REI clothing reviews

The REI XeroDry GTX Jacket.

Review: REI XeroDry GTX Rain Jacket

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Rain Jacket
REI XeroDry GTX
$179, 12 oz./340g (men’s medium)
Sizes: men’s S-XXL, women’s XS-XL, men’s tall M-XXL, women’s plus 2x and 3x
rei.com

How much rain shell do you want in mountains with variable weather? How much should it weight—and how much should you pay? Those questions came to mind when I wore the REI XeroDry GTX rain shell through hours of cold wind and steady rain, with a bit of wet snow, at the tail end of a five-day September backpacking trip in the Bechler Canyon area of Yellowstone National Park. I was happy with its moderate weight and packability for three-and-a-half days of sunny, mild days at the outset of that trip, when this shell stayed in my pack. But I was even happier that it has features that kept me dry when the weather turned ugly. And paying much less for any gear makes anyone happy.

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Review: REI Talusphere Jacket

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REI Talusphere Jacket.
My daughter, Alex, wearing the REI Talusphere Jacket on the Tour du Mont Blanc.

Rain Jacket
REI Talusphere Jacket
$149, 15 oz. (women’s small)
Sizes: men’s S-XXL, women’s XS-XXL
rei.com

When trying to outfit themselves for backpacking and other backcountry adventures, many people may prioritize dollars for a better backpack or tent, and settle for a bargain waterproof-breathable rain jacket—especially if they intend to mostly avoid hiking in the worst weather. Parents trying to outfit a growing kid for the backcountry may feel similarly inclined toward frugality. To test that gear-buying strategy, I got my 14-year-old daughter a sub-$150 rain jacket that many consumers will undoubtedly consider, the REI Talusphere Jacket, for our eight-day trek on the Tour du Mont Blanc in July. Mixed weather—including wind on most days, and a day of hiking through wind-driven rain and cool temperatures over the 8,323-foot (2537m) Grand Col Ferret—spotlighted this jacket’s strengths and weaknesses.

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Review: REI Motility Rain Jacket

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REI Motility Jacket
REI Motility Jacket

Rain Jacket
REI Motility Jacket
$169, 1 lb. 2 oz. (men’s medium)
Sizes: men’s S-XL, women’s XS-XL
rei.com

There are, quite literally, few environments in the world wetter than New Zealand’s Fiordland National Park: It receives upwards of 400 inches of rain a year. (Fun fact: That’s 10 times more than Seattle.) To me, that means there are few places on the planet better for testing a rain jacket. I took the Motility Jacket on a four-day trek of Fiordland’s famously wet, muddy, and rugged Dusky Track, and a dayhike to Gertrude Saddle above Milford Sound, where plenty of rain mixed with lots of exertion on my part provided an excellent measure of this well-priced, waterproof-breathable rain jacket.

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