You don’t want to purchase an costly rain jacket for mountaineering and backpacking as a result of an affordable one will work simply in addition to one costing an arm and a leg. Actually, most backpackers use rain jackets that price $100 or much less for simply this cause. Whereas out of doors clothes producers and the media rave concerning the breathability of Gore-tex, eVent, Futurelight (and dozens of different waterproof/breathable membranes), the very fact is that they work poorly for hikers as a result of they’ll’t sustain with the perspiration and condensation inside a rain jacket while you’re carrying a backpack within the rain all day.
Listed below are the highest 10 rain jackets that price lower than $100.
If staying perspiration-free within the rain is necessary to you whilst you’re mountaineering down a path carrying a loaded backpack…possibly you must choose one other sport. Perspiring is inevitable. So is condensation, when the inside of your rain jacket is hotter than the outside floor. Consider a rain jacket as a part of your bigger layering system as a substitute. The primary function of a rain jacket is to maintain you heat when it’s raining or the wind is blowing onerous when utilized in mixture with a mid or base layer. Your purpose must be to remain heat and keep away from hypothermia.
Waterproof/Breathable or Not?
The last word query is whether or not you must hassle shopping for a water-resistant/breathable jacket with crummy breathability specs or one which’s waterproof however not breathable because you’re going to get moist inside anyway. Whereas heavier, many waterproof/breathable jackets are higher high quality than non-breathable ones with extra options, together with taped seams. They’re usually hotter too. No matter you determine, pay shut consideration to the options of the jackets you’re evaluating. We predict an important rain jacket options are three-way adjustable hoods, pit zips, zippered pockets, and taped seams, adopted by velcro wrist cuffs and hem adjusters.
DWR Coatings
When you do purchase a water-resistant/breathable jacket that’s coated with a chemical DWR layer (sturdy water repellent) that makes water bead when it hits the material and rolls off. The draw back of this design is that the DWR coating rubs off with use. When this occurs your jacket will stay waterproof, however it’ll stop to be breathable in any respect. When that occurs, most backpackers purchase a brand new jacket, on common each 2-3 years, as a substitute of making an attempt to revive the DWR coating with a product like Nikwax TX Direct. Alternatively, many hikers and backpacks purchase rain jackets which might be made with non-breathable materials. Lots of these rain jackets have pit-zips and different venting options to assist cut back inside sweat build-up when it rains as a substitute of breathability.
1. Marmot Precip Eco
2. REI Rainier Rain Jacket
The REI Rainier Rain Jacket is sort of similar to the Marmot Precip. It consists of pits zips, a three-way adjustable hood, hook and loop wrist cuffs, and zippered aspect pockets, that are extremely fascinating on rain jackets meant for hikers and backpackers. The Rainier has two zippered pockets, each lined with mesh. Each pockets are monumental and may maintain plenty of gloves, hats, or snacks. They may also be used as a stuff pocket to retailer the jacket when not in use. Learn the SectionHiker overview.
3. Frogg Toggs UL2 Rain Jacket
4. Frogg Toggs Xtreme Lite
5. Compass 360 Ultrapak Extremely-Lite Rain Jacket
6. REI Trailmade Rain Jacket
The REI Trailmade is a smooth, 2-layer waterproof/breathable polyester shell that’s seam sealed to maintain you dry and cozy. It has a breathable polyester mesh lining and an adjustable hood, adjustable drawcord hem, partially elasticized cuffs for added heat and moisture safety, and zippered hand pockets while you need full safety from the weather. The sizing is beneficiant so you possibly can layer it over a mid-layer in colder climate and nonetheless have good freedom of motion to be used trekking or snowboarding. The Trailmade jacket doesn’t have pit-zips for air flow or a packable pocket. If these options are necessary to you we propose upgrading to the REI Rainier Jacket as a substitute.
7. Columbia EvaPOURation Omni-Tech Jacket
8. Warbonnet Stash Jacket
9. Sea-to-Summit Extremely-Sil Nano Tarp Poncho
10. Columbia Watertight II Rain Jacket
HOW TO BUY A BACKPACKING RAIN JACKET
What are an important options to search for on a mountaineering and backpacking rain jacket?
Adjustable Hoods
When selecting a rain jacket make certain the hood is NOT helmet-compatible, until you will have an enormous Godzilla-sized head. Sadly, many rain jackets are meant for skiers and climbers who put on protecting helmets. What you must search for is a totally adjustable hood with a rear quantity adjustment so you possibly can shrink the hood dimension to suit your head, aspect pulls so you possibly can modify the scale of the face opening, a wire or shapeable brim to protect your eyes from wind and snow, and a excessive collar that covers your neck and mouth. All of those options will assist defend your face from the chilly and wind and provide help to keep hotter.
Zippered Pockets
You’ll be able to’t have too many rain jacket pockets. They’re nice for carrying spare gloves, hats, and protecting navigation instruments in straightforward attain. They’re additionally good for protecting snacks shut at hand so you possibly can eat whilst you hike. I view rain jacket pockets as an extension of my backpack as a result of the additional storage cuts down on the variety of occasions I’ve to cease to get garments or meals out of my pack.
Venting Capabilities
When it’s a must to hike in cool moist climate, you need to restrict the quantity you perspire by actively managing your heat stage. The important thing to doing this entails venting extra heat by eradicating or venting layers. rain jacket ought to present a number of methods so that you can dump extra warmth with out having to take it off fully. Listed below are among the most necessary options to search for when evaluating totally different jackets.
- Adjustable Hook and Loop (Velcro) Wrist Closures: These assist regulate the physique warmth at your wrists the place the blood flows near the floor of your pores and skin. They are often worn beneath gloves or over them relying in your choice and the glove kind.
- Two way-front zipper: When you pull the underside half up, you possibly can dump a variety of extra torso warmth, poncho-style.
- Hem drawcord: Cinch it closed to maintain the wind from blowing up between your legs and robbing your torso warmth.
Breathability Scores
What do you have to search for when it comes to breathability scores when taking a look at mountaineering rain jackets? For cheap rain jackets, the very best you possibly can hope for is 10,000 (g/m^2/d) MVTR (movable water vapor transmission fee), which is fairly lackluster. A lot of the producers listed above don’t publish the MVTRs for his or her jackets, as a result of they’re not that aggressive with costlier clothes,
However to be sincere, I don’t belief the breathability scores revealed by producers as a result of they’re measured in perfect laboratory circumstances which have little to do with precise use. Pit zips and energetic venting trump breathability claims any day. When you get too scorching, venting your rain jacket goes to chill and dry you off much more shortly than ready for water vapor to maneuver throughout a breathable membrane whereas your zipper is closed.
Examine Out All of SectionHiker’s Gear Guides!
SectionHiker is reader-supported. We solely become profitable if you are going to buy a product by means of our affiliate hyperlinks. Assist us proceed to check and write unsponsored and impartial gear evaluations, newbie FAQs, and free mountaineering guides.
