Guide Gear Review – Marmot Essence Jacket

This raincoat is LIGHT and keeps the weather off you – therefore, it meets most of my criteria in a quality rain jacket. At a staggeringly light weight of 6 ounces, there is little penalty on the legs for bringing it out with you for a day in the mountains or on the rock.  I alpine or rock climb most days of the year and the majority of these outings are in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.  More days than not in the summer, I have the pleasure of watching a perfectly bluebird day turn black with impending storms, and will thus bring a raincoat with me the vast majority of my all-day outings.  This jacket gits ‘er done, in terms of keeping the rain and hail off of me.  The other day, I finished guiding several people up the North Face of the 14,259 foot Long’s Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park and just as we finished the rappels, the skies opened up and there was a wintery mix upon us for the next couple of hours.  The Marmot Essence Jacket kept me plenty dry throughout it.

This is a simple jacket, but it definitely has a few quality bells and whistles on it.  There is a stiff brim to the hood, which is great when it’s actually coming down.  It also has armpit vents, which are great for not filling your jacket up with sweat when you’re hiking with it zipped up.  My favorite feature is the reversible chest pocket that allows me to stuff my jacket and clip it onto my harness when I’m multi-pitch climbing.

I would fully recommend this jacket to a friend or a co-worker.

 
Rainbow Weinstock
AMGA Certified Rock Guide
CMS Guide