New Enlightened Equipment "Visp" rain jacket

[Link .]

Alan Dixon’s Review | new 2020 Enlightened Equipment Visp Rain Jacket and Pants .

[JCH]

Thanks Link.  Alan pretty much echo’s Andrew Marshall’s assessment that the fit and finish are great, but he doesn’t say anything about performance.

My guess is that this is another well designed product from EE that slots comfortably into the UL rain jacket segment, but does not magically address the performance limitations of that segment.

Very much looking forward the Andrew’s upcoming review.

[Link .]

I read somewhere he will do an updated review after more testing

[Gerry B.]

I see that Columbia has discontinued their Outdry Ex Featherweight series….or perhaps they changed the name to Lightweight?  Hard to tell.  The only series that has pitzips is the Reign but a men’s large weighs 15.5 oz, way too heavy.

 

[Ken Larson]

You that are interested in the Columbia Men’s OutDry™ Ex  Featherweight Shell Jacket that wonder hat happened to it.

This comes from Columbia customer service chat line.

[JCH]

Columbia is a huge corporation…no way they are going to cater to such a small segment of the market as ours.  The bean counters saw the sales figures of the Featherweight and quickly gave it the axe.

[Jacob]

As an american in california, it doesn’t seem to me that Columbia made any effort to market the technology I’m guessing they paid to develop.

I learned everything about the permanent water repellent surface made of micro plastic beads ( something like that right?) that replaces C6 DWR from this forum (thanks Richard Nisley!) I couldn’t find that info on Columbia’s website or at REI. Those sources only provided marketing claims, which are identical for all rain jacket technologies.

I doubt a huge corporation would spend a bunch of money on something that at least kinda works then give up so quickly trying to sell it, without even really trying.

Competing products like the VISP should only boost Outdry sales since there should be nothing stopping Colombia from putting their permanent plastic bead layer on similar fabrics. Whatever competitors put C6 DWR on, Columbia could just counter with the same/similar thing but with permanent plastic beads…

Maybe Columbia doesn’t own the tech and cant afford to put it on all their jackets? I would pay extra to send something like the VISP to columbia to get a permanent water repellent layer applied, assuming it holds up like people are saying it does.

[JCH]

Columbia still makes rains jackets using the Outdry Ex fabric/technology…they just axed the “UL” product and now only sell ~1lb+ jackets.

[Link .]

. Gear Review: Enlightened Equipment Visp Rain Pants and Jacket By Lloyd VogelMar 01, 2020 .

[Jeff McWilliams]

Wait, the EE Visp fabric was created by Toyota?  Did I read that right? Why is Toyota in the business of making waterproof fabrics?

 

[Geoff Caplan]

Ben

The jacket seemed to do really well. There were 6 of us and all the others wetted out pretty early. I stayed relatively dry for the 2 straight days of use.

I suspect that you were enjoying the benefits of new DWR. Were the other 5 in older jackets?

The modern, more eco-friendly DWR formulations have a reputation for degrading rather rapidly in the field.

[Richard Nisley]

Geoff,

Ben’s jacket was a PWPB. There is no DWR to renew.

[Geoff Caplan]

Thanks Richard

I misread the post and assumed he was talking about the Visp.

The Columbia Featherweight is another beast entirely, as you rightly point out.

[Adrian Griffin]

As Andrew says, the Visp bears comparison to the zPacks Vertice. But when comparing roominess, cut, and weight, remember that the Vertice runs very small — comparisons should be with a Vertice a size larger.

I’m 5’10” and weigh 168 pounds. I take a 42″ regular in sport coats and usually get a large in t-shirts, fleeces, and other tops. But I got a Vertice in 2XL (!), based on comparing the garment measurements on zPacks’ website with my older (delaminating) parkas.

The 2XL was a good fit for me, allowing for layering and fitting like a parka rather than a snug wind jacket.

[Ben C]

Richard, sorry for the slow reply. My trip was all on trail, but there was some brushing up on the bushes to the side. It’s also a little early in the year to have too many bushes into the trail. I wasn’t keeping close tabs on the other jackets. I remember a few complaints the first day, but everyone else seemed wetted out on the second day.

[Steve H]

Are there any updates on the Visp?  I ordered one and yes, the fit and finish are excellent; however, I haven’t yet used it because I’m not sure I’ll keep it.  Section Hiker did a review stating it wetted out relatively quickly.  I want/wanted to use it as combo rain/wind shirt.  But if it’s not up to snuff I’ll return it and keep my rain shell and wind shirt garments for each function.

Just haven’t seen much updated info.  Any input is greatly appreciated.

[Jeff McWilliams]

It’s also worth noting that there is now a Columbia Outdry Ex NanoLite jacket.

https://www.test4outside.com/en/produit/columbia-outdry-extreme-nanolite/

https://outdoorsmagic.com/article/columbia-outdry-extreme-nanolite-shell-jacket-review/

https://www.backpacker.com/gear-item/columbia-outdry-ex-nanolite/

Rated at 7.20z.   Expensive at $300.00 especially for a Columbia jacket.

Unfortunately the backpacker.com article is behind a paywall and I’m not a member so I don’t know what it says.

 

 

 

[Brad W]

Everything about the Visp I have seen is it wets out very quickly making is sorta of useless as a rain jacket. I will stick with never wetting out Lightheartgear Silnylon rain jacket.

[Stephen Seeber]

Jeff- I did MVTR testing on the Nanolite.  Measured 1870.  Pretty mediocre.  Forget about high level efforts in this jacket.  However, of the 4 versions I have tested, it is the highest yet.  Maybe the next version…..  If you like this jacket, just wait.  It will be offered at half price or less when they discontinue it.

[Jeff McWilliams]

Thanks, Stephen.

I own one of the original Outdry Ex Lightweight jackets, and am familiar with its poor MVTR performance.  I like the concept of the permanent beading surface tech in the Outdry Ex and Shakedry jackets, vs having to worry about a traditional jacket with DWR wetting out in prolonged wet conditions and thus being more miserable to wear than a permanent beading surface jacket.

Still looking for the holy grail:  a permanent beading surface jacket that has decent MVTR and good durability for backpackers.

[JCH]

“Still looking for the holy grail:  a permanent beading surface jacket that has decent MVTR and good durability for backpackers.”

Sounds like the analog of the age old “fast/cheap/good” triangle…you can only pick one side.

[Author]

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