Getting ready for a 4-month stint in New Zealand was an train in touring gentle. Regardless of having Patagonia’s Black Gap mega-hauler to cram my life into, I nonetheless needed to rein in my tendency to overpack.
Gear with multi-functionality — trainers that work on the highway and the path, a pair of denims stylish sufficient for a dinner date but stretchy sufficient for high-stepping over rocks and roots — earned a spot within the go-pile, whereas single-purpose objects stayed house in Colorado.
The waterproof, windproof, and uber-packable Patagonia Storm Racer made the minimize. After testing it for 3 months in gale-force winds, sudden storms, and a couple of tropical rainforest, I’m glad it did.
Little else in our closets today can save your bacon like a rain jacket can. And whereas cumbersome hardshells serve up safety that’ll outlast weeklong storms, they drag like a ship anchor when packed — and overlook about working in them. Svelte rain jackets just like the Storm Racer rebalance the scales, and when the forecast takes a flip, the perfect shell jacket is the one you’ve bought with you.
Briefly: The light-weight Patagonia Storm Racer stands as much as the weather. Stuffable into its chest pocket, the jacket is simple to tote alongside and is prepared if — or, in New Zealand, when — the climate turns bitter. It isn’t a barely-there layer like Patagonia’s long-loved Houdini, however I’d argue its increase in performance is properly well worth the (minimal) weight penalty.
To see how the Storm Racer stacks as much as different rain jackets in the marketplace, take a look at GearJunkie’s Purchaser’s Guides for Rain Jackets and Ladies’s Rain Jackets.
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Waterproof Materials
H2No Efficiency 3L -
Waterproof Ranking
20,000 mm -
Breathability Ranking
Unpublished -
Pit Zips
No -
Match
Trim/energetic -
Dimension
XXS-XL -
Pockets
One -
Weight
6.3 oz.
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Nice just-in-case layer for rain and wind -
Light-weight -
Breathable -
Stuffs down small -
Sustainable design
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Received’t stand as much as intense rain -
Small chest pocket -
Loud coloration choices
Patagonia Storm Racer Jacket: Assessment
Designs and Options
The Storm Racer is principally a hooded, waterproof shell with one minimal chest pocket. The H2No Efficiency Normal shell contains a three-layer building with a 20-denier totally recycled nylon ripstop face and 7-denier tricot backer sandwiching an inside, waterproof/breathable barrier. PFC-free DWR supplies extra rain safety.
Two primary cinch factors — one on the nape and one on the waist — add an additional contact of measurement customizability, in addition to the choice to additional batten down the hatches if the jacket’s already-slim match isn’t reducing muster.
At simply 6.3 ounces for the ladies’s and seven.2 ounces for the lads’s, the Storm Racer can be noticeably lighter than different rain jackets that GearJunkie consultants have put by way of the wringer, lots of which hover across the 10-ounce mark.
Wonderful (however Not Excellent) Efficiency
Stripping down the Storm Racer’s silhouette permits the jacket to be uber-packable by raincoat requirements. Your complete factor rapidly and simply stuffs into its chest pocket to change into a pliable wad concerning the measurement of a mango. There’s actually no cause not to pack this jacket, particularly in a spot the place shoulder-warming sunshine will flip to Antarctic gusts and heavy rain within the span of an hour.
As a easy wind safety layer, the Storm Racer delivers ample safety whereas nonetheless respiration successfully. I’ve reached for this layer on a number of bike rides, carrying it over my skinny puffy coat as an additional protection in opposition to biting wind. I’ve additionally thrown it on over a primary polyester tech tee — my customary working uniform — after I needed a contact extra heat on dry but chilly days.
In each cases, the jacket impressed me with its breathability. No query, the Storm Racer successfully allowed my physique warmth to flee whereas nonetheless blocking the wind.
Loads of different outings supplied alternatives to check out the Storm Racer’s prowess within the waterproof division. On one fast-hiking pursuit up the aspect of a mountain, sunny skies rapidly turned to swirling mist and pummeling wind and spitting rain as I crested a ridgeline.
Regardless of the Storm Racer’s slim match, I zipped the jacket over my t-shirt and fleece with none subject (it wasn’t too tight and didn’t impede my vary of movement), and I remained heat and dry regardless of the abrupt climate shift.
One other day, I bought caught biking in a deluge. Water pooled inches deep within the biking lane, and my wheels whipped it each up my again and onto my chest. As soon as house, my denims have been sopping, wring-them-out-like-a-towel moist from the waist down.
My face was additionally dripping, partly as a result of the tip of the hood extends solely about an inch previous my face (I would really like it to be a contact longer). My higher physique, however, which had been safely tucked beneath the jacket, was utterly dry.
Operating within the rain with the Storm Racer is a barely completely different story. I usually forgo a water-proof layer of any kind on soggy runs. Accepting that I will probably be moist from the rain at some point of my exercise looks as if a greater different than overheating in a moist, terrarium-esque hell of my very own making.
