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Every clip I gaffe connected a rainfall jacket, I springiness acknowledgment that we nary longer person to wrapper ourselves successful thick, smelly sealskin to enactment dry. The champion rainfall jackets contiguous are much comfy and watertight than ever, acknowledgment to advances successful weatherproof textiles and apparel design. But depending connected the clime and your level of activity, sorting done antithetic styles, technologies, and waterproof ratings tin beryllium confusing.
Every year, I trial a twelve oregon truthful rainfall jackets done the soggy Pacific Northwest wintertime and mendacious spring. I hike, bike, run, and locomotion my dogs—sometimes I adjacent basal successful the ablution with my apparel connected erstwhile the upwind isn’t cooperating. I besides got proposal from Amber Williams, a user subject pedagogue and lecturer successful textile subject and signifier making astatine Utah State University’s Outdoor Product Design program. All to find the rainfall jackets worthy your clip and money.
Don't hide to cheque retired the remainder of our outdoor coverage, including the Best Umbrellas, Best Puffer Jackets, Best Running Shorts, and Best Merino Wool Clothes.
Updated April 2025: We added the Gorewear Concurve Windbreaker, the MEC x Aquanator, the Montbell Versalite, the Rab Cinder Phantom, and the 66 North Snaefell rainfall jacket.
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Understanding Rain Jacket Tech
Photograph: REI; Getty Images
Trying to decipher jackets’ merchandise specs is astir arsenic annoying arsenic getting soaked by a abrupt cloudburst connected the trail.
Look for laminated layers: Most method waterproof jackets are referred to arsenic two- oregon three-layer jackets. These layers usually dwell of a look cloth that has been treated with a waterproofing cause similar durable h2o repellent, which is simply a bladed mesh for releasing h2o vapor, positive a protective interior lining underneath. In general, for greater durability you’ll privation to look for layers that person been laminated together, alternatively than simply coated with a waterproofing agent. That’s the proposal of Amber Williams, the user subject pedagogue and lecturer from Utah State University.
Waterproof and breathability ratings: Manufacturers usually complaint each cloth based connected its waterproofing and breathability. For example, a rainfall overgarment with a waterproof standing of 20,000 means that if you had an endlessly agelong 1-inch quadrate tube, you could determination 20,000 millimeters of h2o connected apical of the cloth earlier it would commencement seeping done (that's implicit 65 feet!). A 20,000 breathability standing means that 20,000 grams of h2o vapor tin walk done the cloth going the different direction. While the higher breathability standing mightiness look better, you mightiness privation to deliberation doubly if you’ll beryllium retired successful the cold. Body vigor tin flight a breathable overgarment astir arsenic easy arsenic h2o vapor.
Check the seams and zippers: If you privation your rainfall overgarment to past longer than an amusement parkland poncho, look astatine the seams. Shoulders are peculiarly susceptible points, arsenic astir outdoor sports necessitate you to deterioration a backpack that tin hitch and harm them. “Design lines look truly sexy, but implicit time, they’re not going to past arsenic long,” Williams says. Other features to look for see plasticized, water-resistant zippers and protective zipper flaps. That’s wherefore our rainfall overgarment picks are truthful expensive—a batch of caller cloth tech and a batch of plan details.
Care for your jacket: You tin vastly widen the beingness of your items by decently caring for them. Hang your jacket—don’t store it crammed successful an abrasive, tiny worldly sack. If you spot stains from grease, dirt, oregon sunscreen, oregon announcement that h2o is nary longer beading connected the surface, you’ll request to lavation it. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions. You whitethorn request a specialized detergent—many cloth detergents volition permission residues that tin interfere with the durable h2o repellent's (DWR) performance. Avoid cloth softener, bleaches, adust cleaning, and the dryer.
Best Rain Jacket for Everyday Use
Since the 1960s, modern rainwear has relied connected carcinogenic perfluorocarbons (PFCs), oregon “forever chemicals.” Modern durable h2o repellents (DWRs) usage PFCs successful manufacturing, which past migrate from your covering into ungraded and streams arsenic you tromp astir outside. Today, galore companies are making steps to trim the levels of PFAS successful their products, astir apt due to the fact that states are banning these kinds of chemicals. In 2023, fashionable outdoor retailer REI announced it would phase retired immoderate products with PFAS successful its stores.
If you privation to beryllium dormant definite that your overgarment does not person PFAS, you can't spell incorrect with a classical rubber raincoat, similar Stutterheim's Stockholm raincoat. Technical rainfall overgarment manufacturers thin to shy distant from polyurethane, due to the fact that it's, well, rubbery. But the worldly is durable, long-lasting, windproof, waterproof, and PFC-free! I besides similar rubber rainfall jackets successful damp coastal climates, similar the Pacific Northwest. Breathability is little of a sticking constituent erstwhile the aerial is already humid.
This is the lone rainfall overgarment I've ever bought with my ain money, due to the fact that I'm truthful bushed of having to regenerate my rainfall overgarment each fewer years erstwhile the waterproofing wears off. I deterioration the Stockholm astir each day. The outer covering is made from 100 percent rubberized PVC with a fabric lining, truthful you don't squeak similar a duck erstwhile wearing it.
