Foray 3L Waterproof Jacket

OR’s ascentshell fabric is NOT as robust in its weatherproofing as Goretex but is more breathable. This is a great jacket for off and on rain or short stints in hard rain. A practical jacket for the majority of us and MUCH better than the coated PVC nylon jackets. Goretex is king BUT the breathability of ascentshell is a worthy trade off.

I live in the PNW and got this jacket in the early fall and have certainly used it in the wet rainy fall and winter. Pros: waterproof, I stay mostly dry (see cons below), fit and windproof. It keeps the wind out and it is easy to layer and the venting is awesome. The tall front goes up and covers part of my face to keep the wind out is also a great feature. All great things for a high quality shell like this one. Cons: the hood- it is deep so much so that the hood almost covers my eyes and the elastic band to adjust the fit only makes it tighter and there is not a way to reduce the depth so that is annoying. Second, the bill of the hood points down not out. So that adds to covering my sight, but now when I am all zipped up, the bill drips water into the tall neck getting inside the coat wet, and you wet. I had a cheap shell that had a fantastic hood with adjustable depth and a great bill. The Foray is a high quality well designed waterproof jacket with a terrible hood. If they fix the bill and put a better adjustment for depth on the hood this would be way better.

jacket fits true to size not stretchy if plan to use with layers underneath maybe upsize. Sadly the jacket soaks threw in the waist area/pockets not sure if it has to do with the zippers used or the stitching along the waist itself they figure this issue out could definitely be a five star goretex jacket. As with most goretex items its breathable until it gets wet, dry's fast.

I have taken this jacket on many extended backcountry hitches, hunting trips, and ski touring missions in and around Idaho and Montana. It is highly durable with functional/ thoughfully designed vents and zippered pockets. While I wish the waterproofing had lasted longer I was impressed with its performance in multi day slogs through rain and snow.