Rain Jacket and Full-Zip Pants
Black Diamond Fineline Stretch Shell
$180, 10 oz./283.5g (men’s medium)
Sizes: men’s XS-3XL, women’s 2XS-2XL
Men’s: blackdiamondequipment.com
Women’s: blackdiamondequipment.com
$155, 9 oz./255.1g (men’s small)
Sizes: men’s XS-XL, women’s 2XS-XL
Men’s: blackdiamondequipment.com
Women’s: blackdiamondequipment.com
Few places test rain gear as brutally as New Zealand’s chronically rainy Fiordland National Park—which is where I put Black Diamond’s Fineline Stretch Shell and Full-Zip Pants through the paces in early December (late spring there) on two classic hut treks where rain occurs almost as prevalently as oxygen: the Routeburn Track and the Milford Track (photo above). In some of the heaviest and most relentless wind-driven rain I’ve encountered over four decades of hiking and backpacking, this jacket and pants performed quite impressively—and I saw their limits.
I wore both the jacket and pants during rainy periods on parts a three-day trek of the Routeburn Track in Mount Aspiring and Fiordland national parks, where we had light to moderate rain and wind and the jacket and pants kept me dry while not causing me to overheat at all, although the wind and temperatures in the 40s and 50s Fahrenheit also helped keep me cooler.
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But the fiercest test of the Fineline jacket and pants came on a four-day trek of the Milford Track in Fiordland, which delivered probably one of the five wettest backcountry experiences I’ve had in four decades of hiking all over the U.S. and around the world: torrential rain for hours a day that swelled waterfalls (creating countless, stunning scenes) and rivers and streams to flood levels that almost stranded us in our last hut. (The hut ranger allowed us to depart and we waded through long stretches of water up to knee-deep on the trail.)
For two straight days and most of a third day on the Milford, the jacket and pants never left my body. While they prevented me from getting soaked and cold, water did penetrate both layers in spots—and in fairness, I believe those conditions would overwhelm any high-quality waterproof-breathable shells. In fact, two of my companions wore Gore-Tex rain jackets and pants from other popular brands—which are significantly pricier than the Fineline shells—and these rainstorms penetrated those shells to a similar degree.
More specifically and most significantly, because my pack’s padded hipbelt was thoroughly waterlogged and tightened around my waist, that belt was effectively pressing water through the waist area of the jacket and pants, wetting the layers underneath them—but not soaking me to the point where I ever felt cold. Also, because the gloves I wore became completely saturated with water for hours (I could wring a stream of water from them), and the jacket’s cuffs, although closed snugly, caught all the rain running off my sleeves and into my gloves, the cuffs and lower sleeves of my base and insulation layers got quite wet.
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Thet takeaway from that: In unavoidable, extreme conditions like that, you have to layer properly under your shells so you’re prepared to remain comfortable even if—or perhaps when—water penetrates them.
I also stayed dry in the Fineline Stretch jacket and the pants on several other days of wet weather:
- I wore both dayhiking the 12.6-mile/20.2-kilometer Tongariro Alpine Crossing on the North Island of New Zealand in late November, on a day of heavy fog, moderate to strong winds, and wind-driven, horizontal rain for the first few hours.
- I wore the jacket for hours every day, mostly for cold wind, but also a little graupel and scattered snowflakes one afternoon on a four-day, 60-mile backpacking trip in Utah’s High Uintas Wilderness in the first week of October.
- And I wore the jacket in a strong, bitter wind under sunny skies on above-treeline sections of a dayhike of the rocky little peak Mount Monadnock in southern New Hampshire in late October.
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Previously called the Stormline, BD’s Fineline Stretch Shell and Full-Zip Pants use the brand’s 2.5-layer BD.dry waterproof/breathable/windproof technology, which, like other 2.5-layer membranes, consists of three parts: a microporous membrane in the middle that keeps precipitation out while providing breathability to release moisture created by your body, sandwiched between a face fabric with a PFC/PFAS-free DWR (durable, water-repellant treatment) to shed water and a half layer print inside for comfort against skin (or your internal layers).
