The Montbell Rain Trekker Jacket is a 2-layer Gore-Tex Infinium rain shell that’s loaded with options however nonetheless exceptionally light-weight and reasonably priced. Weighing simply 7.8 oz in a males’s XL (6.9 oz in a dimension medium), it’s an ideal seam-taped jacket for 3+ season climate with a three-way adjustable hood, entrance brim, velcro wrist-cuffs, a waterproof entrance zipper, and two hipbelt suitable zippered chest pockets. Those chest pockets are a reasonably uncommon factor on rain jackets designed for hotter climate use, however they’re extraordinarily helpful if you happen to wish to deal with your rain jacket pockets as an extension of your packing system.
Specs at a Glance
- Weight: 6.9 (Men’s M) – Women’s sizes out there
- Weight Tested: 7.8 oz Men’s XL
- Type: 2-layer, waterproof/breathable
- Membrane: Gore-Tex Infinium Windstopper
- Outer Fabric: 20D Nylon Ripstop with DWR end
- Helmet Compatible: Yes
- Hydrostatic Head: 30,000 mm
- MVTR: 43,000 g/ m²/ 24hrs
The Montbell Rain Trekker is a light-weight however fully-featured seam-taped rain jacket. I’ve been utilizing it since this spring for rain and for wind safety in cooler climate, normally layered over a fleece midlayer. While the Rain Trekker is billed as a water-resistant/breathable jacket, I haven’t been blown away by its skill to vent water vapor. It’s sufficient so far as this stuff go. I actually accumulate perspiration when sporting it, however when you have low expectations about waterproof/breathable materials, you’ll by no means be upset.
The principal motive to get a water-resistant/breathable jacket as an alternative of a silpoly or silnylon one boils all the way down to the match, options, and seam taping that are normally far superior for mountain climbing in mountainous terrain. If you know the way to handle wet-out with midlayers, so it doesn’t chill you, otherwise you solely use a water-resistant/breathable jacket as a hardshell in winter when the precipitation is stable, then a water-resistant/breathable jacket is sensible to put on.
Besides its low weight, the options on this jacket that basically rock my boat are the hood and its three-way adjustability, the velcro wrist cuffs, the seam-taped building, and the outside cloth which is quiet to put on and doesn’t have a shiny floor that you just discover on a few of Montbell’s different rain jackets just like the Versalite. If the Rain Trekker had pit zips, it’d be an much more fascinating jacket.
The Hood
Good hoods are exhausting to seek out on rain jackets. This one is outstanding as a result of it may be adjusted in 3 ways.
- The dimension of the face opening might be adjusted to dam wind from coming into round your face. This is finished with elastic cords which Montbell tunnels by means of the higher chest in order that they are often adjusted whereas sporting gloves. They use the identical system on different jackets and it’s good.
- There is a velcro tab within the again than can be utilized to lift or decrease the entrance brim. The brim is just not bendable however does stop the entrance of the hood from flopping down over the eyes.
- A rear cordlock allows you to alter the hood quantity to assist scale back flapping within the wind.
While the Rain Trekker hood is helmet suitable, these changes additionally allow you to tailor it simply for non-helmet use. I’ve a small hat dimension and I don’t have any downside shrinking the hood to a extra formfitting dimension.
Hipbelt Compatible Pockets
The Rain Trekker has two chest pockets that may be simply accessed whereas sporting a backpack. I like maintaining hats and gloves in these pockets so that they’re simple to placed on or take off once I’m mountain climbing. But they’re additionally giant sufficient to carry a folded map, compass, cellphone, or snacks.
Most rain jackets don’t have chest pockets like these, as a result of they’re really not designed for hikers who put on hip belts. I like these pockets as a result of I can entry or put away incessantly used objects that you just actually can’t simply put into backpack shoulder strap or hip belt pockets. Both of those pockets are fairly giant and now have waterproof zippers with zipper garages on high to forestall water streaming down your chest from leaking in.
Wrist Cuffs
The jacket additionally comes with wrist cuffs, that are half elastic and half velcro, so that you stop wind and water from leaking up the arms or wrap the sleeve round glove/mitten gauntlets. I’ve additionally discovered them simple to make use of once I pull the jacket sleeves as much as vent my wrists since this can be a good approach to regulate physique warmth.
Recommendation
The Montbell Rain Trekker Jacket is a really light-weight 2-layer Gore-Tex Infinium rain jacket that’s good for 3+ season use. I prefer it as a result of it’s so light-weight, however nonetheless fairly “technical”, with a extremely adjustable hood and hipbelt-compatible pockets that complement my model of mountain climbing. I fee it as a 3+ season jacket as a result of I’ve discovered it a bit too cool to put on in winter and like a thicker and hotter exhausting shell for winter use.
If you’re questioning how this jacket compares to the Montbell Versalite Rain Jacket (hyperlink to evaluate) which I additionally suggest, they’re really fairly comparable, besides that the Versalite has a shiny exterior cloth and lengthy pit zips, that are fascinating for venting physique warmth so that you perspire much less. That mentioned, they’re each excellent rain jackets and actually are best-in-class.
Disclosure: Montbell donated a jacket for this evaluate.
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