Customer Reviews Outdoor Research Foray™ Jacket

I used this "waterproof rain" jacket on 20 April 2018. It was raining and slowly turned to snow. This jacket wet through in less than 20 minutes. I had higher hopes from Outdoor Research.

I bought this jacket from MEC in the spring (2017) and returned it in August (2017). It looked like an amazing jacket for my backpacking & canoeing/portaging since it offered amazing venting and was reasonably light weight. However on the last night of my early August canoe trip it was put to the test and failed in a downpour. It kept the water off me for the >5 minutes I was out, but I felt a very pronounced cooling sensation on my shoulders once I was back under the tarp. I took the jacket off, hung it up and within a few minutes the water had wicked from the outside through to the inside of the shell; the face fabric was pretty much dry in 15 minutes and the inside of the jacket was soaked. I didn't bother with the jacket on the last morning in the drizzle. I then returned the jacket when I got home. I suspect this was a one-off with that particular jacket, but I wasn't willing to gamble with another. Instead I'll stick with my old reliable Axiom jacket and skip on the venting.

I purchased this jacket @ MEC in the spring last year (2017) and returned it in August of 2017. What drew me to the jacket was the complete flexibility it offered for venting - something I could really use while back-packing/canoeing-portaging. Also the fit of the jacket allowed for a layer underneath which would be good for cooler evenings. Unfortunately the jacket didn't keep water out. In fact, it seemed to wick water from the outside fabric to the inside of the jacket. I found this out on the last night of a canoe trip my wife and I were on. We had a downpour where I was out for less than 5 minutes to re-tension a tie-out on the tarp. Once that was done and I was back under the tarp, I took the jacket off as I could feel my shoulders cooling down rapidly. Within a few minutes of taking the jacket off and hanging it, the face fabric was visibly drier while the inside of the jacket was soaked (shoulders, torso and inside of the sleeves). I didn't bother using the Foray the next day paddling back to the put-in even though it was drizzling & windy - I saw no point to it. Once back at home, I returned the Foray. I'm pretty sure this was a one-off exception. However, I don't trust it enough to buy & try again. I'll stick with my old but reliable Axiom jacket and forego the venting.

A waterproof jacket that's not waterproof has no use.