Travel rain jacket

[edslunch]

I'm travelling to Europe on holiday for a couple of weeks, in two weeks. I need a jacket that will work as a general windbreaker, a rain jacket for moderate rain, and be stylish enough to wear into a decent restaurant or bar without screaming tourist. I'd like to pay no more than $250, preferably less.

I've been looking online but it's hard to judge quality and I shopping, so I'm hoping someone may have a suggestion.

[Locke]

Have you contacted Morty Seinfeld? I hear he has a bunch in storage...

[PepsiFree]

North Face Antorra does all those things.

[Winsor_Pilates]

The aptly named company Rains makes really good stuff. Stylish, well made and right on budget.
https://www.ca.rains.com/collections...f-rain-jackets

[edslunch]

Originally Posted by Winsor_Pilates

The aptly named company Rains makes really good stuff. Stylish, well made and right on budget.
https://www.ca.rains.com/collections...f-rain-jackets

Thanks, these look good, despite the models’ best efforts

[mots]

K-way. old school cool. and super popular in Europe at the moment. great wind breaker, and for rain. not warm however, as just a shell.

[GGG]

Are you looking for a rain shell wind layer for active activity or something stylish for going around the city that keeps you warm and dry or does it have to do both?

Does it need to be packable or can it be worn on plane

[CaptainYooh]

All rain jackets wear hot, so not a great piece of clothes to begin with. If you're jeans and sweater kinda guy, I'd recommend Outdoor Research rain jacket. It's not too-too expensive and is very comfortable to wear. I've had one with me in Europe and was reasonably happy with it. If you plan to wear it over a sports jacket, you'd need something a bit longer than a normal rain jacket. Consider a simple rain shell from Columbia or Lululemon. These are more universal and can be useful in most fall weather situations.

[edslunch]

Originally Posted by GGG

Are you looking for a rain shell wind layer for active activity or something stylish for going around the city that keeps you warm and dry or does it have to do both?

Does it need to be packable or can it be worn on plane

The latter - a city and travelling jacket. Going to Portugal and visiting several cities by train. Will be worn not packed. I’m not overly concerned about warmth - the advanced forecast looks like high teens low twenties

[edslunch]

I’m probably looking for too much. Main priority is a good all round jacket for travelling that can tolerate rain. Then maybe pack a rain shell for full on rainy days

[Wormius]

Marmot makes the “Precip” with armpit vents in case it gets too stuffy. Used to use one for winter running and it worked great as a waterproof outer shell. If you need something more compressible for traveling, Eddie Bauer has some respectable looking options.

[puffnstuff]

When I needed something decent looking and weather proof, I took my Ogio golf jacket.

[Titan2]

I had an Eddie Bauer packable for years and just left it in Saskatoon. Piss me off.

This NF is very similar to what I had. I like the packability but knowing I have coverage was nice.

https://www.thenorthface.com/en-ca/m...7ZZ4?color=JK3

[GGG]

Originally Posted by edslunch

The latter - a city and travelling jacket. Going to Portugal and visiting several cities by train. Will be worn not packed. I’m not overly concerned about warmth - the advanced forecast looks like high teens low twenties

All the packable lightweight shells make you look like tourist

I think looking at soft shells from fashion brands instead of outdoor brands is probably where to start.

Lululemon makes some

https://shop.lululemon.com/en-ca/p/m...49?color=66824

https://shop.lululemon.com/en-ca/p/m...367?color=0001

Eddie Bauer has a few more fashion focused options
https://www.eddiebauer.ca/p/38888673...=1&color=Black

The other thing to consider is do you need full water proof walking around the city all day or just water resistant either light drizzle or 5 min storms.

The problem with soft shells though is they might be too warm and they are bulkier than the regular rain shells

[PepsiFree]

The lululemon recommendation is good. Their stuff is really nice.

I’m still m kind of curious what we mean by “looking like a tourist” though. I don’t think a shell/rain/transitional jacket is going to make or break that. People all over Europe wear this stuff, too.

The brand could be a giveaway I guess.

[GGG]

My assumption was didn’t want look like an outdoor hiker so no gortex style shells but instead something fit and cut for city use.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

The lululemon recommendation is good. Their stuff is really nice.

I’m still m kind of curious what we mean by “looking like a tourist” though. I don’t think a shell/rain/transitional jacket is going to make or break that. People all over Europe wear this stuff, too.

The brand could be a giveaway I guess.

Agreed. I feel like a day pack is the bigger giveaway than a jacket for being a tourist. Although, I recall lots most locals would just toss on a cheap plastic rain poncho or use an umbrella over their normal clothes when it was raining in Portugal and Spain. Someone with a high quality rain jacket wandering around might indeed look out of place outside of a tourist area.

IMO, instead of a dedicated jacket for all situations, having a light rain proof outer shell and layering it over some type of mid layer such as a sweater, down vest or fleece makes the most sense. Easy to find something <$150 for that and have money left over for the inner layer.

That's what my wife and I did. We had a rain jacket that was compressible into the size of a water bottle. We'd occasionally use it on rainy days, but it was the minority. We used it significantly more for wind (ie: Tuk tuk), but on rainy days other than one day, I think we just did as others did and would either just choose a place to take shelter (food, museum, shopping/overhang etc.) or just kinda move quickly from one building to the next. But at the time, most of the rain we got other than the one day was mostly misty stuff and the temps don't drop as rapidly as when we get rain here, so it was not too cold.

[undercoverbrother]

I've kind of moved into looking for cheaper less name brand options.

https://www.decathlon.ca/en/p/861217...et-mh500-black

I bought this jacket in the spring, it has been great. Worn it in pissing rain and wind, no issues stayed super dry. It is also oddly warm.

It fits tight, I can get a hoodie on for those early spring nasty days, but doesn't have a tonne of extra fabric flopping around.

Mat Black

I think it is a good option is you aren't a guy that needs name brands

[CarlLester]

Try Golftown or a proshop at a nearby course. Golf wear is more 'lifestyle' clothing these days. And at this time of the year, everything is typically on a pretty deep discount.

[Titan2]

Decathlon actually had a rain jacket like mine that folds up to nothing and it only cost $20!