Finest Backpacking Rain Jackets Beneath 100: Keep Dry on a Finances

January 24, 2025

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You don’t want to purchase an costly rain jacket for climbing 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 in regards to the breathability of Gore-tex, eVent, Futurelight (and dozens of different waterproof/breathable membranes), the actual fact is that they work poorly for hikers as a result of they will’t sustain with the perspiration and condensation inside a rain jacket whenever you’re carrying a backpack within the rain all day.

Listed here are the highest 10 rain jackets that price lower than $100.

1. REI Rainier Rain Jacket

The REI Rainier Rain Jacket has all of the options desired by hikers and backpackers, together with pit zips, a three-way adjustable hood, hook-and-loop wrist cuffs, and zippered aspect pockets. The Rainier additionally has two monumental zippered pockets, each lined with mesh, that may maintain gloves, hats, or snacks. They will also be used as a stuff pocket to retailer the jacket when not in use. Learn the SectionHiker assessment.

2. REI Trailmade Rain Jacket

The REI Trailmade is a delicate, 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 whenever 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 vital to you, we propose upgrading to the REI Rainier Jacket as an alternative.

3. LL Bean Path Mannequin Rain Jacket

The LL Bean Path Mannequin Rain Jacket is a 2.5 layer waterproof-breathable rain shell with fully-taped seams. It has an connected 3-point adjustable hood with a Velcro quantity adjuster on again of hood. It has two zip hand pockest, one exterior zip chest pocket, and stuffs in a zipper pocket. Plus the middle zip has Velcro-closure storm flap for added air flow. A girls’s mannequin can be accessible.

4. Frogg Toggs UL2 Rain Jacket

The Frogg Toggs UL2 Rain Jacket (a part of the UL2 rain go well with, but additionally accessible individually) is an affordable, utility jacket favored by many backpackers as a result of it’s so light-weight and cheap. It’s made with a non-woven polypropylene material that’s completely waterproof. Whereas the UL2 Rain Jacket does have an adjustable hood, it doesn’t have any pockets or different options that you just discover on most different rain jackets. The match can be fairly dishevelled and the fabric is definitely ripped. However it’s simple to restore with duct tape, and for less than $30, it’s a surprisingly good worth that gives cheap rain safety and heat. Unisex solely.

5. Frogg Toggs Xtreme Lite

The Frogg Toggs Xtreme Lite is a giant step up from the Frogg Toggs UL2 Rain Jacket by way of match with a totally adjustable hood, zippered aspect pockets, velcro wrist closures, and a cord-adjustable waist. It’s additionally completely waterproof and much more sturdy and higher becoming than the UL2 rain jacket. Whereas the Xtreme Lite is twice as costly because the UL2 rain jacket, the distinction is properly price it. Accessible in males’s and girls’s fashions. Learn the SectionHiker assessment.

6. Compass 360 Ultrapak Extremely-Lite Rain Jacket

The Compass 360 Ultrapak Extremely-Lite Jacket is kind of much like the Frogg Toggs Xtreme Lite Rain Jacket in construct and options. The jacket is made with the identical DWR-free translucent waterproof material because the Xtreme Lite, and has taped seams, a three-way adjustable hood, elastic cuffs, water resistant zippers, and a hem cinch to dam drafts. Whereas the jacket doesn’t have pit zips, it has a big plaquette vent throughout the again, which admittedly has restricted worth when worn underneath a backpack. There are two huge zippered aspect pockets and two giant mesh pockets within the inside that are nice for storing hats, gloves, and private objects. The Compass 360 Ultrapak weighs 7.8 ouncesin a dimension giant. Sizing is unisex.

7. Columbia EvaPOURation II Jacket

The Columbia EvaPOURation II Jacket is a fully-featured rain jacket with a totally adjustable hood, pit zips, velcro wrist cuffs, inside, and exterior pockets, and a drawcord hem. It’s a 2.5 layer waterproof/breathable jacket made with a sturdy 70d material that compresses properly and stuff into its personal pocket for straightforward transport. A droptail hem helps hold your butt dry when carrying a backpack, whereas the sizing is roomy, which is nice for layering in colder climate. Males’s solely.

