Men's Minimalist Lightweight Waterproof Rain Jacket

Somewhat disappointing. For one thing, the Minimalist name is a misnomer. It is not minimalist in weight. Weighs almost a pound in the XL size. Heavier than I expected. The jacket runs a little large and the sleeves run way too long. Also, the sleeves are sloppy with room. And not enough velcro on the main front zipper; only one velcro at the top and a metal snap button at the bottom. Needs a couple more velcro up and down the zipper to make sure no water leaks in during a windy rain. Also, the front chest pocket doesn't have any protection over the zipper for rain protection. It's only water resistant, not waterproof. I wouldn't put an ID or passport or cell phone in there in rainy weather. The hood cannot be hidden. But it has a nice stiff brim to keep water off your face. And the jacket doesn't fold into a stuff pocket. It is large when folded or rolled up to fit into a pack or luggage. I did the shower test on it to see if is absorbed water or leaked. The first test it was wet inside in the upper back. I re-tested later and it was dry. So water may have leaked in around the neck the first time. This jacket is just a rain and wind shell. No lining. The inside has plastic like cold feel if you don't wear a warm long sleeve shirt underneath. My size according to the manufacturer's size chart is in between a Large and Extra Large. I opted for the extra large so there would be room for layering. But the sleeves are still way too long. Covers my complete hands and fingers. I had thought about returning it for a Large, but I think a Large might be too tight with layers of clothing. In cold weather it would be good to wear a fleece jacket under this rain shell. There are a lot of nice features such as storm flaps over the side pockets and arm pit zips for ventilation. I haven't used it in rain yet, so don't know about breathability. The Minimalist is a basic Gore-Tex Paclite design. A step up from that would be much more money. All in all it's not the best jacket, but is pretty good. Better quality would be a lot more money. Still, I expected better for the money. There are budget alternatives for less money and I have one from REI for summer use. But I wanted a step up from that. I hope I got that. I will know after use in some wind and rain.

The first thing I did when I got the Marmon Minimalist jacket was to pair it with rain pants and stand under my shower for about 2 minutes. I emerged completely dry; so far so good. I like the hood design with a good-sized brim which kept the wet from my face, and the medium fit was good for my 5'11", 180 lb, 42" chest body. The sleeve length was perfect, and I like the velcro closures at the wrist.The next thing I did was use the jacket over a polar fleece as I used my snowblower to clear my driveway in the latest east coast blizzard. The main reason I wanted a new waterproof jacket is that I always get completely covered in blown-back snow when I use the snowblower, and none of my previous jackets kept me dry. This jacket was perfect at keeping me dry and warm during the 90 minutes I spent clearing the property.I am very happy with the jacket so far and will update as I have more experience.

The photos and description of this jacket absolutely do NOT accurately describe how well made and cool this jacket is!!! First thing that surprised me on opening was how vibrant the color was! The pics show the Navy to be washed out, but its a very nice, deep blue color, and the brighter blue accents and embroidery really contrast well! Had purchased a North Face jacket for an upcoming trip to London (Fingers Crossed!) but this Marmot is absolutely making the trip with me! Every detail says quality!!! So VERY HAPPY I tried this jacket as an alternative before my return window closed on the North Face jacket!Note: I am 5'9", 188 LB and the large fits well...if you were over 210-220 LB you might find the large too tight in the stomach and chest.

Overall, this jacket is a wonderful purchase for the price point. The reviews that critique the GORE-TEX seem to be more about the DWR (water-repellent coating) which is not part of the GORE-TEX water-resistance. Admittedly, when I first got the jacket and tested it, watching the water bead up and fall off was extremely satisfying, and when it stopped working after a few days, I myself was concerned with if the negative reviews were correct. However, it was important to note that just because the DWR began to come off and wasn’t causing the water to bead off, water still wasn’t permeating the GORE-TEX. This jacket most definitely lives up to it’s promise, as I have worn it extensively in heavy rain and snow and have yet to find myself even the slightest bit wet.As far as sizing, the fit of the jacket was very nice (I typically wear S/M hoodies and got a Medium) it was very clearly an over-jacket. Although the jacket could be worn for everyday use on it’s own depending on the size purchased, it works the best with a nice under-layer.Overall, great jacket, definitely deserves 4.5 or 5 stars.

