Constructed with a super stretchy material and offering superb mobility, this is the ideal rain shell for demanding activities Straight out of Portland, Oregon, Columbia Sportswear has been fighting the good fight for over seventy years. Their dedication can be be seen by taking a good, hard look at Gert Boyle: reigning Chairman for over forty years, more than half of Columba’s history. She’s been thirsty for business, and kept with sincere, honest, transparent apparel that follows their Transparency in Supply Chains Statement.

A final note related to DWR is that there has been a recent push to move away from traditional coatings that use perfluorocarbons, which is a chemical that has been linked to environmental and health issues. It’s still a developing technology and key brands like Patagonia haven’t made the full switch yet (for more, here’s Patagonia’s breakdown of the process), but PFC-free options are becoming more prevalent on the market. We outline other key measures in our " Sustainability" section below. We've been impressed with the performance of Patagonia's PFC-free DWR Weight The hood on the Rab Kinetic Alpine 2.0 is of special note because it features an internal elastic band designed to ride directly on the forehead and turned out to be comfortable and effective, maintaining top-notch peripheral vision.