Windjacket Fabric Showdown

Brian, Thanks for doing this. I agree with your findings, my favorite two are the Montane Lite-speed (I don't know why, but its the one I baby the most) and the Stoic Wrath.
I purchase the Stoic becasue of the cheap price; thinking i would use it as my windshirt for my everyday exercise windshirt. It has excellent DWR (could be that it is still on the newer side). The sleeves were a little tight (still are) when I first put it on but that hasn't been a problem during use- in fact the sleeves stay put whilst moving my arms.
Of course: others mileage may vary

Thanks for the down and dirty analysis. I have been interested in the wraith because Stoic fits me well. But everyone raves about the Houdini. Sounds like the Stoic is comparable in breathability and is a lot cheaper.

Brian,

Any chance you could list out the fabrics for each jacket, like if its proprietary or a name brand like Pertex. Might be interesting to compare that info.

As long as you have all of these jackets to compare, are there any standout features or designs that you've noticed that differentiate each jacket? Having only the Houdini, I'm curious to know what I'm missing out on… or not missing out on.

I too love the Stoic Wraith!

For those looking to get it though, definitely size up if you're unsure. I like my clothes to fit trim usually but my usual size of small in the Wraith is just a bit too trim for me. The jacket is cut narrow across the shoulders so it pulls tight when crossing the arms. Also the material as ZERO stretch so sizing up will help with a lot of fit issues.

As for DWR I was disappointed with my Wraith, but I think AZ is just too harsh to expect anything great from gear. Our thunderstorm rain drops are pretty fat and hit hard. I was soaked in my Wraith by a sub-30s walk from my car to the door during the monsoon last year. A light shower or sprinkle maybe, but if your region has fat and heavy rain drops during the summer don't expect too much from it (or any other DWR on such a light fabric).

I am 6'4" 210lbs and I have had terrible luck with the stoic wraith. The fit is just goofy. The arms are very thin so they get stuck on my forearms whenever I reach up or forward and the shoulders are cut so that I can't even cross my arms in the XL. I tried sizing up to the XXL and the shoulders and arms got better, but the torso was like a circus tent. I got fed up and went with the Montbell Anorak in XL which fits great and has a better hood.

Got myself a Eddie Bauer First Ascent Sirocco and it pretty nice for $25 on sale.

Aside from fit, there weren't any standout features in any of the jackets, aside from the Montane Lite-Speed. The Montane Lite-Speed has a roll-away hood (with velcro tabs), and it's chest pocket is very large – I can fit a hat and gloves in it, which is really nice, since I usually use all 3 at around the same temperature and conditions.

I really like jackets that can stow away in their own pockets, so that's always a plus feature. But it's pretty obvious which jackets have this feature.

The Montane jackets and the Stoic Wrath have pretty good drop-tails as well, and would work well when biking.

Tighter cut jackets will fit less body shapes and sizes than looser cut jackets. But I really do appreciate a tighter cut, if it's cut to my body shape, as they flap less in the wind. I'm very athletic (31" waist), long torso, and have broad shoulders. 5'10 and 165lbs.

In terms of cuts, tightest to loosest:
Montane Slipstream GL (better have a marathon runner's body, or size up )
Stoic Wrath (tighter cut, but big enough for my broad shoulders)
North Face Verto
Mountain Hardware Ghost Whisperer
Montane Featherlite Smock
Mammut Half-Wing
Montbell Tachyon Anorak
Patagonia Houdini
Montane Lite-Speed

any info of Nikwax Windproof Fabric?

Diego, the nikwax fabric is a different class of gear. It's used for more softshell or insulated WPB garments and is much heavier than a typical windshirt. So it's not really useful to compare it to the above fabrics/garments.