I'm impressed with the material, unlike my old Marmot, which was thin and the seam lining has fallen off after 3 years of wearing it daily.I'm still bone dry when I reached home after my 30 minutes ride home by my motorbike. Although this rain coat is not meant for motorcycle riders, but it works fine and the material is gortex which is thick, when the heavy rain falls on my raincoat, it beads off which means the gortex really repelling the rain effectively.I thought I will eventually get wet because I didn't zip up all the way up, I just let the zipper zipped to my throat level and surprisingly I'm still dry , the zipper sealant is really good.

I bought this jacket in summer 2018. It is look nice, it is big enough to layering and the feel is nice. Because a dry summer I did not use it for months, trusting that a well known brand like Marmot would have strict quality test.First time I used in light rain, I noticed after 15/ 20 min that in parts of the jacket the textile start to saturate, so you could feel it dump and the inner layer become dark in colour meaning it was getting wet. it is mostly in hood, shoulders and arms.I gave it another chance and this happened again.I called Marmot Europe Customer service and nobody reply that phone...ever. So I wrote them explaining the issue.I received a extremily condescendent reply, stating it was condensation what I could feel and see. I never did any effort to sweat wearing this jacket and if after 10 min walk to my bus stop it created condensation it means the Gore Tex membrane is rubish when they are trying to sell its brathibility. I gave it another chance making sure it did not have a chance to generate condensation. the Jacket got saturated because the rain in 10 min. Wrote Marmot again and this time......not even an answer. Even more annoying, I tried to write a review in their website and they refused to publish it. So now, I am stuck with an expensive windbreaker( this jacket is not waterproof) and the feeling that Marmot do not care about their customers. For sure it is the last time I am buying Marmot. I hope this review will help people in case they are doubting if buying it or not.

Already had a heavy Gore Tex coat with fleece lining for winter use. Wanted a light weight coat to be worn over T shirt for the wet summer days walking my dogs. This coat is perfect in that role, fits exactly as expected and has faced some heavy downpours already and is 100% waterproof. My advise to anyone wanting to wear a fleece or similar under the jacket is to choose a size larger than you would normally go for.

