Outdoor Research Men's Elixir Jacket

Awesome rain protection
Lightweight with plenty of venting. This is a great rain jacket. The hood rolls up and stores away to make it look like a "normal" jacket. I have been on several hiking trips in Missouri with this jacket and it has kept me dry in the strongest downpour. The hood is easily accessed in tight situations. It is expensive, but there are always sales.

Excellent Jacket!
I researched a lot of jackets to find the right one. I definitely wanted Gore-Tex quality at a reasonable price, which is hard to find. The Elixir is light, but durable, boasting 75D construction. The zippers are simple, but strategically placed. I'm tall with long arms and it fits great. (If you fit this description, I would really check this jacket out. I even called Outdoor Research to get sleeve lengths and they were a great help.) I'm also pretty wide, and it feels great. Not too tight, not too loose. So far, performance has been great. I highly recommend this jacket.

Great Goretex Paclite Jacket
I love that it has a tough 75 denier fabric instead of the measly deniers used by others. Great for going thru branches. The jacket is intelligently designed with a fold away hood (50% of the reason I bought it) that doesn't bother the neck too much and makes for a cleaner look in town without looking like a mountain jacket. The sleeves with velcro and elsatic is also great.The chest and inner pockets are good. The pitzips are good but kind of wide where I do feel them against my body, though not annoyingly so. I've spent 5 hours in torrential rain stationary and the jacket help up well (stayed dry). The Paclite did show condensation on the inside, but in 100% humidity, there's no material on Earth (not even the acclaimed eVent fabric) that can prevent condensation under such conditions. Overall, the most sensibly designed light rain jacket on the market. YES, it can be improved, but it gets the job done on many levels.