You only need one rain jacket
The importance of investing in good outerwear, my personal jacket rotation, and my favorite rain jackets you can buy right now.
Talking about rain jackets in August seems blasphemous, but the truth is, this is an all-year item. Despite the heat, Montreal has seen a lot more rain this summer, and I’m not the one to reach for the umbrella. Plus, depending where you’re located you might already be shopping for a new rain jacket yourself.
If you’re in the search for something new then you’ve come to the right place. In today’s letter: I’m sharing some personal favorite outerwear that’s been with me for years, what brands I shop for when I need to re-up on a rain jacket, where to get high quality without having to pay a lot, and some sales for some good rain outerwear at the bottom of the letter.
You only really need 1 good rain jacket in your closet — anything more and you’re doing it for pure style purposes. I say that because when you properly invest in an item like this, you don’t really need to purchase anything else. A good rain jacket, along with proper maintenance to the exterior that keeps the water beading off, should last you a decade without issues.
I have a lot of options in my rotation simply for research purposes, and after test running a bunch my current three favorites that I enjoy wearing are:
Beams 3M reflective blouson that I got last year in Japan. It’s not insanely waterproof, but it’s good enough for those light rain days that requires you to jump outside for a second.
Haven Spectre Jacket is probably the one I wear the most. Got this a few years ago and have worn it through the harshest winters and rain Montreal has to offer, and it’s still looks brand new. Good amount of pockets, great hood size, and hardware is solid all around. It’s definitely more of an investment, but it’s one that I would say is worth the money.
Dime + Adidas GORE-TEX jacket. This one is fun because it’s the first time GORE-TEX had made a product penetrating the membrane with studs while keeping the jacket completely waterproof.
MY PICKS
Below are the jackets that I would recommend for anyone looking to upgrade or replace whatever they are wearing now. All of today’s suggestions will come at various price points but more or less they do the same thing — protect you from the rain.
You might have noticed that GORE-TEX or other water-repellent treated outerwear isn’t as cheap as it once was, and that’s just the reality of the fashion world right now.
The technology and resources that go into making a jacket completely waterproof is going up in price, and that is reflected in today’s market. Because of this, I recommend not going with the ultra cheap options because there is a noticeable difference in how they perform when you need them to.
Portal is all about performance, and their Sphere GORE-TEX Jacket is the perfect example of that. Insanely light, packable, great simple design, what I think is the perfect hood that tightly wraps around your face when you need it, and it’s completely waterproof.
All that for $500 is not that bad, especially if you plan on having this for the next several years.
The Vingtor Jacket from Klattermusen is another great option that is under $500, more on the lighter side, but still built in a way that keeps that all the water out. Comes in a wide range of great colors, and even has a 30 day return window if you aren’t satisfied with your purchase.
This is a solid option if you just want something that works well without having to spend a lot of money. It is less fashionable, but it doesn’t always have to be about that when we’re talking about performance-based clothing.
