REI Shuksan Jacket with eVent Fabric - Men's

Comments about REI Shuksan Jacket with eVent Fabric - Men's:

First off, let's set the stage. I don't climb Kilimanjaro or K2 on a regular basis. I don't zip up Blackburn or Blanca Peak with just a bivvy and a couple of Richmoor's on a "take it easy Tuesday".

I do however spend a fair amount of time outdoors and being sweaty. Occasional hikes, overnight backpacking here and there, bike to work, etc. But most of my outdoor time is spent coaching or playing lacrosse in all four seasons here on the shores of Lake Ontario.

As a lacrosse coach, I warm up with my teams, warm up (shoot on) the goalies, haul stuff around, do field set up, etc. And I sweat. A lot. Pouring rain and 34 degrees, complete whiteout snowstorms, horizontal rain, a foot of mud, constant drizzle - you get the idea of conditions we play in around these parts.

I have tried every style and type of Gore-Tex jacket. I keep a Mountain Hardwear Paclite jacket (along with dozens of other clothing items) in the trunk for the unexpected. I have yet to find a Gore-Tex jacket that does not pool up sweat in the back, arms, elbows and wrists. I've been green with envy of those Gore-Tex reviewers who would claim complete dryness after an all-day mountain excursion.

So that brings us up to eVent and this REI Shuksan jacket. And here is where (if you are like me), you are hoping the reviewer claims the eVent kept me incredibly dry in the pouring rain while sweating my fanny off.

Well, not really. I believe it would break some immutable law of physics if a material exists that shed moisture fast enough to keep me dry.

However, this jacket by REI is the best I have used for the purpose. Rain beads up just ducky on the outside (and the Timber color is very nice). Fit and finish is fine (the jacket is cut to allow some amount of layering). Love the longer sleeves.

The eVent venting works right up to the point of medium amounts of sweat or more (Gore-Tex would pool up sweat much earlier). Gore-Tex always felt a bit clammy for me, not the eVent. And here is a bonus I did not really count on – if I've been sweating without the eVent jacket on and then climb into it for dryness/warmth, it handles the diminishing sweat like a champ. Gore-Tex would just clam up on me.

Overall I give this jacket very high marks indeed. For me, it's better than any Gore-Tex product I've tried, and I've tried them all. I know lot's of folks have success with Gore-Tex so I'm obviously from another planet, but there you have it.

Comments about REI Shuksan Jacket with eVent Fabric - Men's:

It is great that REI now has eVent jackets and pants to break the monopoly Gore-Tex has created. eVent is great material, comparable, if not better than Gore-Tex, and hands down better than any other Gore knockoff.I purchased an eVent jacket last year to compare to my Gore-Tex jackets. I never wore my Gore-tex jacket again for skiing. There were no armpit zips on my jacket and I stayed cool and dry.eVent is a softer material than Gore, moisture evaporates quickly and you may need to layer a little more because you can feel the air/wind more than Gore. [...]I think it will be great jacket, they should have put at least some soft material on the chin area, so it is softer on your face. Also, they are confident that your personal items will stay dry, there are no zip inner pockets. 4 outside pockets though with deeper pockets, so keys don't fall out. But there are two bungee mesh interior pockets to hold water bottles, hats gloves-that is nice.Price very nice for those on tight budgets that need a first class dry jacket.Hope this is a big hit, looking forward to other products with eVent materials.

Comments about REI Shuksan Jacket with eVent Fabric - Men's:

Being in the business of quality for a large northwest company I am a stickler for details.

I have gone through a couple rain coats from REI and recently purchased this one. I read all the reviews and noticed that just about all of them complain about the zipper. I bought it anyway as the pros certainly outweigh the cons.

Well now that I have had it a few months and trudged around several countries and continents with it, I can attest to its "almost" greatness. It is extremely breathable, its pretty wind resistant, its durable, comfortable, but that ZIPPER OMG THE ZIPPER. Its really terrible and this is what I just don't understand. Come on guys you are REI! Do you not have a quality control department? Who was the one that said "Yes this jacket is great and defect free, lets produce it"?

Every single time I put on this jacket (which is just about daily) I curse the zipper. E V E R Y T I M E. It isn't just a little thing either, it just plain does not work well at all. I looked at it and really cannot even tell why it doesn't work.

Its really sad too because I love everything else about the coat. I am sure the second REI updates this coat and fixes the zipper (PLEASE REI, for the love of all that is good and pure in this world, fix the zipper!) I am going to go down, return it and get the new one.

Should you buy this jacket, I don't know, do you like cursing every time you put on an article of clothing? If so its for you, but if not, you probably should wait for the next generation or pony up the big bucks for an Arc Teryx. If you like cursing, this jacket is the promised land almost great rain wear.

Comments about REI Shuksan Jacket with eVent Fabric - Men's:

GREAT jacket. i just took this jacket to white mountain peak (14,246')in bishop, CA and it handled extremely well. i went from hot sunny conditions to snow flurries, all with 40+ mph wind. very windproof and , so far, waterproof. the most impressive part of the jacket is its breathability, far better than Goretex. i bought the small and the fit was slighly larger than expected. the cut of the jacket is great with the sleeves covering more of the dorsal side of the hand. the torso length was fine but the sleeves were a little long. the 4 outside pockets are in good position and the inner pockets are great for gloves or a bottle of water. excellent jacket and well worth the price for a shell, lets hope this event fabric outlasts gortex.

