Shell/Rainjacket

[rabergnc]

My old shell/rainjacket is finally giving out. It was good for rain only and not as a multipurpose jacket. I'm looking for a new one and would appreciate recommendations. I'd like it to be light, easily packed for travel, sized for layering over a fleece for cold/wet weather, waterproof, breathable - I live in the south and in the summer it can be wet, humid, and hot. I have hunted around and find myself overwhelmed by the variety and number of shells out there, as well as the claims made by manufacturers. Any real world advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

[PM4HIRE]

Marmot is the real deal

Checkout the Marmot PreCip rain jacket for the best
performance and price ratio.

[PM4HIRE]

The Terrapin jacket is also a high value investment piece.

[rabergnc]

Thanks for the suggestions. I am now trying to decide between the Marmot PreCip, a Patagonia jacket (Rain Shadow), and a SCOTTEVEST (Evolution). All are within the same basic ballpark and, on paper, have comparable features. The Evolution will likely be a little warmer/heavier - hard to say from the write up.. Decisions, decisions, decisions......

[Tzporah]

I've been wearing a PreCip for years and while it has kept me very dry I find it gets very muggy inside the jacket in warm weather. I almost never wear it with bare arms because the fabric seems to stick to me.

This may have been fixed, my newest PreCip is about three years old now.

[rabergnc]

Decided to go for the PreCip. Seems to be the best value in that price range. Marmot says that have redesigned the jacket to reduce/eliminate the clammy feeling. We'll see!

[Tzporah]

Post how it goes? I will probably need a new one sometime this summer and I'm curious to see if they fixed the clammy feeling.

[timothy]

I could take a jacket that's not quite as warm (watertight is still important) if it were even lighter / smaller / more packable; the pre-cip is looking like a pretty good choice overall, though. What would you pack if every ounce mattered, and you have a few layers available in the case of mostly temperate travel, with the possibilty of moderate cold / the occasional flurries? Does the pre-cip still win?

I have and brought with me on recent trip a high-tech / low-end jacket bought at CostCo for around $30 -- it reminds me of jackets that I remember costing hundreds of dollars 20 years ago: pretty light, warm, low-nap fleece inside, intelligently placed pockets (not Scott eVest pocket-heavy, but hand pockets, a cell phone breast pocket, and two insecure but useful inner ones big enough for maps, candy, etc. It's just a bit bulky; I wish it squashed down a bit smaller. It's also too warm to be a good summer rain coat. But I was very happy with it as perhaps my most-worn item on the trip, served as a good rain jacket / windbreaker when it was only cool, and as a good outer layer (over shirt and fleece) when it was cold. (It really did get a bit cold, even in Jerusalem, but not Maine Cold. Just Seattle-style cold.)

timothy

[dclawyer]

I own the LL Bean Stowaway Rain Jacket. It packs into its own pocket. Keeps me very dry and is soft to the touch. The price is good considering the quality in my opinion.