Waterproof jackets?

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stevewestern

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I need a new one, and having only ever had cheap jackets that aren't very waterproof and seem to make you sweat so much its almost not worth wearing I'm hoping that some of you know what to look for.
It doesn't need to keep me warm, but that's about all I can add...
Educate me please!
 
I mean, if you really want educating......https://www.outdoorgearcoach.co.uk/ :)

TL;DR: it's very easy to make things waterproof - the trick is making them waterproof in one direction. in a high energy activity, it is not possible to stay dry, but it's relatively easy to stay comfortable :) The more tech in your jacket the higher energy you can get away with. So a cheap/low tech jacket will fail to deal with sweat just standing still - in an OMM Halo I can run for a couple of hours in relative comfort. The game changer for me was realising that I needed a long sleeve layer underneath a waterproof to stay dry.

Other than that....what are you doing and how rich are you? For price vs performance, I doubt you'd bee this https://keelaoutdoors.com/product/munro-jacket/ but if you're doing something energetic it will be too heavy and if you're just popping from the car the the shops it will be overkill.
 
I’ve been using a Peter Storm lightweight breathable jacket for quite a few years now it was cheap just gets stuffed into my camera bag and I lay on the ground often to photograph insects but it’s still perfectly waterproof
 
JonathanRyan said:
I mean, if you really want educating......https://www.outdoorgearcoach.co.uk/ :)

TL;DR: it's very easy to make things waterproof - the trick is making them waterproof in one direction. in a high energy activity, it is not possible to stay dry, but it's relatively easy to stay comfortable :) The more tech in your jacket the higher energy you can get away with. So a cheap/low tech jacket will fail to deal with sweat just standing still - in an OMM Halo I can run for a couple of hours in relative comfort. The game changer for me was realising that I needed a long sleeve layer underneath a waterproof to stay dry.

Other than that....what are you doing and how rich are you? For price vs performance, I doubt you'd bee this https://keelaoutdoors.com/product/munro-jacket/ but if you're doing something energetic it will be too heavy and if you're just popping from the car the the shops it will be overkill.
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Thanks for your reply Jonathan, I'll take a look at your links in a sec.
I'm not rich, nor am I energetic - I'll be going on fairly gentle walks of up to 3 miles I guess. My old one is/was a Mountain Warehouse £50 jobbie with zip-out fleece. My wife has a Mountain Warehouse 'Extreme' that seems to be lined or double layered and is way more waterproof. I've looked on their website but there are loads of different 'Extreme's' and none that are an exact match...
I guess I'd rather pay rather more and get something decent, although looking at the Rab website I'll be mid-range at around £200-ish and it would be nice to be able to try on and possibly discuss with them that know in a store rather than online - I seem to remember my wife being amazed at how helpful she found the staff when she look at Rab's in a Cotswolds outdoor store.
 
LCPete said:
I’ve been using a Peter Storm lightweight breathable jacket for quite a few years now it was cheap just gets stuffed into my camera bag and I lay on the ground often to photograph insects but it’s still perfectly waterproof
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I have recently bought one and so far so good as far as waterproofing goes but i sometimes feels a bit‘clammy’ when I take it off
 
And this is the ki
gjhill said:
I have recently bought one and so far so good as far as waterproofing goes but i sometimes feels a bit‘clammy’ when I take it off
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And this is the kind of thing I'm hoping to avoid as much as possible - even in the dry I often find I've got wet arms inside my jacket...
 
I have a couple of Berghaus jackets that keep the water out and have sensibly sized foldaway hoods too.
Paramo are also supposed to be very good, never tried one myself.
 
gjhill said:
I have recently bought one and so far so good as far as waterproofing goes but i sometimes feels a bit‘clammy’ when I take it off
Click to expand...

I have never noticed that but it may well be that I just do gentle walking looking for insects so never have that issue
 
I have a hi-vis jacket with a foldaway hood and quilted inner that cost less than £40.

I appreciate that it won't be ideal for wildlife work but it is waterproof and very comfortable!

Here's someone modelling a similar jacket...

Older man yellow Jacket on motor bike 10D CAN_5619.jpg
 
stevewestern said:
I need a new one, and having only ever had cheap jackets that aren't very waterproof and seem to make you sweat so much its almost not worth wearing I'm hoping that some of you know what to look for.
It doesn't need to keep me warm, but that's about all I can add...
Educate me please!
Click to expand...
Mountain rescue folks generally use Paramo - those that don't want to spend that go for Keela
 
I would like to recommend Paramo too.

However, I have no experience of any recent Paramo jacket, but my current one which is over 25 years old is excellent and still going strong. They are not cheap but if mine is typical they worth a look.

Dave
 
I need a new jacket too, but it seems they only do them with Velcro fastenings nowadays. Even the slightly better ones like Berghaus and North Face that I would normally buy. :headbang:

I hate Velcro - poxy stuff sticks to everything and only lasts five minutes. :mad:

Whatever happened to buttons or poppers?

A tip: Avoid Mountain Warehouse stuff - it's crap in my experience.
 
Agree with the above, avoid Mountain Warehouse. For budget kit I would recommend Decathlon and their Quecha range.

I currently have a Rab waterproof jacket, which is ok for sporadic showers, the zip is a pain though.

It depends on how extreme the weather you are typically out in, but from experience I would recommend Paramo and Keela, although my absolute favourite piece of kit is my Buffalo Mountain Jacket. It is very toasty with pretty good waterproofing.
 
Thanks for all the replies - a few makes to look out for and I'll make a start by asking in Cotswold Outdoor next time I'm in Plymouth.
I didn't know that NT members got a discount there which will certainly help!
 
I would say my £80 Decathlon jacket is better at "wicking" than my £200+ Jack Wolfskin jacket,

Having said that as I "walk warm" I don't think any jacket can really cope with some peoples sweat level
 
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LCPete said:
I’ve been using a Peter Storm lightweight breathable jacket for quite a few years now it was cheap just gets stuffed into my camera bag and I lay on the ground often to photograph insects but it’s still perfectly waterproof
Click to expand...
Literally bought one a couple of weeks ago for travelling. Looks good seems to do the job.
 
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