It's existent to size and roomy capable to furniture a down vest nether it. It has double-welded seams to support the h2o out, and the hood is ample capable for a shot headdress oregon a ample beanie. I besides similar the buttons; erstwhile I'm conscionable throwing connected a overgarment to locomotion the dog, it's faster and easier than making definite a seam-sealed zipper doesn't get caught successful a tempest flap. If you besides unrecorded successful a rainy clime and are sick of re-waterproofing your rainfall overgarment each season, get 1 of these.
★ Alternatives: The terms of the Stockholm mightiness marque you gag. If you privation a basal rubber slicker, I've besides had Rains' waterproof overgarment ($140) for respective years now, which has a precise similar, Scandinavian-inspired plan but astatine a overmuch much tenable price. Baxter Woods ($300) is besides a beauteous large rubber slicker that's a small little than the Stockholm.
Best Waterproof Running Jacket
My requirements for a moving rainfall overgarment are overmuch antithetic than those for an mundane one. I'm sweating, truthful I'm already damp, and I don't attraction arsenic overmuch if the overgarment is simply a small much permeable. However, I privation it to acceptable well, not chafe oregon rustle annoyingly, and person bully ventilation truthful I don't go clammy erstwhile moving out.
Gorewear's windbreaker is billed arsenic the astir comfy moving overgarment ever, and it's perfectly true. I've been wearing this overgarment extracurricular for my 3- to 5-mile rainfall runs, and I hardly adjacent announcement it's on. This magic is owed to the fabric—it's a permeable, double-weave cloth that is DWR-treated and has a 3D cloth operation inside. Basically, determination are a cardinal tiny cloth structure poles that clasp it, suspended, implicit the aboveground of your tegument truthful you don't get that horrible sticky feeling erstwhile your moving rainfall overgarment starts clinging to you similar integrative wrap. It doesn't look similar this should work, yet it does.
It has each the accustomed moving overgarment essentials, similar reflective details and elastic cuffs. There's a stowaway pocket, and it packs down incredibly small, astir to the size of a handkerchief. This is simply a blessing, since you tin worldly it successful a running vest erstwhile it stops raining, and a curse, due to the fact that I support losing it. (I spent astir 20 minutes searching for it successful my house, since I instrumentality it with maine everywhere.) Best of all, it's a specified $100, which is affordable for a high-tech rainfall jacket.
Other Running Rain Jackets to Consider
I've tried truthful galore rainfall jackets successful the moving category. Here are a fewer that I like:
- Showers Pass Cloudburst for $199: This is the champion if you privation a moving rainfall overgarment that sheds a spot more, er, rain. It's thicker than the Gorewear windbreaker but inactive incredibly brushed and flexible. I deterioration this erstwhile the outdoor temperatures driblet nether 40 degrees with a wool furniture underneath.
- Patagonia Houdini for $109: This is the overgarment that everyone usually tells you to get. Everyone has one. It's elemental and packable, and the institution switched to a PFC-free DWR. However, it rustles, it's not excessively breathable, and I consciousness similar I'm wearing a integrative bag.
- Tracksmith Downpour for $400: For its exorbitant price, this is the astir feature-rich overgarment of the bunch, with a PFAS-free DWR connected a three-layer jacket, a brimmed hood, and a 360-mesh sheet for breathability. Like each of Tracksmith's gear, it's incredibly beautiful, but the colors are dark, and it doesn't person reflective details, which could beryllium unsafe erstwhile moving successful the rain.
Best Waterproof Cycling Jacket
I hatred rainfall gear. It's heavy, bulky, and seldom performs successful existent downpours, and the full waterproof and breathable happening is simply a prevarication (you tin person both, conscionable not astatine the aforesaid time). Despite each that, I emotion the Rab Cinder Phantom and person been carrying it everyplace I go, connected and disconnected a bike. It solves astir each my issues with rainfall gear. It's incredibly airy (3.3 ounces/114 grams for a medium), stuffs down to astir the size of a tennis ball, and is someway amazingly waterproof.
The ammunition is 7D Pertex, which has proved to beryllium windproof and waterproof, and erstwhile it's not raining, it's rather breathable. Pair it with a grid fleece for the eventual successful breathable warmth. At 3 ounces, determination aren't a batch of bells and whistles to the Cinder Phantom. You tin usage the afloat beforehand zip to ventilate, though it's fiddly to usage portion riding. There are nary pit zips and, sadly, nary drawstring astatine the waist. There is elastic, but I would emotion to sacrifice an ounce and person a propulsion string.
The 1 happening to cognize astir the Cinder Phantom is that it is designed for cycling, which means it has a abbreviated chopped with a longer back, which works large connected a motorcycle but isn't the champion for hiking, since rainfall dripping disconnected you beauteous overmuch lands close connected your legs. That has not stopped maine from utilizing this disconnected the bike, though. I brace it with Patagonia's caller M-10 tempest pants (also amazing, though little breathable), which springiness maine afloat assemblage sum astatine astir 10 ounces. Do I interest that the Cinder Phantom's bladed cloth mightiness not basal up to a backpack long-term? I do, but aft six months, truthful acold truthful good. —Scott Gilbertson
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