Suggestion for light weight rain shell

[Jared D]

im looking for recommendations on good lightweight rain shell. New to hiking but I believe in buy once cry once and getting quality gear

[John S.]

Outdoor Research Helium 2

[Paul S.]

Columbia OutDry Featherweight is worth a look.

[Stumphges]

Richard Nisley’s analysis (in a recent Gear forum thread) of the new Columbia OutDry Featherweight has removed all but two others from my personal list of rain jackets I would buy for backpacking. However, those two, like the Featherweight, do have known or potential downsides:

OutDry Featherweight – new to the market, so long-term reports on durability, etc. are not available.

Marmot EvoDry jackets – also new to the market, also with a “permanent” DWR that the outdoor market has been waiting years for, but so new that no substantive analysis is yet available predicting it’s real world performance.

Dri Ducks (aka Frogg Toggs UL) – cheap (<$20), permanent water-resistance (will not wet out, does not need DWR), relatively breathable, but horribly fragile and ungainly. This has been my standby for on-trail use.

Unless I hear something negative about the Featherweight, or something exceptionally positive about the Marmot EvoDry stuff, I will be buying a Featherweight for a 3-week trip this Spring.

[Graham F]

I have the Light-Heart Gear rain jacket. I find it excellent. I bought it waiting for the next stage in WP gear. $99 US. Sent to Australia in a blink and great people to deal with. Old, but perhaps also now new school, I lost faith with WPB jackets.

Mechanical venting only, but works splendidly. Will not wet out.200 grams in M.

With appropriate layering this will work in many situations.

I too will probably take a punt on the Featherweight when the price drops.

It looks very good.

[Brad Rogers]

I have a Haglofs Ozo Pullover (7.5oz, GTX Packlite) and a Montane Spine Jacket (10.3oz, GTX Active) but if I were buying today, I think I would try the aforementioned Columbia Outdry EX Featherweight.

[Jared D]

Thanks everyone for your reply’s and help. Much appreciated!

[Matthew / BPL]

Froggtoggs would be my suggestion as well, particularly if you live somewhere that doesn’t rain frequently. Just bring some duct tape and ignore this suggestion if you traipse through brambles a lot.

My other suggestion is a non-breathable silnylon/silpoly jacket. I like mine from Luke’s Ultralight but people continue to have problems purchasing from him. Mine is 4.5+/- ounces.

Also a Packa fan. Ridiculous looking but amazing mechanical ventilation and it keeps your pack dry. The jacket is over your backpack straps so air is never trapped. It’s a really nice design but don’t try to impress cute hikers with it’s slimming lines or anything.

I don’t like the idea of rainshells that delaminate or wet out. I’d rather have something that relies on mechanical ventilation than a membrane destined to fail.

Take all of my opinions with the knowledge that I’m an AZ boy (pretty dry) who hikes in the Sierra too. Usually it’s just some passing afternoon rains or maybe a few hours. If you live in a rainforest my opinions are less valuable.

[Nick Gatel]

im looking for recommendations on good lightweight rain shell. New to hiking but I believe in buy once cry once and getting quality gear

Ask a hundred people and get 100 answers. There is no perfect rain jacket — every one has pros and cons.

[Brad Rogers]

You have my suggestion above as well as the shells that I have chosen.  Nick makes a good point above that there is no perfect rain jacket and I came to the realization a long time ago that they all suck and fail to live up to the marketing hype.

Not knowing your knowledge level I will add some info below:

All conventional waterproof breathable rain shells have a fabric outer layer that requires DWR in order to function as intended.  If the DWR fails or wets out, the jacket is no longer breathable and you get wet (with sweat) very easily.

A few years ago DWR switched from C8 fluorocarbons to C6 due to environmental concerns and the C6 DWR used today is woefully inadequate and not very durable.

There are some new technologies that do not use a DWR fabric outer shell and therefore can not “wet out”.  The aforementioned Columbia Featherweight is the only one that is really intended for Backpacking but there are other options. Gore Tex Shake Dry is available on two shells, the Arc’teryx Norvan SL and The North Face Hyperdry.  GTX shake dry is intended for running or cycling and Gore says it will not hold up under backpack straps, but some people have used it with good results.  It is reportedly quite breathable and lightweight, but durability is a concern.  The other cheap option that doesn’t require DWR is Dry Ducks, a cheap “emergency” rainwear that while breathable and light, is not very durable and poor fitting.  All of the non DWR reliant shells are new and long term durability hasn’t been proven

If you consider traditional DWR reliant shells you have 3 major players for WP/B membranes; Gore Tex, eVent, and NeoShell, the first two in several different varieties.

You also have lots of “proprietary” WP/B technologies (such as Precip, H2No, Hyvent, etc) used in (usually) cheaper shells. They tend to be less breathable in real world testing and prone to delaminating.

You will also see both 3 layer and 2.5 layer shells.  The quick and dirty is 3 layer shells have an outer fabric layer, the WPB membrane, and an interior scrim layer, while 2.5 layer techs do not have the interior scrim layer and rely on a coating to protect the membrane

I have used proprietary techs from Marmot, Mont-Bell, TNF, Golite, Patagonia, Pertex Shield, as well as eVent (3L), eVent (2.5L), GTX Paclite, GTX (3L), GTX Active and have come to the realize that I prefer 3Layer shells, and I have had better luck with GTX than eVent (I have had 3 eVent garments delaminate – performance was ok though)

 

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