At the time of writing this review in Apr 2021, there are two listings for the men's Marmot Minimalist jacket with Amazon.ca as seller:The older style Marmot Minimalist can be found by searching ASIN B078WFHR5Y in the Amazon.ca search.The newer style Marmot Minimalist can be found by searching ASIN B07V5R1XH2 under the Amazon.ca search.This review was posted under the old style, ASIN B078WFHR5Y, but includes info on the new style as I purchased both to compare.The old style Minimalist is the much superior jacket. The fit of both (old and new style) hasn't changed, but there are design changes that make the old better.Pluses+ The Minimalist (old or new style) are one of the least expensive, if not the least expensive Gore Tex jackets you'll find. (Mar 2021 purchase time)+ Main zipper closure on the old style Minimalist is meatier and better than the new Minimalist, and the old style is a right handed (men's style) closure.+ Old style Minimalist breast pocket is on the wearer's left side (for right handed people) and is seam taped.+ Both old and new style have pit zips+ Branding logos and writing on the old style Minimalist is sewn on, not stamped / printed on like the new style+ Sleeve length is generous in L / XL sizes for both old and new style. Great for guys 6' and over.+ Waist on both old and new style has an elastic closure that can be cinched up.+ The hood has an elastic that can be cinched up at the rear of the hood. Hood peak is also generous, great if you wear glasses.+ It's kept me dry in my initial tests in BC rainy weather. Water beaded off.+ Relatively breathable (more on that below)+ The name describes it. It's just a 'minimalist', nice looking jacket. Both old and new style Minimalist.Negatives- No inner pockets on old or new style Minimalist- No way to store the hood on old or new style Minimalist. Not even a roll up stow or closure.- Hem length is just below hip height on old and new Minimalist (not 3/4) and this might be too short for some. I found it no prob for me on Lrge or XL size @ 6'Details:The old style Minimalist has what I consider to be the much better zippers compared to the new style Minimalist. It uses a thicker, meatier (albeit plastic) main zipper that catches and closes easier, and zips up / runs easier. So helpful when wearing gloves. The new style Minimalist has a thinner main zipper that is unfortunately a more common trend on newer jackets; I find they tend to be prone to closure problems over time and can be finicky if you're wearing gloves.Neither the old or new style Minimalist main zipper is seam taped. Both rely on a flap closure for waterproof protection of the main zipper and the flap does a good job of staying closed over the zipper and providing water proof protection. The zipper flap stays in place no problem even without velcro or snap closures.The main zipper on this old style Minimalist closes right to left, the usual norm for most men's clothing and is considered a right handed closure. Contrast that with the new style men's Minimalist jacket zipper that closes left to right, more common on women's clothing, and is considered a left handed closure.This old style Minimalist has the breast pocket on the wearer's left side, which means the pocket and it's zipper are more accessible for right handed people. This old style has a seam taped zipper which works here as it's easily accessible and it runs / zips easily. No fuss. The new style Minimalist breast pocket is on the wearer's right side (better access for left handed people) and it's not seam taped. It's got a flap closure. Again ... the zippers / closures on this old style Minimalist are just far better all around.The pit zips are the same on both the old and new style Minimalist and both work fine. They are not seam taped and don't need to be as they're out of the way.You can see the hem length from my attached pics. I found the hem length on the Lrge or XL was fine for me @ 6' 205lbs, especially because it has an elastic that can be cinched if needed. I found hem length fine even riding my bike.I've owned other Marmot jackets and I find Marmot's are generous on sleeve length, including this Minimalist, which is great for guys 6' and over.A word on fit:For reference I'm 6'0" tall and 205 lbs.The fit is 'regular' (non tapered).I bought the Lrge and XL in both old and new style intending to compare and just keep the one that fit best.The best fit for me @ 6' 205 lbs was the Large size (old or new style). The sleeves were about perfect, even with arms raised. The chest and waist fit well. This was with a medium or thin layer / layers underneath. I think any guy that's 6', or even up to 6'2" ish on the lean side (200lbs or under) would easily do well with a Large.That said, I kept the XL. Why? Because at 6' 205 lbs I'm a little on the heavier side in the waist and chest. When I added a thicker fleece or puffer vest underneath in the Large size, the natural hang fit was still good, but as soon as I got active it was slightly constricting in the chest / underarm area. And I do mean slightly. I wanted it to be completely non-restrictive with a thick layer underneath. With a thin layer underneath, the fit of the XL is slightly bulky on me (not bad just slightly), but I don't mind that at all. It's still perfectly fine using the waist and sleeve cinches. This is purely a matter of personal preference. I still think most lean fit guys in the 6' - 6'2" range would be happy with a Large.A word on the Gore Tex / DWR / water proofing protection:Marmot uses their Pac Lite Gore Tex technology. Product pictures show three overall jacket layers, but it states: "A protective layer on the inside of the GORE TEX membrane makes a separate lining unnecessary. The result: minimum weight and pack volume".The Minimalist is also a DWR garment (durable water repellent). DWR is a thin layer of liquid applied to the exterior of garments to to repel oil, grease, dirt and water. The theory is that DWR is less prone to 'wet out' or saturation. I won't speak to the science of this but I do know that to test it, just drop water on the jacket and see if it beads up. If it doesn't you need to restore the DWR. It's a simple process.To restore DWR:- Machine wash the jacket no hotter than warm. Double rinse.- Line dry the jacket- Once it's dry, tumble dry on a warm, gentle cycle for 20 minutes to reactivate the DWR.This jacket is relatively breathable. If you're active in the rain eventually you'll get wet due to sweating, even with outstanding breathable rain protection. Best you can hope for is to mitigate that and use really good wicking layers next to the skin. Yes breathable gore text garments help to prevent / reduce wetness, but it's relative. For short or non exerting walks I'm bone dry in this jacket in the rain. Once I get active I sweat; but overall this jacket seems as breathable as any other gore text jacket I've had. No more, no less.I love this jacket so far. Price to performance you'd be hard pressed to find a better deal in a gore tex jacket, either online or in a brick and mortar store locally. The XL I kept was Amazon used warehouse that arrived in mint perfect condition with all new tags still attached.It came to $141 CAD after taxes shipped. That was more than $100 cheaper than any other gore text jacket I could find in my small city locally.Hope this helps. Happy jacket hunting!

After buying a Gore Tex Paclite jacket when they first appeared, I never thought I would buy one again. The original Paclite was very prone to wetting out. Whilst the material was breathable, it was very easy to overwhelm the material to the point it could not expel moisture quickly enough, so it ended up condensing inside the jacket.This jacket is using a much newer version of the material and I haven't experienced the issues I had with the original material. Also, price was very good on Amazon, which is why I took a chance on this jacket.

I Like the price,the minimalist look,being Gore Text,breathable,wind prof, light wait,well made,nice rain hood & its adjustable.Don,t like that it's a bit to long in the arms,no pockets inside,unable to hide hood would of been nice if you were able to tuck it away,no carrying bag to put it into.So after all this I Still like it am 5 foot 8 inch or 1.72cm I got it in size L good fit.