As I described above, the jacket and pants kept me dry through all but the most extreme rain and clearly function well in the weather typically encountered by most backpackers and dayhikers. Although the ambient temperature and wind on the hikes I took in these shells were not conditions that would cause most people to get overheated, the breathability seems adequate for all but very warm three-season trips—similar to many waterproof-breathable jackets that weigh well under a pound. (If you rarely hike in rain or temps below around 60° F/15° C, consider getting a lighter rain jacket. See my picks for the best rain jackets in a wide range of weights and designs.)
The features of the Fineline Stretch Shell elevate it to the level of a full-on technical, three-season rain jacket, particularly the one-hand-adjustable, climbing-helmet-compatible hood, with a brim and a close fit that prevented most of the hard, wind-driven rain from pelting my face, and the DWR-sealed pit zip vents, which I opened at times of lighter rain and less wind to help me avoid breaking into a sweat and getting wet under the jacket. My one criticism of the hood is that, with no helmet on, I had to tighten it to its closest fit to keep the brim from slipping down over my eyes. (Wearing a ball cap helps alleviate that problem, as well as helping to keep rain off my face.)
The Fineline Stretch Shell also has a waterproof front zipper, an adjustable hem and cuffs, and two zippered hand pockets.
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At 10 ounces/283.5 grams for the jacket (men’s medium), which stows into the right-hand pocket and clips to a harness or pack with a carabiner clip loop, and nine ounces/255.1 grams for the pants (men’s small), which pack into their zippered back pocket, both are relatively lightweight and packable for such fully featured shells—most notably for a jacket with pit zips and a technical hood and pants with full-length side zips.
Many comparable shell jackets and pants weigh more—and yet, the Fineline’s 50-denier fabric ensures greater durability than most lighter jackets offer; they’ve certainly survived the level of use I’ve put on them so far very well. The jacket packs down to slightly larger than a liter bottle (and compresses to about a liter) and the pants to the size of a softball.
With underarm gussets and very stretchy fabric that’s relatively soft and supple for a rain shell, the fit is quite comfortable and roomy enough for one or two base layers plus an insulation layer without ever feeling too bulky; I’ve employed all those layering combinations under this jacket on the hikes mentioned above.
The full-length side zippers on the pants enable venting, especially important with waterproof-breathable pants, which, even more than a jacket, can certainly cause you to overheat when hiking with a pack in mild temps and rain. Full-length zippers also make pulling the pants on or off over hiking shoes or boots very easy—negating the cumbersome and slow need to slip footwear off and on, which often results in exposing your legs, socks, and shoes to more rain.
Black Diamond Fineline Stretch Shell and Full-Zip Pants
The Verdict
With weather protection and breathability that nearly competes with higher-priced rain jackets and pants, the fully featured, lightweight, and packable Black Diamond Fineline Stretch Shell and Fineline Stretch Full-Zip Pants will meet the demands of many backpackers, dayhikers, climbers, and other outdoors users—at a much lower price than those high-end shells.
BUY IT NOW
You can support my work on this blog, at no cost to you, by clicking any of these affiliate links to purchase a men’s Black Diamond Fineline Stretch Shell at blackdiamondequipment.com, backcountry.com, or rei.com; a women’s Black Diamond Fineline Stretch Shell at blackdiamondequipment.com, backcountry.com, or rei.com; the men’s Black Diamond Fineline Stretch Full-Zip Pants at blackdiamondequipment.com, backcountry.com, or rei.com; or the women’s Black Diamond Fineline Stretch Full-Zip Pants at blackdiamondequipment.com, backcountry.com, or rei.com.
See “The Best Rain Jackets for Hiking and Backpacking,” “5 Pro Tips For Buying the Right Rain Jacket For the Backcountry,” and all reviews of rain jackets and outdoor apparel at The Big Outside.
See also “5 Smart Steps to Lighten Your Backpacking Gear” and my “10 Tips for Spending Less on Hiking and Backpacking Gear.”
And don’t miss my popular reviews of “25 Essential Backpacking Gear Accessories” and “The Best Backpacking Gear” of the year.
NOTE: I tested gear for Backpacker magazine for 20 years. At The Big Outside, I review only what I consider the best outdoor gear and apparel. See my Gear Reviews page at The Big Outside for categorized menus of all reviews and expert buying tips.
—Michael Lanza