagonia Houdini for $109: That is the jacket that everybody usually tells you to get. Everybody has one. It is easy and packable, and the corporate switched to a PFC-free DWR. Nevertheless, it rustles, it isn’t too breathable, and I really feel like I am sporting a plastic bag.
- Tracksmith Downpour for $400: For its exorbitant value, that is essentially the most feature-rich jacket of the bunch, with a PFAS-free DWR on a three-layer jacket, a brimmed hood, and a 360-mesh panel for breathability. Like all of Tracksmith’s gear, it is extremely lovely, however the colours are darkish, and it does not have reflective particulars, which may very well be harmful when operating within the rain.
Greatest Waterproof Biking Jacket
I hate rain gear. It is heavy, cumbersome, and barely performs in true downpours, and the entire waterproof and breathable factor is a lie (you possibly can have each, simply not on the similar time). Regardless of all that, I really like the Rab Cinder Phantom and have been carrying it in all places I am going, on and off a motorbike. It solves virtually all my points with rain gear. It is extremely mild (3.3 ounces/114 grams for a medium), stuffs right down to concerning the dimension of a tennis ball, and is someway surprisingly waterproof.
The shell is 7D Pertex, which has proved to be windproof and waterproof, and when it isn’t raining, it is fairly breathable. Pair it with a grid fleece for the final word in breathable heat. At 3 ounces, there aren’t loads of bells and whistles to the Cinder Phantom. You should utilize the total entrance zip to ventilate, although it is fiddly to make use of whereas driving. There aren’t any pit zips and, sadly, no drawstring on the waist. There may be elastic, however I might like to sacrifice an oz. and have a pull string.
The one factor to know concerning the Cinder Phantom is that it’s designed for biking, which suggests it has a brief minimize with an extended again, which works nice on a motorbike however is not the most effective for mountaineering, since rain dripping off you just about lands proper in your legs. That has not stopped me from utilizing this off the bike, although. I pair it with Patagonia’s new M-10 storm pants (additionally wonderful, although much less breathable), which give me full physique protection at about 10 ounces. Do I fear that the Cinder Phantom’s skinny cloth may not stand as much as a backpack long-term? I do, however after six months, up to now so good. —Scott Gilbertson
