Shell-Rain Jacket UL/SUL recommendations

Last year I made it through the entire hiking season just carrying a very lightweight NF waterproof jacket that didn't breathe at all and would probably soak through in several hours of rain. Then I accidentally ripped a hole in one arm on a trip this spring and so couldn't bring it into the Sierras last week. Instead,I was "forced" to bring a heavier Rab Demand. The forecast was for a warming trend and 0% chance of rain over ten days. NOAA and Weather channel agreed. It started raining very hard on the morning of my fifth day. Temps were cold. It was sleeting hard over Vogelsang Pass. I didn't have rain pants. The Rab probably kept me from becoming hypothermic. I ended up hiking all the way out but the heavy rain at elevation continued through the night and the next day. So now my experiment with carrying a super light shell that won't perform that well in serious weather is over. It's back to a solid shell for sure.

p.s. the Schnozzle worked perfectly as a pack liner! Good as advertised.

Just got my Helium II in the mail. I got an XL, usually wear a large but the XL IS A pretty good fit. I'm 6 foot, 195lbs, 44" chest. I think the large may have been a little small, especially in the sleeves, the XL is prefect length. I think the large sleeve length would have been short. The elastic cuffs are a little loose but I don't ill be doing any climbing or jumping jacks in the rain.

I usually wear a large in Patagonia and most other brands except RAB. The couple RAB garments I have had were very binding in the shoulders.

I'll give it a good test here in about a week when I fly up to Idaho for a week in the Sawtooths!

I'm seriously considering Luke's Silnylon Rain Shell

http://lukesultralite.com/content/silnylon-rain-shell

Have spent the last couple days trying to find something better, but it seems as good or better & Luke is willing to make a few alterations for me.

Thanks for all the help. Either way, I'm going to have a nice new keep me dry rain jacket aboard soon!

"The westcomb LT hoody got the "above average" rating and seemed to be WR's pick, though there were a number of contenders that fared well."

The Westcomb received the lowest score of the bunch – all the others were "recommended".