Rain Jacket Reviews

A backpacker at Evolution Lake on the John Muir Trail in Evolution Basin, Kings Canyon National Park.

The Best Backpacking Gear for the John Muir Trail

by

By Michael Lanza

So you’re planning to thru-hike the John Muir Trail and making all of the necessary preparations, and now you’re wondering: What’s the best gear for a JMT hike? Having thru-hiked the JMT as well as taken numerous other backpacking trips all over the High Sierra—mostly between late August and late September, which I consider that the best time to walk the Sierra, to avoid snow and the voracious mosquitoes and blazing hot afternoons of mid-summer—I offer the following picks for the best ultralight and lightweight backpacking gear and apparel for a JMT thru-hike.

Read on

A backpacker above the Cutthroat Lakes on the Doubletop Mountain Trail in Wyoming's Wind River Range.

The Best Backpacking Gear of 2025

by

By Michael Lanza

Utah’s High Uintas Wilderness, Montana’s Beartooths, and Colorado’s Weminuche. Glacier National Park and the Tetons. The Grand Canyon (repeatedly). The Canadian Rockies. Southern Utah’s Owl and Fish canyons. The Wind River Range. The John Muir Trail and Wonderland Trail. Iceland’s Laugavegur and Fimmvörðuháls trails. New Zealand’s Milford Track, Routeburn Track, and Tongariro Alpine Crossing. These are just some of the places where I’ve recently tested the backpacking gear and apparel that I’ve reviewed at The Big Outside—so that I can give you honest and thorough, field-tested opinions that help you find the best gear for your adventures.

And that’s exactly how I came up with the following picks for today’s best backpacking gear.

Read on

A backpacker hiking in rain on the Dusky Track in Fiordland National Park, New Zealand.

5 Expert Tips For Buying a Rain Jacket For Hiking

by

By Michael Lanza

Choosing a waterproof-breathable rain shell for hiking, backpacking, climbing, or other outdoor activities can seem daunting. Prices range from under $100 to over $500, and weights from less than half a pound to over a pound. Some are loaded with features, others so minimalist they may seem like just a step above a trash bag with arm holes. You’ll also find the full gamut of opinions on them from reviewers and consumers.

Read on

The Black Diamond Distance Wind Shell.

The Best Ultralight Hiking and Running Jackets of 2025

by

By Michael Lanza

You’re out on an all-day hike or a long climb or trail run or ride in the mountains. The weather forecast looked pretty good before you set out—but no one shared that memo with the wind that just started hammering your summit ridge, or the spitting rain and hail now pelting you as you contemplate the sudden drop in temperature and the miles between you and shelter. The question now is: What’s in your pack?

If you’re smart, it’s an ultralight jacket that takes up little space, but is about to gift you with just the right amount of weather protection when you need it.

Read on

The Black Diamond Fineline Stretch Shell and Fineline Stretch Full-Zip Pants on New Zealand's Milford Track.

Review: Black Diamond Fineline Stretch Shell and Pants

by

Rain Jacket and Full-Zip Pants
Black Diamond Fineline Stretch Shell
$189, 10 oz./283.5g (men’s medium)
Sizes: men’s XS-3XL, women’s 2XS-2XL
Men’s: blackdiamondequipment.com
Women’s: blackdiamondequipment.com

Black Diamond Fineline Stretch Full-Zip Pants
$179, 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.

Read on