What jacket to buy?

[marcelo mora]

I want a jacket that is light and waterproof.. Any Ideas? I live in Cali and mainly stick to the western side. coldest weather i'll be camping in this jacket will be spring and fall. Also I'll be using this jacket for JMT during spring fall and summer times, also possibly the Grand Canyon. For starters, last jacket I was looking at was the Helium 2 by OR. Is this is any good for what I'm looking for?

[Nathan Watts]

Zpacks WPB Cuben rain jacket with put zips. Won't get much lighter than this.

Edit: I've also owned a salomon minim WPB jacket that fits your needs, but was much less expensive than the zpacks. Weighed around 6oz or less for a medium.

And If you want some breathability in your jacket I'd recommend gore active shell fabric. Not as light as the above two, but close.

[Ryan Smith]

The OR Helium 2 fits the bill for light weight, however it can wet out in prolonged rain. You didn't mention your budget, but the Zpacks jacket is about the lightest thing going. Also, check out the MH Superlight plasmic(7.7oz in Med) and the Montbell Torrent Flier(8.6oz in Med w/ pit zips). Both are very light, not extremely expensive, and should be sufficiently waterproof.

Ryan

[michael levi]

I keep going back to my windshirt and 1.5oz plastic poncho combination. Versitale, cheap, and light.

[Eric Blumensaadt]

Although it weighs 15 oz. my REI Kimtah eVent parka always goes along on my backpacking trips, even into southern Utah's Grand Escalante.

It breathes very well and has a lot of nice features AND, at an REI 20% off sale, has a good price – the best for eVent parkas.

[marcelo mora]

Thanks everyone for the feed back. My price range is around 200. I also must add that I'm a skinny guy so I get cold pretty easy.. But I guess that's where my mid layer comes in.. Shoot I need a nice fleece too while I'm at it.

[Matt Weaver]

Luke's ultralite has some good options.

[Dale Wambaugh]

A rain shell or windshirt will block wind and hep retain heat in the layers you have below, but won't have any insulation value past the wind blocking. There isn't going to be much difference in warmth between one brand of rain jacket or another. They will vary in breathability, water resistance, durability and feature sets, like hood construction, pit zips, etc.

What you are wearing under is the layering you can vary to suit your level of activity and conditions. That's where you get to choose from a wide range of wicking base layers, fleecy mid layers, and synthetic or down lofted layers.

I use a base layer, R1/Power Dry, windshirt, synthetic fill vest or jacket and poncho or rain shell as my 3-season layering system. I take a fleece beanie and light gloves as well. On the bottom side, I wear zip-off nylon pants or light soft shell pants, with silk weight longjohns and rain pants for colder/wetter weather.

Always view your clothing choices as an integrated system rather than a loose arrangement of favorites. That will give you the lightest weight and the greatest versatility.

[James holden]

get the one that meets yr need with the best warranty

the UL 2.5 layer jackets are known to delaminate and die, sometimes with minimal use

i own and use an OR helium

;)

[marcelo mora]

So I made a decision and I ordered the Mont Bell Torrent Flier Jacket for 157.00 on Backcountry. I Looked up there warranty and customer service reviews from BPL and it seems like a good choice and price. All I can hope for now is that I like it when it gets here :D Bonus is that it looks good and matches my backpack and it's the lightest Gore-tex item to my liking and price range. I was thinking of getting the OR helium a try but I noticed people saying it's not the best for prolonged rain. Once again Thanks everyone for helping me make a choice, especially Ryan Smith for introducing me to this Jacket.

[michael levi]

You could have spent $30 more and got the brand new Mountain Hardwear Plasmic superlight. Its event 2.5 and breathes significantly better than goretex. Its also 7.2 ounces. Doesnt have pit zips but has two huge hand pockets that open up the enite length of the front panels. I'm not saying you made a bad choice, but I probably would have went with something newer, and more breathable.

[Steve K]

In all fairness, the durability of eVent DVL isn't spectacular (I've seen jackets whose membranes were damaged by getting caught in a zipper) so going with the Plasmic isn't necessarily a no-brainer. Then again we rarely expect durability from most 2.5L jackets anyway.

[marcelo mora]

I checked out that MH Super Light Plasmic Jacket, and I can see how it is a better jacket in terms of weight, I don't think the breathability will be an issue especially with the pit zips. The reason why I went with my option was because I found it for even cheaper and I love the way it looks!! At 135.00 $ And I still believe this jacket will get the job done. If it doesn't I'll simply return it and cough up the extra cash to get something better.

[Ryan Smith]

Sweet. I think you will like the Montbell jacket. The Paclite membrane is very durable & waterproof in my experience. I literally had that jacket in the cart & ready to buy, but found a MHW Super Light Plasmic for $119 so I ended up going that way.

Ryan

[marcelo mora]

Where did you find that deal at Ryan? If you don't mind me asking…

[Eric Blumensaadt]

I have Cabela's PacLite GTX suit (Rainy River parka & pants). Their price is very reasonable and Cabela's garantee is like REI's (former)garantee.

P.S. But now I also have REI's Kimtah eVent suit which breathes much better for the same weight but, natch, more money.

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