Realized my cheap rain jacket was the reason I was always soaked during hikes

Hiked about 8 miles in Olympic National Park last month and got drenched even though I had a rain jacket on. I thought I was just unlucky with the mist, but my buddy who runs a gear shop pointed out the jacket's seams were unsealed and the fabric was basically a water sponge. Took me 4 years of misery to figure out that a $40 jacket isn't a rain jacket, it's just a windbreaker that pretends. Now I look for pit zips and sealed seams, total game changer for wet weather walks. Anyone else get fooled by those budget rain shells?

2 comments

2 Comments

zara_hunt3d ago

Wait, did you check if the hood was actually cut for a helmet? I bought a "waterproof" jacket once, spent a whole day in the Smokies with the hood up and still got a wet neck. Turns out the hood was just a floppy dishrag that flapped away in the wind. Now I only buy jackets with a stiff brim and a drawcord that actually tightens down. That cheap thing was basically a wet sock on my head.

the_sage3d ago

Gotta agree with @zara_hunt on the brim and drawcord thing. I've been burned too many times by hoods that just dump water down my back. Now I test them by actually shaking my head around hard in the store to see if they stay put.