Dropped $80 on a rain jacket that saved me from hypothermia

I was hiking in the Gifford Pinchot forest last fall and got caught in a sudden downpour. My old jacket soaked through in like 10 minutes so I was freezing and shivering bad. On the way out I stopped at a gear shop in Vancouver and dropped $80 on a cheap Marmot PreCip. That next month I wore it in a 4 hour rainstorm and stayed totally dry the whole time. Has anyone else found that one piece of budget gear that just works way better than you'd expect?

2 comments

2 Comments

robertb309d agoTop Commenter

Oh I have to push back on this one. I've owned two Marmot PreCips over the years and both let me down after maybe six months of light use. The DWR coating wears off faster than any other jacket I've tried, and once that happens the fabric wets out and stops breathing entirely. I ended up soaked from sweat on a moderate day hike because the thing just turned into a plastic bag. For $80 you're better off saving another $40 and getting a Columbia OutDry or waiting for a sale on a better brand. That "stayed totally dry" feeling usually doesn't last past the first season with these budget rain shells.

rowanc299d ago

My Marmot PreCip has been through two PNW winters now and I literally wore it in a sideways hailstorm last month and stayed bone dry. Is it gonna breathe like a $300 Arc'teryx shell? No, but for eighty bucks it keeps the rain off and that's really what matters.