Good running jacket to beat the rain?

That advice is outdated.

Andrew Skurka now endorses the latest gore H5 jacket

(the earlier Shakedry jackets he never tried, because they can't be used with a backpack)

https://andrewskurka.com/review-gore-wear-h5-gore-tex-shakedry-jacket/?unapproved=116206&moderation-hash=47643c9542198506d5668fcebfa125ed#comment-116206

legendre wrote:

Montesquieu wrote:

This is the one I linked: Marmot Men's PreCip Lightweight Waterproof Rain Jacket.

Ordered this one. Quite cheap compared to other stuff. Let's see how it works.

Light and has armpit ventilation, but not for runner body profile. I can probably put another person inside this jacket. Will send it back and continue my quest.

Arcteryx Incendo. Bombproof, ultralight, breathable, very high quality. Water repellent (not waterproof), but the best all around compromise in my opinion.

I'll put in another vote with the ShakeDry crowd but they're pricey. You might be able to get one of the North Face ones on clearance now that they're pushing their new uberfabric. If you want less expensive, my Outdoor Research Helium II has lasted forever and doesn't breathe as well but is solidly waterproof and packs down small enough to throw in a small pack or carry.

If you live somewhere cold, winter is no fun without a waterproof layer. You can pull it off once you warm up, but starting a long run cold and wet is a bad time.

Look for something with a 2 way zipper. If you start to heat up you can unzip from the bottom and release a lot of heat and vapor without letting in rain, snow, etc

legendre wrote:

legendre wrote:

Ordered this one. Quite cheap compared to other stuff. Let's see how it works.

Light and has armpit ventilation, but not for runner body profile. I can probably put another person inside this jacket. Will send it back and continue my quest.

A few thoughts:

- It's strange how poorly represented running clothing companies are in these recommendations. Dozens upon dozens of jackets made for running by running companies that are neither windproof nor rainproof.

- For easy (low heat producing) runs in appreciable rain and cold rain temps (35-50), a non-waterproof jacket is worthless after a few minutes, and a waterproof one might do just fine if you're careful about not putting too much under it.

- It's a bit annoying that about 40 years after waterproof running jackets the market, they still often cost well north or $200.

jackety wrote:

A few thoughts:

- It's strange how poorly represented running clothing companies are in these recommendations. Dozens upon dozens of jackets made for running by running companies that are neither windproof nor rainproof.

- For easy (low heat producing) runs in appreciable rain and cold rain temps (35-50), a non-waterproof jacket is worthless after a few minutes, and a waterproof one might do just fine if you're careful about not putting too much under it.

- It's a bit annoying that about 40 years after waterproof running jackets the market, they still often cost well north or $200.

Well, to be fair, it was pointed on the first page that the idea of a "fully waterproof and highly breathable" jacket for running doesn't exist and will never.

GoreTex Shakedry is fully waterproof and requires no future waterproofing...while it is breathable, you're still going to be soaked on the inside due the heat you generate running not being able to fully escape (thanks to the closed outer fabric to keep the water out).

The North Face Futurelight Flight Jacket is probably the best attempt to so far, but they aren't really doing anything new in their "Nanospun" technology...it's just very highly breathable, supposedly best in industry, but eventually you'll have to re-apply the DWR (Unlike ShakeDry).

Skurka is kind of the boss on this, from his stuff I've read.

I was just saying, like at least one other poster, I think, that for easy runs in cold, rainy conditions, waterproof-ness is more important than breathability. I'd rather risk MAYBE getting a little extra sweaty than be wet and cold. And for a middle aged slow guy like me, a 9-10 minute paced easy run in, say, 35-40 degree rain, in a waterproof jacket doesn't present a big excess sweat risk.

And it would be nice to achieve this at below $200+.

Traditional 3 layer GoreTex fabric is not really good at allowing hot air out for runners. The new paclite and active fabrics consist of the waterproof layer bonded directly to the fabric and they do a very good job of letting hot air out - they are not like a sauna. The problem is that these jackets sell for between $250 and $350. I own one from Arcteryx and used to own one from North Face. Because they breath so well you can wear them 3 seasons instead of maybe 1 but you need to cough up a lot of money. I can see from some of these posts that many runners have never tried the newer GoreTex fabrics

Arcteryx Norvan SL

I also own the Arcteryx Norvan SL. I did a lot of research and I could rationalize the $325 cost because it would let me run on days that would otherwise be pretty miserable - or if I got stuck 10 miles into a trail run and several hours from civilization in a sudden snowstorm or torrential rain storm I wouldn't die from hypothermia