Each time I slip on a rain jacket, I give thanks that we now not must wrap ourselves in thick, smelly sealskin to remain dry. The most effective rain jackets immediately are extra comfy and watertight than ever, because of 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 check a dozen or so rain jackets by way of the soggy Pacific Northwest winter and false spring. I hike, bike, run, and stroll my canine—typically I even stand within the bathe with my garments on when the climate isn’t cooperating. I additionally acquired recommendation from Amber Williams, a client science educator and lecturer in textile science and sample making at Utah State College’s Outside Product Design program. All to search out the rain jackets price your money and time.
Remember to take a look at the remainder of our out of doors protection, together with the Best Umbrellas, Best Puffer Jackets, Best Running Shorts, and Best Merino Wool Clothes.
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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
{Photograph}: REI; Getty Photos
Making an attempt to decipher jackets’ product specs is nearly as annoying as getting soaked by a sudden cloudburst on the path.
Search for laminated layers: Most technical waterproof jackets are known as two- or three-layer jackets. These layers normally encompass a face cloth that has been handled with a waterproofing agent like sturdy water repellent, which is a skinny mesh for releasing water vapor, plus a protecting inside lining beneath. Basically, for larger sturdiness you’ll wish to search for layers which were laminated collectively, somewhat than merely coated with a waterproofing agent. That’s the recommendation of Amber Williams, the buyer science educator and lecturer from Utah State College.
Waterproof and breathability rankings: Producers normally charge every cloth based mostly on its waterproofing and breathability. For instance, a rain jacket with a water-proof ranking of 20,000 signifies that in the event you had an endlessly lengthy 1-inch sq. tube, you might pour 20,000 millimeters of water on high of the material earlier than it might begin seeping by way of (that is over 65 ft!). A 20,000 breathability ranking signifies that 20,000 grams of water vapor can cross by way of the material going the opposite course. Whereas the upper breathability ranking might sound higher, you may wish to assume twice in the event you’ll be out within the chilly. Physique warmth can escape a breathable jacket nearly as simply as water vapor.
Verify the seams and zippers: If you’d like your rain jacket to last more than an amusement park poncho, take a look at the seams. Shoulders are significantly weak factors, as most out of doors sports activities require you to put on a backpack that may rub and injury them. “Design traces look actually attractive, however over time, they’re not going to final as lengthy,” Williams says. Different options to search for embody plasticized, water resistant zippers and protecting zipper flaps. That’s why our rain jacket picks are so costly—plenty of new cloth tech and plenty of design particulars.
Care in your jacket: You may vastly prolong the lifetime of your objects by correctly caring for them. Cling your jacket—don’t retailer it crammed in an abrasive, tiny stuff sack. When you see stains from grease, grime, or sunscreen, or discover that water is now not beading on the floor, you’ll want to clean it. Observe the producer’s directions. You might want a specialised detergent—many cloth detergents will go away residues that may intrude with the sturdy water repellent’s (DWR) efficiency. Keep away from cloth softener, bleaches, dry cleansing, and the dryer.
Finest Rain Jacket for On a regular basis Use
Because the Sixties, trendy rainwear has relied on carcinogenic perfluorocarbons (PFCs), or “perpetually chemical substances.” 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. As we speak, many firms are making steps to cut back the degrees of PFAS of their merchandise, most likely as a result of states are banning these kinds of chemicals. In 2023, fashionable out of doors retailer REI introduced it might phase out any products with PFAS in its shops.
If you wish to be lifeless sure that your jacket doesn’t have PFAS, you’ll be able to’t go fallacious with a basic rubber raincoat, like Stutterheim’s Stockholm raincoat. Technical rain jacket producers are likely to draw back from polyurethane, as a result of it is, effectively, rubbery. However the materials is sturdy, long-lasting, windproof, waterproof, and PFC-free! I additionally desire 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 uninterested in having to exchange my rain jacket each few years when the waterproofing wears off. I put on the Stockholm nearly on daily basis. The outer protecting is comprised 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 measurement and roomy sufficient to layer a down vest beneath 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. When you additionally dwell in a wet local weather and are sick of re-waterproofing your rain jacket each season, get one in all these.
★ Options: The value of the Stockholm may make you gag. If you’d like a primary 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 cheap worth. Baxter Woods ($300) can also be a fairly nice rubber slicker that is rather less than the Stockholm.
Finest Waterproof Operating Jacket
My necessities for a working 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 need it to suit effectively, not chafe or rustle annoyingly, and have good air flow so I do not turn into clammy when figuring out.
Gorewear’s windbreaker is billed as essentially the most comfy working 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. Principally, 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 working 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 working jacket necessities, like reflective particulars and elastic cuffs. There is a stowaway pocket, and it packs down extremely small, practically to the scale of a handkerchief. It is a blessing, since you’ll be able to stuff it in a running vest when it stops raining, and a curse, as a result of I hold dropping it. (I spent about 20 minutes looking for it in my home, since I take it with me all over the place.) Better of all, it is a mere $100, which is inexpensive for a high-tech rain jacket.
Different Operating Rain Jackets to Think about
I’ve tried so many rain jackets within the working class. Listed below are a couple of that I like:
- Showers Pass Cloudburst for $199: That is the very best if you would like a working rain jacket that sheds a bit extra, er, rain. It is thicker than the Gorewear windbreaker however nonetheless extremely mushy and versatile. I put on this when the out of doors temperatures drop beneath 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 is not too breathable, and I really feel like I am sporting a plastic bag.
- Tracksmith Downpour for $400: For its exorbitant worth, 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 working within the rain.
Finest 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’ll be able to have each, simply not on the similar time). Regardless of all that, I like the Rab Cinder Phantom and have been carrying it all over the place I am going, on and off a motorcycle. It solves nearly all my points with rain gear. It is extremely gentle (3.3 ounces/114 grams for a medium), stuffs all the way down to concerning the measurement of a tennis ball, and is one way or the other surprisingly waterproof.
The shell is 7D Pertex, which has proved to be windproof and waterproof, and when it is not raining, it is fairly breathable. Pair it with a grid fleece for the last word in breathable heat. At 3 ounces, there aren’t plenty of bells and whistles to the Cinder Phantom. You should use the total entrance zip to ventilate, although it is fiddly to make use of whereas using. There aren’t any pit zips and, sadly, no drawstring on the waist. There may be elastic, however I’d 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 reduce with an extended again, which works nice on a motorcycle however is not the very best 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 superb, 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, to date so good. —Scott Gilbertson
