But other brands, such as Patagonia and The North Face, have created their own versions of waterproof fabrics that work in the same basic way. The most famous of these materials is GORE-TEX, which you’ve probably seen used in tons of brands and products, including coats, shoes and even gloves.

If all you want is protection from the rain, you can easily use a plastic poncho, but if you want to move around and not immediately start sweating, you’ll want to opt for a breathable rain jacket.

For years brands have been innovating waterproof materials that are also breathable and soft so they’re comfortable to wear. The first thing to know is what these jackets are made out of. Rain jackets are a surprisingly complicated subject, so it’s good to know a little bit about what you’re getting into when buying one. So unlike most of the jackets we tested - which didn’t have fully waterproofed zippers, allowing water to slowly (and sometimes not so slowly) leak through both the main zipper and the pockets - the Torrentshell protects your phone and other items from getting waterlogged.Įverything you need to know about rain jackets Plus, since the water runs right off, we were able to easily shake the Torrentshell dry after our test, meaning you’ll never have to walk into work with a drenched jacket again.Īll of the Torrentshell’s zippers are protected by a flap that didn’t allow a drop of water through, even when we pointed the shower’s stream directly onto them. The Patagonia’s durable water repellent (DWR) coating worked perfectly, causing any water that hit the shell to bead and run right off, preventing water from soaking into the jacket and pooling (which happened with a few of the other jackets we tested). The Torrentshell’s three-layer H2No Performance Standard shell is what we have to thank for keeping us dry, and it held up just as well as GORE-TEX, probably the most well-known and trusted waterproof material in the outdoor industry.

It turns out showers, which on average dump 2.1 gallons per minute, are surprisingly good at simulating some pretty extreme rainfall.ĭuring our indoor monsoon, the Patagonia kept us completely dry, with only a tiny bit of water trickling in from the gap at the neck when we’d look up, and from the cuffs when we’d raise our arms (which was typical of all the jackets we tested, although some were worse and let tons of water in through the neck - more on that below). Since we couldn’t rely on frequent heavy rainstorms to test the waterproofness of our jackets, we hopped in the shower for 10 minutes with each jacket to see if we would stay dry.

Whether you’re an avid hiker or just need protection from the rain during your commute, the Patagonia Torrentshell 3L is the one rain jacket you should buy.

Heavy rain game for sale