Are you ready for spring hiking? How about those summer thunderstorms in the mountains or the surprise drizzle on the way to the grocery store? One jacket that can handle all these scenarios is the Isis Tempest Rain Jacket, a stylish, functional, and reasonably priced waterproof jacket.

Pros:

• Highly breathable. I’ve worn this jacket as a shell when snowshoeing in the local mountains and on a couple of drizzly California coastal winter hikes, and I’ve been very pleased with the jacket’s performance. Some rain jackets make the wearer feel clammy because they aren’t very breathable. The Isis Tempest uses an “activated coconut carbon” in a polyurethane laminate, which makes it very breathable. I’m impressed!
• Taped seams. High quality jackets have taped seams, which creates a watertight seal. Older jackets and lesser quality new jackets do not have taped seams, which is why you might still end up with moisture coming through when you are out in the rain.
• Loaded with great features. This jacket is full of excellent features without sacrificing the stylish design. There’s an internal security zipped pocket (a great place to store the car keys!), a velvet lined chin guard, and a 2 way waterproof front zip, among many other features.
• Velcro cuffs. What I particularly like are the velcro cuffs…since my arms are a little shorter than average, I can adjust the cuffs as necessary. Plus, even for those with normal length arms, if you tighten the velcro cuffs, you’ll be able to keep out wind and rain.

Cons:

• Zippers can be a bit stiff. Because the zippers are well designed to lock out water, they can be a bit harder to open and close than a usual zipper. That being said, I’d rather have water locked out and take an extra second to open a zipper than getting wet!

Specs:

• Price: $139 retail price; available at REI.com
• Sizes: Women’s XS to XL.

If you like to combine fashion with function, the Isis Tempest has it!

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