Which Marmot Jacket would you buy? Minimalist?

It's the JMT in the summer. You are very unlikely to need it for rain protection, so you might as well save room for more important cargo. Just my $0.02. Others may have better advice. Don't know what marmots offerings are, thigh I appreciate the quality of their gear.

I gotta disagree about the likelihood of rain. In late July/early August of 2012, 7 of our 18 days on the trail had some kind of rain, with 4 consecutive days of heavy, sustained thunderstorms (2012 was also a drought year). I'm not saying that will happen this year, but thunderstorms are not at all unusual on the JMT and you'll want to be prepared with some kind of adequate rain gear.

I don't know that the Marmot would be my first choice, as at 15 oz. it would seem to be overbuilt for summer rainstorms in the Sierras and there are many options that will be plenty dependable (Dri-Ducks, O2) yet weigh less than half of the Minimalist. But as Brian said, their stuff is quality.

I've got a Minimalist, great jacket. I also have an OR Foray, and I like it better. I've seen the Foray on sale here and there lately.

My Super Mica wore out after two months. I got my money back.

Don't get a Super Mica.

Marmot Essence – it is probably the best for JMT – where you expect to not need it, but when you do, you do. If you have to get one since you have the credit, probably get that one. ~6 oz. If you have some other application in mind for the jacket this may modify your choice, but don't take a 1 pound rain jacket to the Sierra in the summer. Use the credit to buy one you can use in other contexts and just bring driducks to the JMT.

I'm happy with mine for what it is. If I was going somewhere where I would have guaranteed rain for extended periods of time I go with a precip with it pit zips. It cracks me up that the "minimalist" is so damn heavy, but I guess context is everything. It DOES rain in the Sierra in the summer, and the sierra can make their own rain locally. It is not the Mojave, and being soaked as the sun goes down can suck because it will be cold. Do take something just in case unless you consider yourself a BAMF :-)

Last year on the JMT late July/early August was extremely rainy. But, as others have mentioned, who knows what this year will bring?

The Minimalist is a great "full-featured" jacket; well-praised in reviews (Backpacker, Outdoor Gear Lab, REI, etc). I've got a brand new one on GearSwap right now at half price – but sadly it won't work for you because it's a woman's jacket!

Some options, not all of which would be useful on a summer thru hike, but might be useful other times of year:

Minimalist looks like a solid jacket, but I'm not sure I understand the point when a similarly full featured Gore-Tex Pro jacket is also 15 ounces. Not something I'd carry hiking for occasional rain, but a Gore-Tex Pro jacket is something that is very handy and would be so for years and years.

For a backpacking rain jacket, I carry the 6 ounce Marmot Essence and the matching pants for an 11 ounce combination. Not "bomber". I don't expect it to hold up to heavy use. But, the weight is right for something that I hope to wear as little as I possibly can. Especially in summer, it all the rain gear I can stand.

The Marmot Nabu NeoShell softshell is an awesome jacket. Again, probably not something I'd carry on a summer thru hike, but truly water-proof breathable and the inner layer of the stretchy 3-layer jacket is a version of the Capilene 4 Power Dry. This is really a nice softshell.

Marmot Trail Wind Hoody. Marmot's 5 ounce wind shell. I always have this in my backpack and it's the first thing I grab for wind or chill.

Marmot Power Stretch fleece. Marmot makes several variations on Power Stretch jackets and hoodies. Awesome stuff.

Marmot Thermo Hoodie or Thermo Half Zip: The same Power Dry fabric as the Capilene 4 baselayer in either a hoodie or half zip version. I can't rave enough about this fabric. I work the Patagonia and Marmot versions all winter and yet it breathes well enough to go pretty high in temperature. This will be my go-to sleep wear camping this summer. So far, I've worn it from 11 degrees to 63 degrees. I wore a top today for around town stuff on a 60 degree day.

Marmot down jackets are awesome. The Zeus is a good all around 15 ounce down jacket. The Quasar Hoody is a 9 ounce ultralight 900 fill jacket. And the Greenland is a super-heavy seriously cold weather jacket. Hard to go wrong with any of those.

Thanks for the thoughtfulness guys! I love BPL… quality answers on a regular basis from people out there doing it! I will review again tonight and make a purchase. I was kind of thinking the same thing about the 15oz. weight and making a different choice, possibly a soft shell and some cheap light rain gear. Still not sure! :-) Decisions, decisions!

A buddy of mine wants to climb Whitney and send me on my way from there. So cool!

The one truly innovative and handy features the Foray has over the minimalist is pit zips that open all the way to the hem… ie, you can zip the sides up from the bottom to run your packs hipbelt UNDER the jacket, as well as vent far more efficiently than the Minimalist.

I'd go OR Foray all day…