Help me not stick out in my rain jacket.

February 5, 2012 8:01 AM

Men's outdoor clothing: respectable-looking rain shell? Help me find something that doesn't look so "technical," in a subdued color, and still works as a layer.

I have this Land's End jacket in black, and it serves well when the weather is both cold and rainy. However, recently I was traveling for a couple weeks in various climates, and really could have used the individual layers. I have a suitable fleece, so I am looking for a water-resistant outer layer.

The problem is that everything I can find seems to be aimed at folks who (at least in their own minds) will be bicycling up Half Dome. Lots of zippers, shiny fabrics, seams, and logos. And dear god, the fleece! So much fleece!

I'm pretty conservative, sartorially, and all I need is moderate rain resistance without insulation, so I'm hoping there is something out there that I could plausibly wear into a decent restaurant. It doesn't have to be elegant (see my existing jacket above), but I don't want it to draw attention to itself. A subdued color like black, navy, charcoal, or similar is essential. Something under $300 is essential, but less than $100 would be best. Thanks!

posted by wnissen to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (11 answers total)

Have you looked at Patagonia's stuff yet?
posted by Chutzler at 8:17 AM on February 5, 2012 [1 favorite]

Outlier and Nau have this covered. I've been very impressed with the quality from both.
posted by crush-onastick at 8:18 AM on February 5, 2012

On sale for $70!

I have an older version of this one.

All the rain shells in black!
posted by rtha at 8:19 AM on February 5, 2012

I wear my Marmot Gravity shell around in the city way more than I do "outdoors." The logo is subdued, and there's minimal technical stuff on the outside, save some velcro on the cuffs and a zippered pocket on one arm. It's good in wind and rain, and pretty warm on its own down to around 0 C.
posted by ecmendenhall at 8:24 AM on February 5, 2012

The North Face's Mountain Light Gore-Tex jacket, in black, isn't entirely overwhelming, and it's quite popular, so it won't draw a lot of attention in most circumstances.

(Though I personally prefer the first two commenters' answers to this one.)
posted by box at 8:29 AM on February 5, 2012

If you want something dressy enough for fine dining / work, then I suggest a khaki trench coat. If that's too formal for you, LL Bean has some casual outerwear that might fit your needs.
posted by monstrouspudding at 9:11 AM on February 5, 2012

Good answers already, but Marmot Precip is another possibility, as is this one from REI (both closer to the low end of your budget).
posted by BlooPen at 9:17 AM on February 5, 2012

You might look into a drovers (american duster) style coat. They come in long and 3/4 length. They do have an old school look, are very heavy (oiled/wax cotton is heavy) and wear like iron. Not real warm without a liner or layer beneath (I use a fleece pullover). BTW i live in Oregon and use it throughout the winter because it may be wet, buy it usually isn't that cold, and I was getting tired of gore tex. I got the Tasmanian from down under saddle company and am pretty happy.
posted by bartonlong at 11:53 AM on February 5, 2012

I have this jacket (Gant Manhattan Double Jacket), now on sale at $198 - more than 50% off. It has a removable fleece liner and protects against rain, snow and bad weather in general.
posted by iviken at 3:42 PM on February 5, 2012

I am a woman but I just went through the same thing. I wanted protection during New Orleans' rain, not while extreme insert-sport-here. I thought I wanted a short jacket but ended up finding a really nice longer (thigh/knee-length) black Patagonia jacket.
posted by radioamy at 8:55 AM on February 6, 2012

Response by poster: I was so pleased to find this "golf jacket" in navy for very little money. Very low-key, no visible logos, though it has an odd use accent fabric underneath the collar that's not visible except when the wind is whipping. I've worn it in soaking rain and stayed basically dry, though it does let some rain through.
posted by wnissen at 11:23 AM on November 4, 2012