Good Waterproof Ultralight Running Jacket?

Triathlon Forum
1

Hi everyone,

I’m getting into ultras this year. I’m in the hunt of a fully waterproof yet breathable and ultralight running jacket able to withstand the beating of mountain weather for extended period of time.

I know it’s a tough one, but I’d really appreciate any suggestions / recommendations you guys might have.

Thanks a lot!!

2

The castelli pocket cycling one the pros wear at the Tour. I have one and have used. It running a few times in the mountains, works great! $$$$ though

3

The Marmot Super Mica is an awesome jacket. Very durable. I have seen them as low as $170

http://marmot.com/products/super_mica_jacket

4

The castelli pocket cycling one the pros wear at the Tour. I have one and have used. It running a few times in the mountains, works great! $$$$ though

i got one of those on a closeout a couple years back, it’s very pack-able. The sizing is very euro, i bought a size bigger than normal and it’s still too small.

It doesn’t breathe very well, like most cycling jackets. That might be a negative for running

5

north face better than naked

http://www.thenorthface.com/catalog/sc-gear/mens-jackets-vests/men-39-s-better-than-naked-jacket.html?from=subCat
.

6

I love my Patagonia Houdini. It is not waterproof, but very water resistant and it practically weighs nothings, packs up into a small ball, and is easy to carry along running, cycling, traveling, etc. I bought mine after reading the reviews on their website as well as other ultra runners who seem to love this jacket.

Men’s: http://www.patagonia.com/us/product/mens-houdini-jacket-windbreaker?p=24140-0-678
Women’s: http://www.patagonia.com/us/product/womens-houdini-jacket-windbreaker?p=24145-0-427

Hope this helps!

7

Go cheap!
The “Original” line form O2 Rainwear is the most breathable waterproof jacket I have used.
http://o2rainwear.com/category/products/
It’s $35 at your LBS, and weighs 4 or 5 ounces!

It can be punctured or torn easily though. But the white waterproof inner layer flakes off of expensive jackets after a few years anyways.

DriDucks/FroggToggs makes a similar product.

8

Is this the Castelli pocket liner jacket? The cheapest I see it for is $300 - yikes!

9

Go cheap!
The “Original” line form O2 Rainwear is the most breathable waterproof jacket I have used.
http://o2rainwear.com/category/products/
It’s $35 at your LBS, and weighs 4 or 5 ounces!

It can be punctured or torn easily though. But the white waterproof inner layer flakes off of expensive jackets after a few years anyways.

DriDucks/FroggToggs makes a similar product.

thanks for the info …

10

I have a Brooks LSD Lite II that I really like. Extremely lightweight and breathable. Also packs into its own pocket to become roughly the size of a pint glass. I find it fits quite well in a spare bottle holder in my Fuel Belt.

I got a previous year’s model at REI for less than $45.

11

Got one of these running the American River 50 (backdoor brag) and it’s fantastic for wind and fog around San Francisco. I wouldn’t trust it in a rainstorm, but it is amazingly packable and breathes better than stuff that’s actually waterproof.

/kj

12

x2 on the Northface jacket.

13

Thanks everyone for the great suggestions so far. I do have a light “weather resistant” jacket but that wouldn’t do in 24h+ races in the mountains if the weather gets nasty.Looks like the Marmot Super Mica could be an option, but the NorthFace, Patagonia and Brooks wouldn’t be enough I think?

14

The super mica has reinforcements at the shoulders to combat hydration pack rubbing and also at the waist where a hand-held would rub a lot. That’s why I picked it myself and it is working really well going on two seasons and several hundred miles of training and racing in it.

15

SALOMON s-lab light jacket?

Or Gore running wear might have something.

16

http://www.camp-usa.com/products/apparel/es-protection-jacket-1419.asp

awesome jacket, super lightweight (feels like half the size of my pearl izumi or zoot windbreakers) super compact and compressible.

17

The Marmot Super Mica is an awesome jacket. Very durable. I have seen them as low as $170

http://marmot.com/products/super_mica_jacket

+1 on the Super Mica. Love it

18

I have a gore cycling jacket. Its waterproof and fits in a jersey pocket quite easily. I’ve used it for running many times

19

Thanks everyone for the great suggestions. While researching I came accros the new innov8 150 “stormshell” jacket.

Anyone has experience with Innov-8 clothing? Couldn’t find any reviews online. Seems like there’re new with trail running apparel but it does seem like an interesting product.

20

After a bit more research I think it’s worth noticing that there are objective measures of fabric waterproofing and breathability. Unfortunately, not all brands are sharing those numbers…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterproof_fabric
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breathability

Standard laboratory testing protocols define the performance of these fabrics. Water resistance is measured by the amount of water, in mm, which can be suspended above the fabric before water seeps through. Breathability or Moisture vapor transmission rate is measured by the rate at which water vapor passes through, in grams of water vapour per square meter of fabric per 24 hour period (g/m2/d), often abbreviated to just “g”. In recent years some, but not all, sporting goods manufacturers have begun including this information on their product labels. Typical mid-range fabrics tend to have values of 5,000 mm of water resistance and 5,000 g of breathability; the best materials have 20,000 mm and 20,000 g.