Tag: outdoor apparel

Every time I slip on a rain jacket, I give thanks that we no longer have to wrap ourselves in thick, smelly sealskin to stay dry. The best rain jackets today are more comfortable and watertight than ever, thanks to advances in weatherproof textiles and apparel design. But depending on the climate and your level of activity, sorting through different styles, technologies, and waterproof ratings can be confusing.

Every year, I test dozens of rain jackets through the soggy Pacific Northwest winter. I hike, bike, run, and walk my dogs—sometimes I even stand in the shower with my clothes on when the weather isn’t cooperating. I also got advice from Amber Williams, a professor at Brigham Young University who has been an expert on outdoor product design. All to find the rain jackets worth your time and money.

Don’t forget to check out the rest of our outdoor coverage, including the Best Puffer Jackets, Best Merino Wool Clothes, and Best Hoodies. If you want a more in-depth explanation for what these terms mean (like, what’s hydrostatic head?) we have a fabric explainer here.

Updated November 2025: We added the Arc’teryx Beta SL, the Lolë Piper 2.0, the Páramo Velez Adventure Smock, the Helly Hansen utility rain coat, the North Face Antora, the North Face Mountain Parka, the Finisterre Stormbird, and the Rab Firewall Alpine and Phantom.

Best Overall

Every year, I try to find another jacket that beats the Arc’teryx Beta SL for roominess and dryness, and it’s just impossible. Despite its extravagant price, this is the jacket that I always end up reaching for when an atmospheric river starts pouring through Portland. This is Arc’teryx’s lightest rain shell. It has Gore-Tex’s latest fabric innovation, called ePE (expanded polyethylene)—it’s a breathable, waterproof membrane laminated to a nylon face that’s also free of carcinogenic perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and has a hydrostatic head (HH) rating of 28,000, which is pretty incredible (the standard is around 10,000). When it comes to rainwear, I sacrifice sustainability in favor of not getting wet—being cold and wet really sucks and could be life-threatening in the wrong situation. But this jacket has kept me dry through the bugging-est out, sideways-pouring rain.

Features-wise, the hood is big enough for my hair (or a helmet, if your hair is smaller than my hair), with adjustable cuffs and pit zips (very important for activity!). And unlike many other jackets, the women’s version has plenty of space for my shoulders and arms to move freely for biking, hiking, and moving heavy objects. If you’re only getting one rain jacket, it should be this one.

Best Rain Jacket for Women

I love this rain jacket. I was walking in the city with my friend (in the rain) when a truck suddenly went through a puddle right next to us on the road and covered me head to toe, Sex and the City-style. This jacket kept me dry. Its waterproofing specs are average—it uses a carbon-based, durable water repellent and has a HH rating of 10K, which is about half the waterproofing of what some of our other picks have—but I really like its design features.

I’m 5’2″ and it’s long enough to cover my shins. You can button the cuffs to prevent water from running down the sleeves. It has multiple (huge) pockets for all your random walking-around needs, with both zippered and open options. The fit is incredibly loose for layering—why don’t more outdoor brands do this? I’m very small on the bell curve of humanity, but I shouldn’t need to size up to men’s medium to get a size loose enough for layering! Most importantly, it packs up into its own small, self-contained backpack with straps so you can hang it on a wall when you get to the party instead of leaving a giant, soaking garment to hang from a hook and drip all over everything.

★ Alternative: If you’re not trying to stay dry for hours while outside and you also like a feature-rich rain jacket with big pockets, I like the Helly Hansen utility rain coat ($200), which also covers a lot of your body and has a lot of pocket options.

Best Rubber Rain Jacket

Since the 1960s, modern rainwear has relied on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), or “forever chemicals”, to waterproof clothing. Modern durable water repellents (DWRs) use PFAS in manufacturing, which then migrate from your clothing into soil and streams as you tromp around outside. Today, many companies are reducing the levels of PFAS in their products, probably because states are banning these chemicals.

The best way to make sure you don’t have PFAS in your coat is to go with a classic rubber raincoat, like Stutterheim’s Stockholm raincoat. Technical rain jacket manufacturers tend to shy away from polyurethane because it’s, well, rubbery. But the material is durable, long-lasting, windproof, waterproof, and PFAS-free. I also prefer rubber rain jackets in damp coastal climates, like the Pacific Northwest. Breathability is less of a sticking point when the air is already humid.