You also get pit zips for dumping heat and a higher-quality hood with better adjustability, which are worthwhile upgrades for most hikers. Sources: In some cases, you may need to re-waterproof your gear to ensure the waterproof integrity remains.

I took the Rab on one of my longer testing walks and also on a bike-ride and found it faultless on both occasions. If you’re arthritic or have trouble with fiddly fixtures, the bottom end of the main zip will be a challenge and the little drawstrings attached here and there could be frustrating for less nimble fingers. Based in Salt Lake City, Cotopaxi is a relatively new brand that has quickly risen to popularity in the outdoor world, thanks to their sustainable business practices, positive community presence, and—of course—hard-to-miss colorways.

And while it doesn’t stack up as well in performance testing, good seam sealing and a reliable build make it a solid option for daily use or as a just-in-case shell when bad weather isn’t in the forecast. But for skiing, climbing, or bike commuting, we appreciate the LT’s more hardwearing 40-denier shell (the Beta is 30D), and the helmet-compatible hood and pit zips are an undeniable benefit for those really getting after it. To mimic the HH test at home, we stretched a section of each jacket over a bowl, covered it with water, and came back in the morning to see if any water had seeped through. Manufactured in Polyester with inner PU-coating and OEKO-TEX cotton lining, zipper with storm flap and snap buttons, fixed hood, two slanted pockets, adjustable waist and cuffs.

The suit itself is very well constructed, with a side pocket with taped seams that will keep you dry. On the other hand, more feature-rich shells, such as our hiking/daily use options, hit a better sweet spot for the everyday user. A quick look at our comparison table above reveals that rain jacket weights correlate closely with their intended use(s). Hardshell jackets, in contrast to the hiking rain jackets we’ve listed above, are made for truly extreme conditions.The popular design features a Gore-Tex Paclite waterproof laminate, smooth and comfortable interior, and tough 50-denier shell that’s both durable and highly weather-resistant. But for slower-moving pursuits, it’s a reasonable compromise, and we found ourselves reaching for the Falketind over our Storm10 (below) while alpine climbing in Patagonia—the longer cut functions better under a harness, the chest pocket provides more storage, and the soft fabric and Paclite membrane offers better freedom of movement than the Storm10’s 3-layer design.