The Best Wind Jacket Review

Wind Resistance
The Arcteryx Squamish had the best wind resistance. It was the only jacket to completely seal out the wind due to the great hood closure and Velcro cuffs. Right behind it was the Patagonia Houdini that did almost as well but had no cuffs. The Rab might have been as good as the Houdini but there was no way to seal the hood. All the other jackets either did not have a good hood or did not have a way to seal the wind or rain or both.

Breatheability
The North Face Better Than Naked Jacket was by far the most breatheable. It has mesh panels in the areas you sweat the most (pits, back, head). Even non-mesh areas use material that is highly breatheable. All the other jackets were about the same. They breathed a little at a low heart rate, but when you started hiking hard, sweat built up on the inside. The Marmot DriClime did the best job of dealing with sweat once it started to build up.

Water Resistance
No jacket was water resistant in a strong rain for more than a few minutes. In a light rain the Arcteryx Squamish did the best. Right behind it was the Patagonia Houdini and the Rab Cirrus. All three will keep you dry from 30 min. to hour depending on how hard the rain is. The REI Airflyte is very water resistant on parts of the jacket but on the mesh panels water really comes in. The Marmot DryClime outer shell started absorbing water pretty quickly but did stay dry on the inside in a light rain.

All these results are when the DWR treatment is new. Overtime, DWR coatings degrade and must be maintained or even re-applied.

Weight/Compactness
The Patagonia Houdini is the clear winner here. It is a little lighter than the Rab Cirrus, however it packs much much smaller because it goes into its own small chest pocket. The Rab Cirrus packed into either one of two hand pockets. The Squamish and Trail Wind are only about an ounce heavier than the Cirrus and Houdini and compact about as small. All are really lightweight so for the most part we are splitting hairs in this category among the top performers other than the Houdini, which really stood out for how small it is.

Versatility
We define versatility as how many different activities you can use the jacket for. The Squamish wins here because it looks, feels and performs more like a ultralight hardshell than the rest. It became our go to backcountry skiing jacket (except in harsh conditions). Right behind it was that Houdini. We used that the on a bike, hiking, backpacking, and even at the beach. Because it compacts so small we just took it everywhere. The Houdini combined with a lightweight down or insulated jacket will keep you warm in most conditions for under a pound. The Rab Cirrus is just behind Houdini and is a very similar jacket. The DryClime is not as useful alone in wind or rain. However, it is the jacket we where almost every day when I came. We often used the DriClime with the Houdini on mountain bike rides.

Value
All these jackets were expensive. In fact, price per ounce, they are among the most expensive garments out there. The price tags seemed a bit outrageous considering how simple the construction is and how little there is to this jacket. Compare these to the $100 Rain Jacket models and tell us where all the money is going? That said, these are among the layers we use the most often. We use them year-round hiking, backpacking, skiing, and at the beach. The real way to measure value, we think, is price per day used. If you use this jacket 600 days in the next five years, then $125 isn't that expensive.

Women's Versions
There are women's versions of all these wind jackets. They generally just vary in fit and color. The materials are the same. See women's wind jackets.


The Bottom Line
The Arcteryx Squamish Hoody was our favorite winter jacket and when our Editors' Choice award. It is light, compact, looks great, and works in just about any situation except heavy rain or snow. Rain jackets and hardshells now seem unnecessarily heavy and bulky for most situations compared to the Squamish.

The Patagonia Houdini wins a top pick award. It scored almost as high as the Squamish and is the lightest and most compact wind shell we tested. We were amazed how often we used this jacket, even in warm weather. It is so light and small you will take it everywhere.

The Marmot DriClime also wins a Top Pick award. It is the layer we use most often in 40-60 degree weather. It is durable, cozy, and manages sweat better than any wind shirt out there.