help choosing a light waterproof summer jacket

Perhaps buy a DriDucks jacket until you can find what you want?

I place more stock in durability for my rain shell. but I like my Arctyrex Alpha sv…

I dont know what your definition of durable is but the Mica and essence In my opinion are not durable nor do they have the feature you wanted. I think the paty is the closet, out of what you presented, to you criteria.

I think those are laminates right???? not sure. But I know that durability of laminates when used with a pack over long periods of time has been brought into question.

If you liked the Mica, you will probably like the Essence. Very similar jackets.

My Marmot Super Mica tore along the shoulder seam in the middle of a deep-winter camping trip. It was my hiking wind shell.

I replaced it with a Patagonia Super Cell, worked great.

Remember the OP is looking for a lightweight summer jacket. My Essence is a couple years old and has been on backpacking trips, urban use, and packed on many business trips. Still in good shape.

I use a Mica. Lightweight, packs small but eventually wets through. During a deluge it can wet through quickly. I'm surprised so many like it. I carry it for daily bike commutes when cycling for 10 miles one can survive a 'wet-through'. I take it on summer bike tours and summer backpacking when hypothermia is not a real threat. Other seasons I get a beefier jacket.

thanks everyone
at the end I foudn the Torrentshell at 98euro, and bought it.
But the day after I saw the SuperCell (Patagonia) and The North Face Leonidas: the latter blew my mind, superlight and stretchy, and not as clammy as Torrentshell

The only problem is that they are both around 100 euro more than the Torrentshell, thus I think I will stick with it…

do you guys have any direct experience with TNF Leonidas jacket? i read some reviews not so great to say the least

Such a variety of jacket options. My OR Helium lasted, I thought, surprisingly well on a thru-hike in 2011. Fabric is still in fine shape; it's a good idea to reapply the DWR after a lot of use if you want to retain a decent percentage of "waterproofness". If you're talking hydrostatic head details, I'm sure there are better choices, but it served me as well as I think much else would have in wind driven rain and snow, hailstorms, etc.

However, the zipper got wonky after my trip was over. I worked on the zipper, just could never get it to close reliably again. I finally contacted them yesterday and they (Outdoor Research) are replacing this "retails for $150" jacket for free under what they called something like their "infinity guarantee" program. I just clean and ship the jacket to them, which I'll do today, and they're sending me a brand new OR Helium II for free — I just pay for shipping my old jacket back to them. The only possible downside is that the color choices available just now don't include the ones I would prefer. Oh well! (function over fashion)

So, while I wish they sold these with somewhat more durable zippers, I did hike for months in this and on a tough trail. It's lighter than the other options I think that have been mentioned on this thread, and packs very small.

Just use the zipper with care.

Zipper Drift –

Replacements are the best way to go. But…

Often the zipper slider becomes worn internally from abrasion, with the "tunnel height" becoming to high to do its job.

If you want to attempt a quick fix try squeezing the slider with a pair of plyers. This fix is much more applicable to a large zipper like on a sleeping bag than on the "micro" on the Helium.

….end drift