Guide: choosing the right rain coat or jacket

Cover credit: Getty Images - Portrait of man in outdoor clothes, bad weather

Over the past few weeks, I have received many questions about coats and jackets to wear against the rain. People also talk to me about raincoat .

I offer you an accessible guide to understand the important criteria for choosing this piece .

What clothes are we talking about?

We are talking here about outdoor clothing whose material provides protection against the rain . This protection varies, ranging from light to very high.

We can differentiate on one side between rain coats, which are longer (length from mid-thighs to the knee) and on the other hand, rain jackets, which are shorter (length at the level of the buttocks).

On the right ( Maharishi ), a rain jacket.

In my opinion, there are three main criteria that you must define when choosing this garment:

• The style
• The level of technicality
• The budget

Types of rain coats

We start by looking at the different styles of existing raincoats : long, short, crossed, straight, hooded or not, etc.

1. Trench and mac

The trench coat and the mac are two classic coats for the rain.

• The trench coat is a double-breasted rain coat and has a belt to mark the waist
• The mac (mackintosh) is straight, with a tailored collar, the top button visible and the other buttons hidden (we speak of a "hidden throat)

These two coats have the advantage of being versatile : a mac or trench coat can go just as well with a suit as with a much more casual outfit consisting of a sweatshirt, jeans and sneakers, for example.

Mackintosh

You will also sometimes see straight trench coats:

A trench/mac hybrid with this De Fursac model

2. The lightweight parka

The mid-length, unpadded parka is a good piece of rain gear for those who want a style that tends a little more towards workwear.

The parka is a good alternative to the trench or the mac in my opinion.

Field of Maneuvers Parka

3. The raincoat

The famous oilskin!

Yellow or not, we're talking about this hooded rainwear with a simple style, shiny coated synthetic material and a rubbery feel.

Affordable and effective against rain, its main disadvantage is that it is not breathable . So you risk getting wet, not from the rain but from your own sweat.

I find that this garment has a certain charm. Little boat

4. The elegant raincoat

This is a category invented by me which brings together raincoats designed to be more elegant than average . This elegance can be brought by the style or the material.

UBR brand products are very much in this vein, for example.

This Suitsupply raincoat falls into this category with its 75% wool and its chest pocket, like a suit jacket.

5. The hooded jacket

K-way, anorak, windbreaker... I put these products in the same family. They are short, with a hood, made of a light synthetic material and have a zip at the front.

Short and light nylon jacket Officine Générale

6. The bomber and the harrington

Similar in aesthetic, the bomber and the harrington are often made of water-repellent synthetic materials.

Harrington Baracuta cotton/polyester

7. The waxed jacket (in waxed cotton)

We're talking about Barbour type jackets.

These are cotton country/hunter inspired jackets that are wax coated. It is this wax that makes the garment rain-resistant.

The style of this type of jacket changes from what we usually find, and is very appreciated by some.

Peregrine Clothing Waxed Cotton Jacket

Technicality

1. Waterproofing and water repellency

A fabric can be water resistant in two ways:

• Coating

Coating involves applying a finish to the surface of the outer fabric of the garment.

In this case, the water resistance is light. The material is water-repellent.

As the effectiveness of this finish fades over time (and water penetrates more easily through the fabric), it may be appropriate to renew it once or twice a year with a spray such as Invulner from Saphir or Granger's.

The concept of water repellency: water runs off the fabric. BonneGueule Bomber Jacket

• The presence of a membrane

The membrane is placed behind the outer fabric of the garment. The two layers are glued together by a process called lamination.

In this configuration, water can pass through the outer tissue but does not pass through the membrane. The material is therefore waterproof.

In yellow, the exterior fabric. In blue, the membrane that prevents water from passing through. In gray, the internal lining fabric. Source

To calculate the waterproof level of a garment, we place a column of water on the fabric and we look at the moment when the material allows water to penetrate.

This data is expressed in millimeters. For example, a waterproof rating of 5000mm means that the material resists a pressure of 5m high.

Height of the cylinder in millimeters = water pressure exerted on the fabric = degree of waterproofing. Source

Here is how we can interpret the results:

• Around 5000mm = moderate waterproofing
• Around 10000mm = good waterproofing
• Around 150,000mm = very good waterproofing
• 20,000 mm and more = excellent waterproofing

You should know here that the goal is not to seek the highest possible waterproofing. On the one hand because you don't necessarily need it, and on the other hand because very high waterproofing has a direct impact on another criterion: breathability.

