High Quality Rain Jacket

[El Cid]

Not sure if this is best posted here or in GD, but some of the rain gear threads of old were here.

I’ve decided it’s time to get a very high quality rain jacket for use at work. It needs to be durable and be able to keep me dry for hours in the rain. I’ve found a few brands, but am not familiar with a couple of them. Online reviews are hard to trust these days, so any first hand experience would be much appreciated. Yes, these are stupid expensive, but I’ve come to terms with paying for quality and performance.

The jacket needs velcro panels on the sleeves for ID placards. It also needs a hood that will accommodate a helmet. Zippered pits are a plus. I don’t need anything that is insulated – just rain protection. Ideally it would be Ranger Green, but I can live with similar colors or some of the grey options.

1) Arcteryx Alpha Gen 2: https://leaf.arcteryx.com/us/en/shop...a-jacket-gen-2

2) Mantle Rain Jacket: https://mantle-clothing.com/product/...-jacket-mod-1/

3) Carinthia PRG2.0: https://www.carinthia.eu/en/prg-2-0-jacket-p2912/

4) UF Pro: https://ufpro.com/us/tactical-jacket...roduct-details (never heard of this company but the features they list seem well thought out)

These are the 4 I’ve found, with them in current order of preference. If y’all know of any other brands I should look at please list them below. Thanks!

[GJM]

I have been wearing Arcteryx hard shells for 21 years. Normal wear, busting thru brush, blood from hunting all over. They all, including my oldest one from 21 years ago, look and perform like new.

My most commonly worn model is a Beta.

Here is a link to understanding how their models are named:

https://www.barrabes.com/en-gb/blog/...d-the-arcteryx

[DamonL]

I am not familiar with the other brands. I have use an Arcteryx Beta AR with Goretex Proshell for about 7 years and wore it daily from fall to spring. I like it because it is durable and waterproof. So I think the Arcteryx jacket you are looking at will do well.

[Default.mp3]

UF Pro is a European brand that's been around awhile. Have not heard anything negative about them, outside of their popularity with some of the more autistic members of the shooting community since they offer European colorways. I would put them second under Arc'teryx on your list, as they use actual real GORE-TEX; Mantle and Carinthia both fail to disclose the basics of the membrane they're using, which I don't particularly like, while both Arc'teryx and UF Pro state that they're using 3L GORE-TEX (with Arc'teryx calling out the specific line from GORE-TEX). Not to say that GORE-TEX is the best (though for your use, you'd almost certainly want 3 layer, regardless of the brand), but I'd like to know what membrane in general is being used, as there are many different brands, and each brand has many different lines.

Outdoor Research: https://www.outdoorresearch.com/us/s...-jacket-289510
Wild Things Gear (only comes in MultiCam or Coyote): https://www.wildthingsgear.com/colle.../rescue-jacket
Forgeline Solutions (previously Patagonia's military/LE line) offers a Foul Weather Jacket that utilizes a 3 layer membrane; it does not list it as having loop on the arms, but it could be worth reaching out and seeing if that's an option.
Beyond (only comes in MultiCam, black, or Coyote, no loop panel): https://beyondclothing.com/collectio...-jacket-coyote
Otte Gear: https://ottegear.com/collections/jac...s/patrol-parka
Sitka Arrowhead WWP Jacket is discontinued (the whole line was, probably due to the politics of Sitka's being owned by GORE-TEX, and thus competing with various other makers in that space also using GORE-TEX), but high quality, and you might be able to find some NOS in Lead (their version of wolf grey).

Alternatively, just find a jacket that you like and have someone add loop to the arms; this'll likely be cheaper since you can use a pro deal and then have someone reputable just add the loop for a lower cost than the military/LE specific jackets that tend to not have much of a pro deal. Technical repair specialists like Rainy Pass Repair (https://rainypass.com/), Renewt (https://renewt.com/), Rugged Thread (https://www.ruggedthread.com/), etc. The only real weakness I see with this is that you'll have to be careful on removing anything retroreflective off civilian hardshells.

Hoods that accommodate ballistic helmets are... eh. They can do it okay if it's a totally clean helmet (or something smaller, like a climbing helmet that SAR might use for rope work or whatever), but the moment you throw strobes, lights, ear pro, battery packs, etc., shit is not gonna fit over, and you'll have to route the hood under. My LEAF Alpha struggles to fit over my TW SAR that just has a strobe, and a light on each rail (Princeton Tec Charge and Streamlight HL-X on an Arisaka Offset Scout Mount Picatinny on the TW MOE rail), somewhat limiting my ability to turn my head left or right; it totally fails to cover any meaningful amount of my Ops-Core FAST SF that also has AMP Arms, battery pack, etc.

[flyrodr]

Can't comment on how they compare to the Arcteryx, but Simms has been making some really tough rain gear (and waders, etc.) for years. I've put a lot of years and miles on mine, and it's still working fine.

https://www.simmsfishing.com/collect...s-rain-jackets

[theJanitor]

KUIU has several rain jackets that likely meet the requirements, aside from fitting a helmet

[ST911]

Beyond (only comes in MultiCam, black, or Coyote, no loop panel): https://beyondclothing.com/collectio...-jacket-coyote

Good recommendations. When you start talking about Arc, Kuiu, PG, etc it's usually degrees of better and price rather than good vs bad.

Re: Beyond, The above is the US-made Berry jacket. The import variation is also excellent. Link:
https://beyondclothing.com/collectio...k6-rain-jacket

[rd62]

I have a Forloh Allclima Rain Jacket. It's made in Montana and works very well.

No idea if it would accommodate a helmet under the hood but I guess it depends on the helmet and it doesn't have velcro on the sleeves.

[El Cid]

Awesome stuff! This is one of the reasons PF is the best forum, period.

I have a ton of KUIU. They are my favorite brand but their rain jackets don’t offer Velcro on the shoulders. I’m not sure how effective it would be to try attaching it. Sewing obviously puts holes in the outer membrane, and I haven’t seen an adhesive that lasts long on rough use gear.

I’ll check these others mentioned. And great intel on Gore Tex! I wouldn’t have thought to pay attention to the lack of descriptors.

Much appreciated!

[Default.mp3]

I have a ton of KUIU. They are my favorite brand but their rain jackets don’t offer Velcro on the shoulders. I’m not sure how effective it would be to try attaching it. Sewing obviously puts holes in the outer membrane, and I haven’t seen an adhesive that lasts long on rough use gear.

What technical repairers/alterers will do is put a GORE-TEX (or whatever brand) patch or seam tape in where they sewed the loop panels on and penetrated the membrane, so that it remains waterproof. Same thing that they would do more or less when repairing hardshells with large holes or tears that you can't just slap a repair patch on; I had to do this when I tore my LEAF Alpha Bib, and I didn't watch to use a repair patch since it would mess up the MultiCam pattern (gotta look cool to be cool), so Renewt just used a really big membrane patch on the inside to close it back up (it was at the knee, with a lot of flexing, so the larger contact area was wanted.). So, you can't just take it to your local alterations shop, but it is totally a viable option.