Columbia Reign No Shine

Outdry Reign-No-Shine is a small improvement over previous years, slightly lighter and now with pit zips. Columbia’s vast range of sizes makes it easy to buy one oversized, for better ventilation.

If you don’t already have an Outdry jacket, then this is a great price.

If you do, then this is not a huge improvement.

Thanks Bill. I don’t have one and the sale is tempting. I did just contact Columbia customer service about sizing and weight. I need an XL probably or an extended size 1x.  The person or bot or whatever says comes in at 16-24 ounces. My Rock Front Hoody plus Copperfield wind-shirt combo is 8 ounces combined but it may not suffice for fringe season, that’s where the Out-Dry technology came into play. If the Wyldwood had pit zips that would be something. Also on sale for around 100. Sent email asking about weight but also about whether Mountain Hardware was developing Out-Dry products.

Perfect rain gear does not exist. While there can be benefits to WPB technology, it isn’t remotely as good as the marketing fantasy. Two use cases that work:

• Lightweight, very breathable, WPB: Good for light and intermittent rain conditions, possibly “adequate” as a windbreaker. EE Visp (if they find a new fabric source), ZPacks Vertice, OR Helium, Rab Phantom, MontBell Versalite). The other side of the argument is that they are not as comfortable as real windshirts when it is not raining, and are not fully waterproof in heavy/prolonged rain. Pair with an emergency poncho.
• Sub-freezing, dry, alpine conditions: Membranes perform best when there is a large differential in temperature and humidity between the inside and outside of the shell. Ryan likes his Arc’teryx shell in those kind of conditions, although any heavier-weight WPB will be at its best.

One approach would be to get some experience with your Rock Front hoody, then decide whether you want to spend a lot of money on WPB, knowing that it is unlikely to be a huge improvement. PS: For ultralight rain jackets, the Rock Front looks like a good choice. You can get a seamstress to add a full-length front zipper if you decide that you want it.

I generally prefer ponchos because they go over the pack. Jackets get pressed against your body by the pack, where they cannot ventilate as well as a poncho. (You can always wear the pack over the poncho in case of heavy winds). Rain jackets are at their best in cold weather.

EDIT: Membranes are all changing this year because of PFAS regulations. It isn’t an optimal year to buy WPB but, if you feel a need, then Outdry Reign No-Shine is one of the best WPB options available (because it has no face fabric that WILL wet out). I recommend oversize shells in general, both for ventilation and layering.

Nice price, but do you trust that website? columbias vs columbia, also the Columbia logo is low-res compared to the legit Columbia website: https://www.columbia.com/p/mens-reign-no-shine-jacket-2116161.html?color=010

columbias.us is not columbias website, which is columbia.com

I interacted with a Columbia chat person that said it was a fake website, they’re aware of it.

I am very embarrassed and I apologize for linking to a fake website. I’m usually pretty savvy about these things, I was a bit distracted. Thanks for flagging it. Again, I am sorry.

No embarrassment. That’s why you asked wasn’t it? Sometimes it’s a deal. Sometimes it’s a steal. Educated me.

columbias.us is not columbias website, which is columbia.com

I wondered the same thing. When I went to columbia.com and searched for that deal and didn’t find it, I was fairly certain the site in the OP was a scam site. Thanks Jerry for confirming that.

Just another example of it always paying to spend a little extra time double or even triple checking things on the Internet.

This is a good thread.  Muscle memory to recognize fake websites : )

Bill, thank you so much for the thoughtful and extensive reply. It was greatly appreciated. It is sage advice to experiment with what I have before investing more.