I just purchased both the Golite Tumalo (2.5 layer Pertex Shield Version as reviwed on BPL) and the Golite Kenai Jacket (Pertex Shield).
I only have a few minutes but heres a quick comparison of the differences that I can see between the jackets (sorry no photos or weights as I'm in the airport headed to work for the summer).
The Kenai seems to have addressed the 3 main flaws that I have seen highlighted on BPL forums regarding the Tumalo –
1) The wrists on the Kenai close with velcro as opposed to the Tumalo's elastic wrists (I weak point in my opinion as they do not close tightly).
2) While the two jackets use the same Pertex Shield membrane, the face fabrics are different. The Tumalo has a much softer feeling face fabric that seems likely to take on a lot of weight once the DWR fails. The Kenai has a much more plasticized feel and uses a 15 denier ripstop that while it doesnt have as nice of a feel looks like it will retain much less water.
3) The hood on the kenai uses microlocks on the main cinch, has a tensioner at the back of the head and has a small strap to allow the hood to be secured in a rolled up position while the Tumalo has none of these features (it has foam pads to secure the main cinch around the hood which I have never found to work well on other jackets).
The Kenai uses a double zipper on the pit zips for some reason which seems unneccessary while the tumalo has a single zipper.
With regard to fit both seem to be cut exactly the same. An XL in both fits loose enough through the body to accomodate a medium weight down puffy. A large patagonia houdini fits me perfectly with room for a light jacket (think Montbell Thermawrap) with little room to spare. I would buy a Large in the golites if I didnt want to have room for a thicker winter puffy. I am broad shouldered 6'2" and 195lbs. 46'' chest.
The Kenai seems to be a better jacket IMO.
Hope this helps anyone looking at taking advantage of golites sales.
Unfortunately I am out of internet contact (or maybe fortunately?) for the next 2 months so I wont be able to answer any questions regarding the jackets. Enjoy your summer!
Brendan