Comments about REI Shuksan Jacket with eVent Fabric - Men's:

Wore it on a fast 2 mile walk in pouring rain today, along with conventional breathable waterproof pants. The difference was very noticeable afterwards: the inside of my pants were very wet, my inside of my jacket entirely dry.
My only serious dislike is that my arms are an inch shorter than average, and the sleeves on this (size small) jacket are at least two inches longer than average. On the bright side, that meant I didn't need any gloves to keep dry today, but I'd prefer sleeves I don't always have to roll up.
The "amber" color is also more like a dirty version of traffic cone orange, which is a bit troubling for wearing to work, but good that it's at least visible when on a bike.

Comments about REI Shuksan Jacket with eVent Fabric - Men's:

this is a perfect jacket, except for 3 small gripes and 2 concerns...

gripe 1: no rash guard for chin. i'm considering slapping some moleskin on there instead....

gripe 2: the main zipper does stick a bit. this was frustrating until i figured out the trick: you have to hold the zipper pull with one hand, then with the other hand, hold on to BOTH SIDES of the bottom of the jacket when you pull. makes it work every time.....

gripe 3: hood is not stowable. i could maybe fix this with some velcro to keep it down against the back...

concern 1: i've been a gore-tex guy forever, and although i must admit eVent is way more breathable, i don't know yet about its long-term effectiveness. we'll have to wait and see...

concern 2: i snowshoe a lot in rocky mountain national park, and i hope this jacket will hold up and not get ripped to shreds out there when bushwhacking amidst the trees.

.
now the good stuff:
before this jacket, i owned a North Face Mountain Guide, and the shuksan is definitely a step up. this jacket is 30 OUNCES lighter, cheaper, and provides the same wind and waterproof protection, plus is definitely more breathable. it eliminates unnecessary features like a powder skirt to save weight.

i got the timber green color, it's like a mix of forest green with rusty reddish hues. funky.

i do like this jacket, and i can't believe how light yet breathable it is.

Comments about REI Shuksan Jacket with eVent Fabric - Men's:

I've been using Goretex ever since it was invented - at 60 plus years I think I can say that without fear of contradiction. From my very first Frank Shorter Goretex running suit (a huge disappointment) to my North Face Ski Patrol parka I've yet to find Goretex anything that works as advertised i.e keep water out and let perspiration vapor out. I grew up in Colorado and I've climbed a lot of mountains; I'm still climbing actively having climbed Mt Baker, Mt Ranier, Mt Hood, and Glacier Peak this season plus a number of lesser peaks and on each of those climbs I got wet from the inside. Thus I was excited to see REI introducing Event with this jacket and decided to give it a go even though I recently purchased an Arcteryx Theta AR with Goretex Pro. All of these jackets seem to work as advertised when it comes to keeping water OUT if you wash them as advertised, recoat them occasionally, and either iron or dryer heat them so that water beads on the surface. But this one lets moisture out like none I've ever tried before. Now I can climb, work up a sweat and know that I won't get that cold, clammy feeling from within. It doesn't have pit zips but it does have two mesh pockets on the front that can be unzipped and used for that purpose should you chooose. I won't be taking my Arcteryx back as I'll still use it for cold sports like downhill skiing but for the aerobic intensive sports such as snow shoeing, climbing, etc this will be my go to jacket. After testing it thoroughly in the gym I'm off to climb Mt Daniel before winter sets in.

Comments about REI Shuksan Jacket with eVent Fabric - Men's:

I've got six Gore-tex jackets, including two Gore-tex XCR in the past ten years. Amongst them, the Arc'Teryx Alpha SV impressed me the most because of its light weight and style. But the new REI Shuksan jacket is no less impressive than the Arc'Teryx Alpha SV. And you can clearly feel the difference between eVent and Gore-tex when you put them on.

The REI Shuksan jacket is super lightweight and looks way better than it appears on REI's website. And in my opinion, its style is very similar to the Arc'Teryx Alpha SV, though Alpha SV fits a little better. It doesn't seem to be as strong as either the North Face Free Thinker or the Jack Wolfskin Granite Jacket, but REI Shuksan obviously is not bulky but lightweight, and it's more breathable.

The only cons are also stated by others. The zipper is too stiff and hard to start. No chin rash guard. No powder skirt - not necessarily a bad thing while it depends on where you're gonna use this jacket, and it's less bulky without a powder skirt.

Overall, I'm very satisfied with this jacket and would recommend this jacket to everyone as well.

Comments about REI Shuksan Jacket with eVent Fabric - Men's:

Wore this jacket while hunting for 4 days in Gifford Pinchott National Forest. It rained all day, every day...it sheds rain very well! I wore "Wicked T long sleeve" for my base layer, REI fleece jacket for midlayer, this as my top layer. Everything fit perfectly and kept me totally dry. Temperatures ranged from low 40s to mid 50s. While hiking, I didn't get too hot or uncomfortable. I would recommend this product to anyone.

Comments about REI Shuksan Jacket with eVent Fabric - Men's:

I've had is jacket since Christmas, yet today was the first time I have worn it in a hard, driving rain. I was incredibly disappointed, the sleeves, shoulders and back completely soaked through and I was very chilled. I bought this jacket because it claimed to have all the features of Gore-tex at about half the price of an Arc'teryx jacket. The fit, wind protection, and all other features of this jacket are great but I found out the hard way that the fabric is not waterproof