8. Warbonnet Stash Jacket

The Warbonnet Stash Jacket is a light-weight 5.0 ouncesrain jacket made with the waterproof material that Warbonnet makes use of to make their backpacking quilts (it’s additionally accessible in a breathable non-waterproof material). It has torso-length pit zips, elastic cuffs, and an adjustable snug-fitting hood with toggled neck controls. I’ve been utilizing one all spring, it packs up very small and works nice as a rain jacket. It’s additionally accessible in lots of colours together with camouflage. Sizing is unisex.

9. Sea-to-Summit Extremely-Sil Nano Tarp Poncho

The Sea-to-Summit Extremely-Sil Nano Tarp Poncho is lengthy sufficient for use as a mix poncho and backpack cowl, however it nonetheless weighs 5.1 oz. It’s made with 15D Silnylon, so it’s completely rainproof. It additionally has taped seams and an adjustable hood. Ponchos are an excellent different to rain jackets in heat climate as a result of they supply a lot air flow. Sizing is unisex.

10. Columbia Watertight II Rain Jacket

The Columbia WaterTight II Rain Jacket is a packable waterproof-breathable, totally seam-sealed jacket that can hold you good and dry, even within the heaviest of rains. It has an adjustable storm hood with hook-and-loop cuffs, and a cinchable hem to seal out the weather, whereas zippered hand pockets safe your smaller necessities. The within of the jacket is lined with breathable mesh which helps reduce inside condensation and wicks away moisture to maintain you comfortably dry. It has a traditional lower that’s hip size with a center-back size of 29in. The girls’s mannequin is known as the Arcadia II Rain Jacket.

HOW TO BUY A BACKPACKING RAIN JACKET

What are crucial options to search for on a climbing and backpacking rain jacket?

Adjustable Hoods

When selecting a rain jacket make certain the hood is NOT helmet-compatible, except you may have an enormous Godzilla-sized head. Sadly, many rain jackets are supposed for skiers and climbers who put on protecting helmets. What it’s best to 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 dimensions of the face opening, a wire or shapeable brim to defend 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 allow you to keep hotter.

Zippered Pockets

You possibly can’t have too many rain jacket pockets. They’re nice for carrying spare gloves, hats, and holding navigation instruments in simple attain. They’re additionally good for holding snacks shut at hand so you possibly can eat when 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 instances I’ve to cease to get garments or meals out of my pack.

Venting Capabilities

When you must hike in cool moist climate, you wish to restrict the quantity you perspire by actively managing your heat degree. The important thing to doing this entails venting extra heat by eradicating or venting layers. An excellent 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 here are a few of the most vital options to search for when evaluating completely 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 underneath gloves or over them relying in your desire and the glove sort.
Two way-front zipper: In case you pull the underside half up, you possibly can dump lots 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 by way of breathability rankings when taking a look at climbing rain jackets? For cheap rain jackets, one of the best you possibly can hope for is 10,000 (g/m^2/d) MVTR (movable water vapor transmission price), 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 rankings printed by producers as a result of they’re measured in ideally suited laboratory situations which have little to do with precise use. Pit zips and lively venting trump breathability claims any day. In case you get too scorching, venting your rain jacket goes to chill and dry you off much more rapidly than ready for water vapor to maneuver throughout a breathable membrane whereas your zipper is closed.

Waterproof/Breathable or Not?

If staying perspiration-free within the rain is vital to you when you’re climbing down a path carrying a loaded backpack…perhaps it’s best to 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 an alternative. The principle goal of a rain jacket is to maintain you heat when it’s raining or the wind is blowing arduous when utilized in mixture with a mid or base layer. Your purpose needs to be to remain heat and keep away from hypothermia.

The final word query is whether or not it’s best to hassle shopping for a water-proof/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 crucial 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

In case you do purchase a water-proof/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 is going to stop to be breathable in any respect. When that occurs, most backpackers purchase a brand new jacket, on common each 2-3 years, as an alternative 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 can be made with non-breathable materials. Lots of these rain jackets have pit-zips and different venting options to assist scale back inside sweat build-up when it rains as an alternative of breathability.

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