The Best Rain Jacket for Women Review

Comfort and Mobility
Rain jackets are varying in design and features. To testers The Marmot Oracle - Women's, Outdoor Research Helium 2 - Women's, and Patagonia Rain Shadow - Women's felt the most comfortable. The Oracle is the most highly featured, and the OR Helium is super light and had a great fit. Ease-of-movement also played a large role in how comfortable the jackets were. We judged each jacket on its ability to accommodate an active lifestyle and varied activity.

Water Resistance
Choosing the most waterproof jacket in a line-up of waterproof jackets proved to take a bit of work. we judged the jackets not only on the waterproofing abilities of the fabric, but also the features and shapes of the jacket that help keep water out. The cuff design, zipper design, hood shape, and collar all proved to be important factors. The jackets were mostly all waterproof and we had a 4 way tie in waterproofing:Marmot Oracle - Women's, Patagonia Rain Shadow - Women's, Patagonia Torrentshell - Women's, REI Ultralight Jacket - Women's.

Breathability
In the end, none of the jackets’ fabric was very breathable during high intensity activity, but some of the jackets’ design was better geared toward effective ventilation. Each of the jackets has a Waterproof Breathable Membrane of some kind. We found the jackets with means for ventilation beyond the breathability of the fabric, such as the Marmot Precip - Women's tended to be best suited for high exertion activities.

Weight
Weight and bulk are always a factor on gear intensive outings. Generally we love light gear. The Outdoor Research Helium 2 - Women's jacket was the lightest by far. Weighing just under 6 oz. it's a jacket that you won't notice you have on, and won't weigh your pack down. Packability also played a part here. Testers really preferred the jackets that pack down small into one of their own pockets for ease of transport and packing.

Feature Functions
The rain jackets we tested came equipped with a varying degree of features and functional pieces. The ultralight jackets shave weight at the expense of pit-zips, pockets and comfortable fleece. The Marmot Oracle is the most highly featured jacket we used with several pockets, and an all fleece collar. Outdoor Research's Helilum 2 on the other hand is minimalist and offers little beyond basic function.

Editors' Choice Award
Our Editor’s Choice award for Women's rain jackets goes to the Patagonia Rain Shadow - Women's. The numbers don’t lie and the Rainshadow is definitely our top scorer even with the few reservations we detailed in the review. The top quality material, combined with premium styling and cut made the Rainshadow our Editor’s choice. It has the most expensive MSRP but if you take the time to use our great price finder we’re sure you’ll be able to find a solid deal
All in all, the Patagonia Rainshadow is a top notch rain jacket.

Best Buy Award
Our Best Buy award for women's rain jackets goes to the Columbia Arcadia Rain - Women's. At MSR $65 this is one of the least expensive jackets we tested and performed uniquely, and we might say better, than some of the other budget options. We particularly liked the construction of the Arcadia Rain; it keeps the weather out and with the old school mesh lining some of the clamminess that is so prevalent with the fancy new tech material is cut way down. This was hands down the coziest jacket we tested and equipped with many convenient features. While heavier than many of the other jackets reviewed, we found the looks, comfort, and breathability of the Arcadia Rain to be far superior, allowing us to justify a slightly heavier jacket.

We also think the Marmot Precip - Women's jacket is an excellent buy. It performs admirably and while $60 more than the Arcadia, it can often be found on sale for a great price.

Top Pick
Our Top Pick award goes to the Outdoor Research Helium 2 - Women's jacket. Female testers found this jacket's light-weight and super packable design to be one of the most convenient jackets in our test sample. The jacket provides light-weight protection from wind and rain, while maintaining a high-level of comfort and minimal clamminess.