Best rain jacket that works??

[JAshley73]

For a good cheaper option/keep it packed away just incase the REI branded Ranier jacket is well worth the money if you get it on sale. Picked it up in the dark green for about $60 bucks compared to $100 retail and is probably the best ive used for that price range. Has the pit vents too which is nice. Relatively lightweight and packs away pretty small. Not terribly loud either.

I had about 6 rain jackets side-by-side recently, during some very informal testing. I had bought one of those REI Ranier jackets for my daughter, and included it. Despite being washed, dryed, and DWR treated per the care recommendations, it performed the worst of the entire bunch, wetting out terribly in about 30 minutes. I let it dry, re-treated the jacket with DWR (Nikwax Techwash) and repeated. It showed no improvement.

I returned it to REI, and replaced it with a used Patagonia TorrentShell jacket. I haven't had a chance to "test" her TorrentShell yet, but I expect it will do well.

The Columbia "Whistler Peak" jacket had the best water-shedding performance, since it has no face-fabric layer to absorb water & "wet out." Next-bestest was the Patagonia Granite Crest jacket. Needing a bright color for outdoor work & visibility, I went with the Granite Crest. It is a comfortable, nice-wearing jacket as well. Not too thick, noisy or plastic-ey...







The REI Ranier wetting out after just 30 minutes in light-moderate rain.





The Columbia "Whister Peak" OutDry jacket. Completely unbothered. I wish these were available in bright colors for those of us that need visibility.





The Patagonia Granite Crest. Excellent water-shedding, and hardly a spot of "wetting out" after over an hour in light-moderate rain.