Within the identify of analysis, nonetheless, I did put the Storm Racer by way of the paces on a drizzling, 55-degree morning and located it carried out above common. I nonetheless discovered myself sweating a bit of contained in the jacket, nevertheless it breathed sufficient to keep away from the full-on terrarium impact. And it was good to have the waterproof safety, with out which I’d have been drenched and chilly.
It’s vital to notice that whereas the H2No Efficiency waterproofing is great, it’s not utterly proof against the weather. Mountain climbing 8 miles by way of a rainforest in an unrelenting downpour proved to be a bit an excessive amount of for even this precipitation-deterring workhorse. By the point I’d completed, it had rained shut to five inches, and I used to be soaked all the way down to my pores and skin in every single place, even beneath the Storm Racer’s protecting layer.
In fact, so was my husband in his Fjällräven raincoat (an older model of the Keb Eco-Shell Jacket) and my son in his Antora Rain Jacket from The North Face, which signifies that little lower than a roof may have withstood that degree of wetness. I’ll give the Storm Racer a cross.
Crossover Fashion — Kind Of
I like twin performance any day, however in relation to journey, I prioritize items that work properly and take a look at house in a number of settings. Due to its glossy silhouette and talent to crush down right into a purse-friendly measurement, the Storm Racer proves to be a terrific companion in city environments too — or at the very least the lads’s model does because it is available in each blue and black, along with the virtually neon Phosphorus Inexperienced.
The ladies’s model, nonetheless, is available in solely two colours: daring Subtidal Blue (principally turquoise) and even bolder Pimento Purple. I like coloration as a lot as the following Bob Ross, however when touring by way of a metropolis, I’d choose to do because the New Yorkers do and put on a black, or at the very least an unassuming navy.
Is {That a} Telephone in Your Pocket?
Whereas my Google Pixel 7 does match into the Storm Racer’s entrance chest pocket, it’s not simple to finagle in there, and it’s even tougher to wrestle out. On the upside, the compartment’s just-big-enough measurement means my cellphone stays flush in opposition to my chest even whereas working. There’s no bouncing.
Then once more, making an attempt to rapidly seize my cellphone to snap an image of some fleeting picture — a chirping fantail or a shocking cloud — was a misplaced trigger. I do know I’m being choosy right here, but when I had my druthers, the pocket can be simply half an inch or so longer to facilitate a smoother in-out transition.
Evaluating the Storm Racer to the Houdini
For those who’re available in the market for a light-weight working jacket, you may additionally be contemplating Patagonia’s long-loved Houdini. At simply 3.4 ounces, this 100% recycled nylon jacket additionally packs into its chest pocket, although it crushes down even smaller than the Storm Racer to roughly the dimensions of a kiwi.
The Houdini additionally resists gentle moisture due to a PFC-free DWR end however proves super-breathable, arguably much more so than the Storm Racer, given the lightness of the fabric.
Which jacket is best for you? That depends upon how a lot area you may have accessible, how diligently you’re counting ounces, and whether or not you’re prioritizing breathability or staying dry. For those who’re an ultra-marathoner reserving valuable area in your working vest for much-needed energy, then the Houdini might be your finest wager. Similar reply if you happen to’re shaving weight in pursuit of FKT glory or hammering out a tough, tremendous sweaty exercise.
When going for a mean run, you’ll have to determine between preferring to remain dry within the rain (select the Storm Racer) or not minding a bit of sweat (go along with the Houdini). Personally, I’d make this resolution on a case-by-case foundation relying on the temperature, how laborious and constantly it’s raining, and the way distant I’ll be after I’m working.
In most different cases, I’d argue the additional benefit of getting a totally waterproof layer readily available is price it. For those who’re mountaineering, biking, strolling the canine, strolling to the espresso store, or simply doing life when it’s raining (not simply misting), about to rain, chilly, or all three, wad the Storm Racer up and throw it in your pack.
For those who’re a budget-conscious shopper, the Houdini’s $109 worth level will look extra palatable than the Storm Racer’s $299 pockets hit. Don’t be fooled. You’re higher off with the Patagonia Torrentshell 3L Rain Jacket ($179) as an alternative, our editors’ choose for “Greatest Worth Rain Jacket.”
Patagonia Storm Racer: The Remaining Phrase
Everytime you’re working or mountaineering for double-digit miles, particularly once you’re at elevation, it’s all the time smart to be ready for a sudden drop within the mercury, an uptick in wind gusts, sudden precipitation, or all three. When Mom Nature lets free, you desire a layer you possibly can depend on: The Patagonia Storm Racer is simply that.
True, this shell isn’t fairly as featherweight or as squishable as Patagonia’s light-as-air jacket Houdini. And whereas the Storm Racer is definitely waterproof, it’d wrestle in an prolonged, unrelenting downpour. Nonetheless, the Storm Racer will probably be a staple in my backpack — and my fanny pack, purse, and sling bag as properly — for years to return.