We thought we knew lightweight , but then we met the , which barely moves the scale. This soft, light and stretchy jacket is a no-brainer whether you're expecting a downpour on the hill or just want to have a bit of protection rolled up in your out of precaution. Built using 100% recycled polyester, we've hiked up steep slopes in warm weather in this jacket and found it to be as as any rain jacket can be, reinforced by the pit zips to help you dump heat.
It's 2.5-layer rather than 3-layer (read more on the difference in our article on ) so it's not built for the harshest of conditions, but it fends off the rain and we'd use it for hiking in the spring through the fall, and even on milder winter days. The added stretch makes it really comfortable to move in and layer over your and adjustable cuffs, hem and hood all cinch things in tight to beat back the wind on a gusty hike.
For your gloves and phone, there are two zipped hand-warming pockets plus inner mesh pockets where you can stash a map if you want to. There's no chest pocket and it can be a little hard to reach the hand-warming pockets when you're wearing a backpack with a hip belt, plus the pit zips only have a one-way zipper which makes it a tiny bit harder to open them, but as you can see we're really reaching to find much wrong with this jacket. It's not a technical shell, but if you're just looking for a reliable waterproof jacket that's not stiff and swishy, you'll find this provides all those perks here at a palat.
