Making ready for a 4-month stint in New Zealand was an train in touring mild. Regardless of having Patagonia’s Black Gap mega-hauler to cram my life into, I nonetheless needed to rein in my tendency to overpack.
Gear with multi-functionality — trainers that work on the highway and the path, a pair of denims stylish sufficient for a dinner date but stretchy sufficient for high-stepping over rocks and roots — earned a spot within the go-pile, whereas single-purpose objects stayed house in Colorado.
The waterproof, windproof, and uber-packable Patagonia Storm Racer made the lower. After testing it for 3 months in gale-force winds, sudden storms, and a couple of tropical rainforest, I’m glad it did.
Little else in our closets nowadays can save your bacon like a rain jacket can. And whereas cumbersome hardshells serve up safety that’ll outlast weeklong storms, they drag like a ship anchor when packed — and neglect about working in them. Svelte rain jackets just like the Storm Racer rebalance the scales, and when the forecast takes a flip, one of the best shell jacket is the one you’ve received with you.
Briefly: The light-weight Patagonia Storm Racer stands as much as the weather. Stuffable into its chest pocket, the jacket is simple to tote alongside and is prepared if — or, in New Zealand, when — the climate turns bitter. It isn’t a barely-there layer like Patagonia’s long-loved Houdini, however I’d argue its increase in performance is nicely definitely worth the (minimal) weight penalty.
To see how the Storm Racer stacks as much as different rain jackets available on the market, try GearJunkie’s Purchaser’s Guides for Rain Jackets and Ladies’s Rain Jackets.
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Waterproof Materials
H2No Efficiency 3L -
Waterproof Score
20,000 mm -
Breathability Score
Unpublished -
Pit Zips
No -
Match
Trim/lively -
Measurement
XXS-XL -
Pockets
One -
Weight
6.3 oz.
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Nice just-in-case layer for rain and wind -
Light-weight -
Breathable -
Stuffs down small -
Sustainable design
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Gained’t stand as much as intense rain -
Small chest pocket -
Loud coloration choices
Patagonia Storm Racer Jacket: Assessment
Designs and Options
The Storm Racer is mainly a hooded, waterproof shell with one minimal chest pocket. The H2No Efficiency Customary shell contains a three-layer development with a 20-denier totally recycled nylon ripstop face and 7-denier tricot backer sandwiching an interior, waterproof/breathable barrier. PFC-free DWR supplies further rain safety.
Two primary cinch factors — one on the nape and one on the waist — add an additional contact of measurement customizability, in addition to the choice to additional batten down the hatches if the jacket’s already-slim match isn’t reducing muster.
At simply 6.3 ounces for the ladies’s and seven.2 ounces for the boys’s, the Storm Racer can also be noticeably lighter than different rain jackets that GearJunkie consultants have put by way of the wringer, lots of which hover across the 10-ounce mark.
Glorious (however Not Excellent) Efficiency
Stripping down the Storm Racer’s silhouette permits the jacket to be uber-packable by raincoat requirements. All the factor rapidly and simply stuffs into its chest pocket to develop into a pliable wad concerning the measurement of a mango. There’s actually no motive not to pack this jacket, particularly in a spot the place shoulder-warming sunshine will flip to Antarctic gusts and heavy rain within the span of an hour.
As a easy wind safety layer, the Storm Racer delivers ample safety whereas nonetheless respiratory successfully. I’ve reached for this layer on a number of bike rides, carrying it over my skinny puffy coat as an additional protection in opposition to biting wind. I’ve additionally thrown it on over a primary polyester tech tee — my customary working uniform — after I needed a contact extra heat on dry but chilly days.
In each cases, the jacket impressed me with its breathability. No query, the Storm Racer successfully allowed my physique warmth to flee whereas nonetheless blocking the wind.
Loads of different outings offered alternatives to check out the Storm Racer’s prowess within the waterproof division. On one fast-hiking pursuit up the aspect of a mountain, sunny skies rapidly turned to swirling mist and pummeling wind and spitting rain as I crested a ridgeline.
Regardless of the Storm Racer’s slim match, I zipped the jacket over my t-shirt and fleece with none challenge (it wasn’t too tight and didn’t impede my vary of movement), and I remained heat and dry regardless of the abrupt climate shift.
One other day, I received caught biking in a deluge. Water pooled inches deep within the biking lane, and my wheels whipped it each up my again and onto my chest. As soon as house, my denims have been sopping, wring-them-out-like-a-towel moist from the waist down.
My face was additionally dripping, partly as a result of the tip of the hood extends solely about an inch previous my face (I would love it to be a contact longer). My higher physique, then again, which had been safely tucked below the jacket, was fully dry.
Operating within the rain with the Storm Racer is a barely totally different story. I usually forgo a water-proof layer of any type on soggy runs. Accepting that I can be moist from the rain in the course of my exercise looks like a greater different than overheating in a damp, terrarium-esque hell of my very own making.
