Can a four ounce jacket really offer any protection from wind, rain and snow? Yes, the Wind HL Jacket from My Trail Co weighs less than your emergency bag of GORP and does an outstanding job at protecting you from the elements. I was fortunate enough to receive one of these hyperlight jackets in exchange for a thorough review.
- Product: wind HL Jacket
- Brand: My Trail Co
- Weight: 4 ounces
- Material: 20 denier polyester with DWR
- Pockets: 1
- Hood: No
- MSRP: $89
Testing Environment
After wearing this jacket for a good six months, it’s seen the gamut of Western New York weather from snow to high humidity. It’s gone bushwhacking on search and rescue training, hiking with the kids, backpacking on the FLT and canoeing in the Adirondacks.
Wind HL Jacket Fit
My Trail Co designed this jacket to be a semi fitted garment so it isn’t too tight or will not billow out like a sail when on top of a mountain. I’m not a slim guy so most athletic cut garments look like I’m stuffed into a sausage casing. This is comfortable to wear and looks good even in casual wear.
Durability
When you first don the wispy Wind HL jacket, you’ll probably check to make sure you have that little roll of duct tape handy for repairs. I know I did. That said, I pushed through some pretty thick brush and never ripped it. I wore it while setting up a 5 km navigation course for my SAR team and I rarely used the trails. I did have a thorn apple puncture the jacket though while geocaching but I’ve had those suckers penetrate leather boots before. The hole is pretty tiny, although the one in my arm bled quite a bit, so I haven’t bothered patching it.
In another hike where I bushwhacked across fields of multiflora rose, I put the jacket on to protect myself from ticks and thorns. Though the thorns didn’t scratch me up and I was tick free, I did find a few small snags on the jacket where the sharp buggers hooked on to me. Again, tiny holes that haven’t altered the performance of the jacket at all.
Water Resistance
Though the Wind HL jacket wasn’t designed as a rain jacket, it does have a pretty good DWR and I use it as one. On most trips out it was the only “rain” gear that I carried unless I was expecting heavy downpours. In a light to medium rain, I didn’t get wet and the jacket didn’t wet out. I did try it one heavier storm though and I found its limit after about 30 minutes or so. Again, this is the hoodless version of the jacket, so the rain will run right down your back. If you wear it with a wide brimmed hat like I do though, you’ll stay drier.
Wind Resistance
As you can tell from the name, this jacket was built as a wind jacket. The windiest condition I tested it in so far has been on a hike near the Niagara River as the gales screamed across the water throwing waves against the shore. The wind was strong enough that day to bring the branches out of trees and repeatedly knock over my camera tripod but the Wind HL jacket stopped convective heat loss from my body on that bone-chilling day. Now it didn’t shut the wind out completely like a rubber rain slicker but it did noticeably decrease the amount of wind on par with my similar and heavier-weighted weather shells. I’d place the wind resistance a tad better than lightweight Gore Windstopper but not quite as good as Goretex ProShell garments.
Best Features
Packability and Weight:
- Packability and Weight: The minuscule jacket’s pack size and weight are the most impressive as it is light enough to bring on any trip.
- Pocket placement and size: Yes, there is only one pocket but it is an awesome larger pocket on the back of the jacket. It doubles as the stuff pouch for the jacket and is large enough to hold a map, phone and every bar.
- Waist draw cord: One big difference I noted between this and other ultralight jackets is the presence of an actual waist drawcord. Most manufacturers just use elastic. This allows you stuff things like your hat or gloves in your jacket without worry of dropping them. Also, in a survival situation, it allows you to stuff the jacket with leaves or other natural insulation.
Room For Improvement
- Reflective Logos: The two MyTrail Co logos are reflective and that is fantastic for low-light missions but I don’t think is enough for roadside runners. I think it would be a great addition to put some reflective accents on the sleeves as well.
- Full front zip: As this is an ultralight jacket the zipper had to make some sacrifices. I find that the zipper occasionally snags on the jacket material, especially when fumbling around in the dark. I have to wonder if a better design would be a pull over with a half-zip. It would be just as functional and a hair lighter.
- Neck Opening: Though nobody wants a tourniquet around their neck, I did find the neck opening to be a tad loose. I have a 17.5 inch neck so I’m not exactly slender necked either. I have to wonder if a shock cord drawstring around the neck opening would offer a greater fit for wearers.
Bottom Line
My Trail Co’s Wind HL Jacket is an inexpensive (as it always seems to be on sale) and ultralight wind and light rain shell for outdoor adventure. It breaths well so you aren’t soaking wet from the inside and keeps wind and light rain at bay.
