when it rains, it pours

winters in the northwest are not really winter so much as rainy season. in portland they don’t get rain so much as drizzle, but in seattle and san francisco, we get us some serious friggin wetness. some days the heavens will just open up… for hours. and you can’t always stay inside.

the jetstream is the most perfect rain jacket i could find. it has the same water proof rating and advanced technology as jackets that cost twice as much from burton or oakley. in fact, it’s even more high tech than those, it’s just not quite as hip in the style department – though in black it doesn’t look nerdy or outdoorsy. it has welded seams instead of sewn and taped ones. it has waterproof stretch panels under the shoulders and pit zips so you can wear it for more athletic pursuits. it and it has the most adjustable hood i’ve ever seen other than on montbel jackets.

warning. the jetstream is cut slim. very slim. if you pack on pounds in the winter and have to add layers, you might want to pay more for the burton continuum, which had a slightly more generous cut (seriously, not by much). or if you think you need to order up a size, check out the awesome deal on last year’s continuum, which fit much looser. if you are generally slim but have a big chest or shoulders, the jetstream’s stretchy panels have you covered.

really the only shortcoming about the jetstream the length. it’s only a jacket, so it comes about halfway down your butt. it is not a coat. i actually went looking for a coat length thing first, because nothing sucks more than wet thighs. i checked out the north face premeire line, which features a number of coat length models but the cheapest waterproof one is $750. YEOUCH! so my suggestion is get one these jackets since they’re so packable you can carry them all the time and put a little of the dough you saved into a good umbrella, like the nanonuno.

buy from patagonia