backpacking apparel reviews

Gear Review: Black Diamond Coefficient Jacket

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Black Diamond Coefficient Jacket
Black Diamond Coefficient Jacket

Fleece Jacket
Black Diamond Coefficient Jacket
$139, 11 oz. (men’s medium)
Sizes: men’s S-XL
blackdiamondequipment.com

Keeping your body from overheating or getting cold while active is a challenge in shoulder seasons, or anytime you encounter fast-changing weather and temperatures from the 20s to the 50s Fahrenheit. The key is clothing that provides just enough warmth without making you perspire too much, and that moves moisture out quickly when sweating becomes unavoidable. On numerous spring and fall days of hiking and rock climbing in Idaho’s City of Rocks National Reserve and Castle Rocks State Park, and dayhiking in July in Mount Rainier National Park, the Coefficient Jacket hit that ideal balance that kept me from cycling between hot and chilled.

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Gear Review: Marmot Isotherm Hoody Puffy Jacket

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Marmot Isotherm Hoody
Marmot Isotherm Hoody

Breathable Insulated Jacket
Marmot Isotherm Hoody
$225, 13 oz. (men’s medium)
Sizes: men’s S-XL, women’s XS-XL
marmot.com

A puffy jacket that’s breathable? That holy grail of backcountry apparel seemed elusive until Polartec Alpha synthetic insulation entered the scene. Looking for a fairly lightweight, Alpha-filled jacket that would be versatile for year-round use—and that has a hood—I used Marmot’s Isotherm Hoody on spring and summer hiking trips. Although just 13 oz., this full-zip jacket kept me warm on mornings ranging from calm and 15° F. (with a warm top on underneath it) in southern Utah in late March, to the 40s with steady winds of 40 to 50 mph in Idaho’s White Cloud Mountains in July. Even more impressively, on a frosty morning in the teens and 20s in Utah’s Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, I could wear it hiking at a brisk pace without overheating.

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Gear Review: Westcomb Focus LT Hoody

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Westcomb Focus LT Hoody
Westcomb Focus LT Hoody

Ultralight Rain Jacket
Westcomb Focus LT Hoody
$280, 9 oz. (men’s medium)
Sizes: men’s XS-XXL
campsaver.com

Here’s the thing about a rain jacket: Other than a first-aid kit, it’s often the least-used item in my pack, whether backpacking, climbing, or dayhiking. But when I need it, of course, I sure wouldn’t want to be without one. Like a lot of people, I have contradictory desires for a rain shell—I want it to be functional and protective when the weather turns foul, but also super lightweight and compressible. On backpacking trips in Utah’s Capitol Reef National Park, California’s Sequoia National Park, and Washington’s Glacier Peak Wilderness, as well as a 28-mile dayhike in Idaho’s White Clouds Mountains, and a hut trek in New Hampshire’s White Mountains, the Focus LT was consistently my go-to shell. Why? It delivered protection when I needed it, and virtually disappeared inside my pack when unneeded.

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Gear Review: Arc’teryx Envoy SS T-shirt

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Arc'Teryx Envoy SS
Arc’Teryx Envoy SS

T-shirt
Arc’teryx Envoy SS
$69, 5 oz. (men’s medium)
Sizes: men’s S-XXL
arcteryx.com

On a mid-May day of sport climbing at Idaho’s Castle Rocks State Park, I was reminded of why I like wearing a T-shirt made of natural fibers instead of a synthetic: Aside from natural fabrics being environmentally friendlier than something based in petroleum products, they’re just more comfortable. This 56 percent cotton, 46 percent Merino wool tee feels soft against skin and has a casual fit that allows for completely unrestricted freedom of motion for climbing, hiking, running, or any other warm-weather outdoor activity. It also looks much better than, well, a garment made from petroleum products.

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Gear Review: Arc’teryx Tecto FL Jacket

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Arc'teryx Tecto FL
Arc’teryx Tecto FL

Lightweight Jacket
Arc’teryx Tecto FL Jacket
$369, 10 oz. (men’s medium)
Sizes: men’s S-XXL, women’s XS-XL
arcteryx.com

Rain shells in the “ultralight” category—which might be loosely defined as 10 ounces and under—tend to sacrifice some performance and durability. Not so the Tecto FL. I practically lived in this Spartan jacket on most of a four-day September trip in the Olympic Mountains, where we got slammed with strong wind, rain, hail, and wet snow, with temperatures in the 30s, for a solid two days, followed by a couple days of sunshine but chilly wind and temps in the 30s and 40s, during which I wore this jacket much of the time. We also bushwhacked for miles through pine boughs that would pour buckets of water over us in the Bailey Range. While my soft-shell pants and my waterproof leather boots eventually soaked through from that deluge, this jacket kept my upper body dry. I give it a 10 for waterproofness and durability, because it looks as new now as the day I got it.

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