Within the identify of analysis, nevertheless, I did put the Storm Racer by way of the paces on a drizzling, 55-degree morning and located it carried out above common. I nonetheless discovered myself sweating a little bit contained in the jacket, but it surely breathed sufficient to keep away from the full-on terrarium impact. And it was good to have the waterproof safety, with out which I’d have been drenched and chilly.
It’s necessary to notice that whereas the H2No Efficiency waterproofing is great, it’s not fully resistant to the weather. Climbing 8 miles by way of a rainforest in an unrelenting downpour proved to be a bit an excessive amount of for even this precipitation-deterring workhorse. By the point I’d completed, it had rained shut to five inches, and I used to be soaked all the way down to my pores and skin all over the place, even below the Storm Racer’s protecting layer.
In fact, so was my husband in his Fjällräven raincoat (an older model of the Keb Eco-Shell Jacket) and my son in his Antora Rain Jacket from The North Face, which signifies that little lower than a roof might have withstood that degree of wetness. I’ll give the Storm Racer a cross.
Crossover Model — Kind Of
I really like twin performance any day, however on the subject of journey, I prioritize items that work nicely and have a look at house in a number of settings. Because of its smooth silhouette and talent to crush down right into a purse-friendly measurement, the Storm Racer proves to be an incredible companion in city environments too — or a minimum of the boys’s model does because it is available in each blue and black, along with the virtually neon Phosphorus Inexperienced.
The ladies’s model, nevertheless, is available in solely two colours: daring Subtidal Blue (mainly turquoise) and even bolder Pimento Pink. I really like coloration as a lot as the following Bob Ross, however when touring by way of a metropolis, I’d desire to do because the New Yorkers do and put on a black, or a minimum of an unassuming navy.
Is {That a} Telephone in Your Pocket?
Whereas my Google Pixel 7 does match into the Storm Racer’s entrance chest pocket, it’s not straightforward to finagle in there, and it’s even tougher to wrestle out. On the upside, the compartment’s just-big-enough measurement means my telephone stays flush in opposition to my chest even whereas working. There’s no bouncing.
Then once more, attempting to rapidly seize my telephone to snap an image of some fleeting picture — a chirping fantail or a surprising cloud — was a misplaced trigger. I do know I’m being choosy right here, but when I had my druthers, the pocket could be simply half an inch or so longer to facilitate a smoother in-out transition.
Evaluating the Storm Racer to the Houdini
Should you’re available in the market for a light-weight working jacket, you may also be contemplating Patagonia’s long-loved Houdini. At simply 3.4 ounces, this 100% recycled nylon jacket additionally packs into its chest pocket, although it crushes down even smaller than the Storm Racer to roughly the scale of a kiwi.
The Houdini additionally resists mild moisture due to a PFC-free DWR end however proves super-breathable, arguably much more so than the Storm Racer, given the lightness of the fabric.
Which jacket is best for you? That is dependent upon how a lot house you may have obtainable, how diligently you’re counting ounces, and whether or not you’re prioritizing breathability or staying dry. Should you’re an ultra-marathoner reserving treasured house in your working vest for much-needed energy, then the Houdini might be your greatest wager. Identical reply for those who’re shaving weight in pursuit of FKT glory or hammering out a tough, tremendous sweaty exercise.
When going for a median run, you’ll have to determine between preferring to remain dry within the rain (select the Storm Racer) or not minding a little bit sweat (go together with the Houdini). Personally, I’d make this resolution on a case-by-case foundation relying on the temperature, how laborious and persistently it’s raining, and the way distant I’ll be after I’m working.
In most different cases, I’d argue the additional advantage of getting a totally waterproof layer available is value it. Should you’re mountaineering, biking, strolling the canine, strolling to the espresso store, or simply doing life when it’s raining (not simply misting), about to rain, chilly, or all three, wad the Storm Racer up and throw it in your pack.
Should you’re a budget-conscious shopper, the Houdini’s $109 value level will look extra palatable than the Storm Racer’s $299 pockets hit. Don’t be fooled. You’re higher off with the Patagonia Torrentshell 3L Rain Jacket ($179) as an alternative, our editors’ decide for “Greatest Worth Rain Jacket.”
Patagonia Storm Racer: The Closing Phrase
Everytime you’re working or mountaineering for double-digit miles, particularly whenever you’re at elevation, it’s at all times clever to be ready for a sudden drop within the mercury, an uptick in wind gusts, surprising precipitation, or all three. When Mom Nature lets free, you desire a layer you may depend on: The Patagonia Storm Racer is simply that.
True, this shell isn’t fairly as featherweight or as squishable as Patagonia’s light-as-air jacket Houdini. And whereas the Storm Racer is definitely waterproof, it’d battle in an prolonged, unrelenting downpour. Nonetheless, the Storm Racer can be a staple in my backpack — and my fanny pack, purse, and sling bag as nicely — for years to return.
