REI Co-op  Motility Rain Jacket - Women's

I've had this jacket for two years, and I've worn it in fall, winter, and spring for 5 days a week on my bike commute, during my dragon boat practices while paddling and coaching, on backpacking and hiking trips, and for everyday use. I love that it is soft and doesn't make noise, it doesn't feel slimy inside when it gets damp or when I get sweaty, and it stays pretty clean given the abuse it deals with. People don't believe that it is a rain jacket, because it doesn't feel or look or sound like a plastic bag. BUT, and it's a big one: this jacket stopped being super waterproof after about a year. While it's important to consider that I didn't use special detergent to wash it (I just use regular TJ's plant-based detergent), I don't think I should have to hand-lather a rain jacket with unicorn tears and blow it dry with my own exhalations in order to maintain the waterproofing. I treated it twice to renew the DWR (once with Nikwax and once with Revivex, neither of which lasted through a single rainstorm) to no avail. While it worked, it worked pretty well. Now, it's a really comfortable shell that when paired with a microfleece will sort of prevent me from getting completely soaked in light to moderate rain. The jacket wets out, particularly on the shoulders, but once the fabric is soaked it sort of seems to repel additional rain, if that makes any sense. So, I take some responsibility for not using unicorn tears to wash it, but I've had other (cheaper) jackets that were waterproof for longer under the same conditions. I've since purchased fancy detergent that I'll use for rain gear from now on. I am in the market for a new rain jacket, and I'm considering a second Motility Jacket that will be For Rainy Days Only instead of wearing it Every Single Day All The Time like I do with the one I have now. Just have to wait for it to go on sale again (like the first time!). Cons: Not waterproof anymore, heat-sealed seams at bottoms of pockets are not strong enough (both of mine blew out) Pros: Soft, comfortable, fits well, fairly durable, still looks decent after two years of heavy use.

I wanted to love this jacket, and at first I did, but today it totally failed me after its first use in moderate rain. It completely soaked through after about 20 minutes, and we aren't even talking downpour, just steady rain. Prior to this I loved the fabric and the color but the pit zips have no fabric on them so wearing the jacket with short sleeves means a cold metal zipper pressed up against your bare skin, which was my only complaint prior to the complete failure of my "waterproof" jacket. For light rain or drizzle I would say this is great, but it's by no means a waterproof rain jacket like the staff at REI told me it was.