Yeah, these days you can get by with a much lighter shell then the behemoth, three-layer, four-pound armored coats that were common four or five years ago. As I said not long ago when , today you can wear a piece that has a wider tolerance to rain than a fleece jacket, and you can leave the rain shell in your pack until the downpour gets pretty heavy.
Patagonia Grade VI Jacket
Grade VI Jacket
One shell to consider is Patagonia聮s Grade VI Jacket ($299; www.patagonia.com). It聮s a lightweight, fairly minimalist piece that聮s tough enough to withstand mountaineering, skiing, and other abusive activities. Patagonia makes it with their proprietary H2No coating, a treatment I rate as very good in the waterproof-breathable department. It has a hood, chest vents, water-resistant zippers, and three-layer construction that helps it layer very well with a soft shell.
Mountain Hardwear聮s Swift Jacket ($260; www.mountainhardwear.com) offers a good buy in a piece made with Gore-Tex. In this case, it聮s Gore聮s PacLite, a thinner version of regular Gore-Tex XCR that nonetheless offers excellent wet-weather performance. The downside is that it聮s a bit less durable. But the Swift is designed as a mountaineering piece, and the notion that you聮ll need it less when using a soft shell should help extend its life.
Finally, I really like ($199; www.rei.com). It聮s an all-purpose jacket, trimly cut for skiing, climbing, and the like, that combines three-layer nylon material on the shoulders and arms, with a lighter, more breathable material around the torso. It聮s very light, and very comfortable.
The votes are in: , including the year’s hottest shell.