There was a recent thread on the Tejas Trails Facebook Group about jacket suggestions for cold, rainy races. This is a subject that I find very interesting because I got caught in a thunderstorm in a jacket that was only water resistant at the Bandera 100K back in January. That cold, icy trickle of water down my back was highly unpleasant and I don't really want to repeat the cold, sodden feeling I had by the finish. After the race I picked up a waterproof jacket from REI, but it's heavier than I really want and not very breatheable. When the thread came up on the Tejas Trails group I took that opportunity to do some new looking at waterproof running jackets.
I found a number of options ranging from relatively inexpensive to extremely expensive. Here are the jackets that I found ordered from lightest to heaviest.
- GoLite Malpais Trinity - This weighs a paltry 7 ounces, including the hood, and is fully waterproof. Oh, it costs $250.
- GoLite Kenai Pertex - At 10 ounces this weighs a bit more than the Trinity but it has a couple more pockets. It also has a two-way front zipper, which is actually a really awesome feature. It also is cheaper, at $200.
- GoLite Tumalo Pertex - This also weighs 10 ounces. I'm not clear on what the differences are between the Tumalo Pertex and the Kenai Pertex except price, with the Tumalo Pertex coming in at $150.
- Arc'teryx Alpha FL Jacket - Now we're talking big money. This jacket costs $399 and weighs 10.3 ounces. My understanding is that this jacket is very expensive but it will last until Armageddon.
- Arc'teryx Celeris Jacket - Although this jacket is only water resistant, it is windproof. It is the lightest jacket I looked at at only 4.3 ounces, but I'm including it at the end of the list since it is not properly waterproof. It costs $129.
References
- Tejas Trails Facebook Group
- Bandera 100K
- GoLite Jackets
- Arc'Teryx Jackets
