Montbell Storm Cruiser

Our take This shell has a just-right balance between weight and features for all-purpose use. It has the most critical details (hand pockets, pit zips, three-way-adjustable hood), yet packs down to the size of a large burrito. Three-layer Gore-Tex with a C-Knit backer enhances breathability and lends the jacket a supple feel. (Testers deemed overall breathability “very good.”)

The details The large pockets start near the armpit, sit above a hipbelt, and can each fit a fly box or a dog leash, and the hem extends far enough to cover our butts when sitting on a raft or bending over. And the well-designed hood earned particular praise: “The cut lets it sort of ‘float’ around my head, without impairing hearing as much as other shells, though it’s rigid enough to hold its shape and doesn’t let wind in,” says a tester.

Trail cred “On a 2,500-foot descent in Montana’s Garnet Range, I loved
how the collar came all the way up to my mouth, so I could hide in it and not have rain flying down my neck,” notes one tester.