2. Breathability

Breathability refers to the ability of a garment to effectively wick away water vapor . So in our case, the heat of our body.

Having breathable clothing is important to avoid suffocation:

• When the temperature varies greatly in the same day ( cold in the morning, hot in the afternoon ).
• When you regularly change your environment: we often mention the contrast between the temperature in transport or the office and outside.

Here is a simple list to estimate the level of breathability of a rain coat:

Case of a garment without membrane

1. If composition 100% natural material : very breathable
2. If composition mixes natural and synthetic fibers : moderately breathable
3. If composition 100% synthetic material : it depends. Depending on the technicality of the material, we will oscillate between moderately and not very breathable.

Mac Asket 100% cotton with water-repellent treatment = light water resistance + good breathability

Case of clothing with membrane

1. If numerical data is given , it can be expressed in two different ways. You should also keep in mind here that clothing without a waterproof membrane will always be more breathable than clothing with a membrane.
   • The RET, in which case:
     • Below 6 = very breathable
     • Around 10 = breathable
     • Around 15 = weakly breathable
     • Above 20 = non-breathable
   • The MVTR , in which case :
     • Around 30000 = extremely breathable
     • Around 20000 = very breathable
     • Around 10000=breathable
     • Below 5000 = not very breathable
2. If no data is given regarding breathability: we don't know.

For example, the Seagale storm jacket has a breathability of 20000g/m2/24h, which is very breathable.

3. Why is synthetic often found in rain gear?

This is a topic I covered in this article .

The question arises because when we talk about synthetics, we tend to think of materials that are neither very beautiful nor very breathable.

To answer you in one sentence:

This is because synthetic materials have fibers that repel water while natural materials have fibers that absorb water.

It takes more effort to make a natural material water resistant than a synthetic material.

An in-between that we sometimes find, with rainwear with a hybrid composition comprising mixed natural and synthetic materials.

Water-repellent Mac TM Lewin 55% cotton, 45% polyester

Exception: Ventile

The Ventile material is a densely woven 100% cotton material, without membrane which is therefore aesthetic and very breathable while having very good water resistance.

Benoît had the opportunity to talk about Ventile in more detail:

• In the presentation of our parka in collaboration with Kestin
• He also told his full story in the presentation of our mac

The Ventile combines technicality and aesthetics. BonneGueule x Kestin Parka

Which clothing for which budget + brand recommendations

Here is a short guide to determine what you can expect based on your budget and the brands in each range, listed in alphabetical order.

1. Around €100

• Very basic style
• Material most often synthetic
• Limited performance

At the brand level:

• K-Way
• Rains
• Uniqlo (Blocktech range)

Rains raincoat

2. Between 100 and 200€

• Basic but effective style, correctly made garment
• Basic, plain synthetic material, with honest technicality but nothing more: slight resistance to rain, average breathability

At the brand level:

• COS
• Panama Collections
• Petit Bateau (for the raincoat)

Paname Collections parka in waxed cotton

3. Between €200 and €400

• Worked style with some well-thought-out functional details: shape of the hood or pockets for example
• Good resistance to rain, good breathability

At the brand level:

• Eagle
• Asket
• Baracuta
• Barbour
• Field of Maneuvers
• Waterproof
• NN07
• Peregrine Clothing
• Seagale
• Stutterheim
• Suitsupply
• Uncle and Son

I like the rust color of this Mac NN07

4. Between €400 and €600

By going with this budget, and compared to the 200/400€ range, you will gain either higher technicality or a more elaborate design, a more polished aesthetic.

At the brand level:

• Address Paris
• Bastong
• De Fursac
• Maharishi
• Norse Projects
• General Pharmacy
• SEH Kelly

A very beautiful SEH Kelly parka . Note the two large flap pockets and the belt to mark the waist

5. Above €600

• High-end materials with charm, for example Ventile or textured synthetic whose appearance is close to a natural material
• Extensive style: work on volumes and drape, zips, possible presence of heat-sealed seams, etc.
• High performance: strong waterproofing and breathability

At the brand level:

• Consistency
• Grenfell
• Husbands
• Mackintosh .
• Norwegian Rain
• Private White VC
• UBR

Trench Husbands. It's beautiful