I was at 5,900 feet on Mount Baker in the Cascade Range of Washington State when dark storm clouds started to churn overhead.
We had just three days to climb the mountain and the forecast looked bad for the whole trip—cold temps, wind, and, of course, rain. On the second day as the clouds finally unleashed their fury, I pulled on the Mammut Tatoosh jacket. As the rest of my body began to soak, my upper body stayed cozy and dry. You can’t climb a mountain when you’re soaking wet, and thanks to the Tatoosh I was able to stay dry enough in tough conditions to move on for the summit the next day.
Apart from the Baker summit climb I also wore this jacket ice climbing on Baker’s lower Coleman Glacier and rock climbing near the town of Leavenworth, as well as on a climb of Mount Shuksan’s Fisher Chimneys.
There are a number of features that make this jacket ideal for getting active in the mountains or in town, and I found the DRYtech™ nylon fabric to be extremely waterproof. The jacket does have pit zips, which help a lot in changing conditions when you need to ventilate and breathe a little when there’s a short break in the weather.
One common downfall of hard-shell jackets is that the fabric is waterproof but the different pressure points—like zippers and pockets—aren’t designed to keep water out and tend to leak. This is one area in which I found the Tatoosh excelled—the front zipper has an interior storm flap that acts much like a sleeping bag’s draft tube to block out the elements. The cuffs are also adjustable to help block out the elements.
And then there’s the hood. As a climber I often struggle with hoods—they can get so fussy when you need to pull them on over a helmet, and when the rain comes you want to be able to do that quickly. I was therefore a big fan of the Tatoosh’s large hood, which easily fits over a helmet but is still small enough to be comfortable when you’re not wearing one. The brim helps keep rain off of your face so you don’t need to wear a separate baseball cap, and the hood can be cinched down to fit more tightly if you’ve got a small noggin or just want to be buttoned up extra-tight.
The Tatoosh performed well for me on a series of rainy climbs in a famously rainy state, and I’d recommend it as a great go-to shell for any of your outdoor adventures.
Shop the Mammut Tatoosh Jacket for Women at REI.com.
