June 18, 2007 Mamot Precip rain jacket - full user review
MARMOT PRECIP RAIN JACKET: Review summary – Great storm protection for the light traveler. High points: Lightweight, ultra-packable, well-ventilated, doesn’t leak, good hood design, good-looking.
RATING: 4 stars, a One Bag, One World recommended product
How to test a raincoat? In my case, a ten-day early summer visit to England and Scotland - from London to Loch Ness - was just the ticket to try out the Marmot Precip. With sometimes torrential rain falling for eight days out of ten the Precip kept me comfortably dry. At under $100 ( you can often find them for around $80 on sale) this jacket falls between the sweaty cheapo rain slickers and more expensive — and often heavier — Gore-tex rain shells. The Precip’s fabric doesn’t breathe quite as well as Gore-tex, but the jacket has Pit Zips (under arm zippered vents) so it’s quite comfortable in warm weather. On colder days, just layer and the Precip will do the rest. Marmot says the Precip is free of the clammy feel often associated with unlined jackets. To be honest, I think it feels quite clammy to bare skin on a wet day, but this is not a problem for me since I wear longsleeves year round.
I can say that it never leaked or soaked through despite steady rain and gale force winds in London. Since the temperatures dipped into the 40’s one day with a strong north wind, it’s a good thing the Precip held strong. One strike against the Precip: their are no interior pockets and the traveler always needs a breast pocket. The styling fits nicely between techie hipster and boring middle-aged, so it works fine for almost anyone. You can jazz it up or down by choosing from the wide variety of colors. Best of all, it weighs almost nothing and packs into a double handful; fits easily in a backpack pocket or messenger bag. I won’t be leaving home without my Precip any time soon. More info from Marmot here. The Precip is available for men, women, and kids. There are Precip pants too.
Reader Comments (3)
I have the Precip in a maroon color, and more recently have acquired the matching rain pants, which come just in black. Since I got the jacket a few years ago, the design has been updated a bit, mainly an improvement in how the hood furls. In an XL, the jacket weighs 13 oz. Keep in mind, however, that it is barely a hip length jacket. So, in an urban setting, it would provide only incomplete protection for dress pants. It would be nice if Marmot made an "Urban" version, at least knee length. For my pending trip to London, likely I will acquire a lightweight microfiber trenchcoat.
It is true that a good rain jacket is a real travel asset. In fact, certain types of jackets, while not technical rain gear, are ideally suited as travel jackets/anoraks and they will look at least a little bit more urban, as you say, Alan. I also agree with the need to have something a little longer so it covers at least your butt and possibly a suit jacket worn underneath.
Here is a thread on travel anoraks I started on FT:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/travel-products/1004570-travel-anorak-what-do-you-use.html
And one on special travel clothing:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/travel-products/932504-special-clothing-travel-functionality-style-what-do-you-wear.html
Kevin from practicalhacks has posted that the Magellan travel jacket is on sale right now. But it is also a bit short.
A lightweight microfiber trenchcoat sounds good. This coming month I will travel with a heavier, calf length Burberry style trenchcoat. I will let you know how it goes. Last fall, I traveled with a knee length tailored cashmere coat. That actually went quite well. I was surprised.
One way to take care of it if you have a nice coat is to carry a simple plastic grocery bag in the pocket of the coat. You can wrap up the coat and put it in the bag before it goes in the overhead. But with a microfiber coat or a travel anorak that won't even be necessary which is why I prefer that format in principle.