Welcome to Ask a Gear Editor, our monthly column where we answer readers’ most puzzling gear questions. Have a burning question of your own? Become an Outside+ member to ask an Outside expert for ...

A highly-rated style of Columbia’s softshell jacket is now marked down by 52% on Amazon. This jacket has a 4.6 out of 5-star rating with more than 1,000 reviews (and more than 500 people have bought ...

A quality soft shell is the best jacket for athletes who perform highly aerobic activities in variable conditions (basically, spring pretty much anywhere in the country). While this type of jacket won ...

Expensive. Can't use the hand pockets with a climbing harness. Like most durable water repellents, it uses carcinogenic perfluorocarbons in the waterproofing process. When it comes to outdoor ...

For an incredibly simple concept — keeping you dry — rain jackets have evolved into awfully complicated products. Air flow rates, water pressure resistance, durable water repellent coatings, hard ...

The Rab Firewall Light Waterproof Jacket is an impressively light, packable shell designed for outdoor adventures and general leisure use. Using three-layer Proflex fabric, it offers a supple feel ...

Our picks for the best tried-and-true women's ski jackets of 2026.

Morning frost creeps in, budgets tighten, and Brits reach for layers that don’t weigh heavy on shoulders or wallets. Aldi has put a soft-shell jacket on shelves that targets exactly that moment.