Reviews > Rain Gear > Jackets and Pants > Outdoor Research Zealot Jacket > Kathryn Doiron > Field Report

Outdoor Research Zealot Jacket - Field Report

Product Information:

I received a size large, wasabi green jacket for testing and so far, the fit has been good, if a little loose. I have been using the Napolean slash pocket mostly for flat items when not hiking. In cold and rainy weather, I notice the lack of side pockets more acutely than in nicer weather. I have actually managed to stuff the whole jacket into the slash pocket once. It was a tight fit and the zipper is not reversible, but in a pinch I found the slash pocket made for a great, compact, and temporary storage pouch. I have not yet had any discomfort from the elastic cuffs, but I do find that when the cuff is above my watch, I have to pull the cuff out to get the watch back inside. The cuff is a close enough fit to prevent the watch from sliding back in on its own.

I really like this jacket. Although it does not confer much warmth by itself, it does help trap some heat when layered with long and short sleeves. The slash pocket is conveniently located for small flat items, and the bottom of the zipper reverse zips up to make sitting much more comfortable. I do notice that when the bottom is not zipped open, the jacket will bunch up in the front as the zipper is stiff, so the jacket will bulge out. After hiking for an hour in a steady rain, I did not notice any appreciable heat buildup when wearing a t-shirt, and lightweight, wicking long sleeves. I also did not have any rain seepage into the jacket nor did I notice any sweat buildup either on me or on the interior of the jacket. The inside of the jacket is normally a uniform flat gray. However, after an hour in the rain, the inside did gain a mottled colouration with darker areas. I have not determined if this is from rain slowly seeping in, or from moisture trying to escape.

For the last month, the weather has been nice with little rain so the jacket is seeing less everyday wear. The weather has been in the high 80's F to high 90's F (27 C to 32 C) with a good level of humidity. I have found it too hot to wear the jacket, so it has been sitting rolled up in a ball at the bottom of my day pack. When I do take the jacket out, it has some minor wrinkles in it but they come out after about 5-10 minutes of wear. When I wear the jacket in warm weather, I generally leave it unzipped. As the jacket is so light it flaps around easily in the breeze. The only problem I have had with this, as it is not noisy, is that the zipper head sometimes hits me in the hand and it can be quite painful. I do notice that my daypack, a small Jansport backpack, does tend to eat the jacket a little while I walk. I only notice this as the hanging ends become shorter. The jacket is light enough that I don't notice it wad up under my pack. I have not noticed this when I have my hipbelt engaged while backpacking. In cool but nice weather, I tend to just let the hipbelt hold the jacket closed to allow easier venting rather than fight with the zipper, hipbelt and chest strap all while carrying poles.

I did experience a really nice driving rain once on my 7 minute walk home from the subway station. The jacket did a nice job keeping the rain out , but I did get spots on my glasses. The rain did run down the jacket and soaked my pants. I would see myself wearing rain pants had I been on top of a mountain and after seeing how well the rain poured off the jacket, I feel rain pants will come in handy if I ever experience driving rain again.

This jacket has seen some good use over the last two months. I have taken it on two overnight trips, on all my dayhiking trips (at least three that I remember), wear it to and from work and even sent it on two trips through the washer. Of all these things, I noticed it did not seem to appreciate the washer trip too much the first time. There is a small spot on the lower left sleeve where some of the outer green covering has peeled off to reveal a white center section. This is a small spot and as such as not affect wear or waterfastness yet. The spot did not increase in size nor did any new ones develop on the second trip through the washer. I did wash the jacket in cold water with other items and hung it to dry. I will continue to monitor this area and see how other trips through the washer affect the jacket as a whole and at that one spot.

Another small problem I have had with the jacket is the hood and the single toggle. While the idea behind the toggle seems sound, in practice, I have had some difficulties getting the hood tight enough to my face. Too tight and the sides of my face are very exposed and it is tight, not tight enough and it tends to flap some. In rainy weather with no wind, the tightness of the hood has not been an issue or a problem, but when the wind starts to pickup, the hood tends to flip back a little leaving my face and glasses more exposed. I may have to play with the hood much more to spread the tightness around the face. I will be examining this further over the rest of the test.

Field Conditions:

I took this jacket with me on a couple of long weekend hikes. Both trips included three days and two nights in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Total elevation gain was 1400 ft (426.7 m). There were light intermittent showers the first day, temperature that night dipped to about 40 F (4.5 C). The next day was sunny and clear with temperatures peaking around 68 F (20 C). The second night dropped to between 45 and 50 F (7-10 C). The last day was clear and sunny with tempertures pushing 77 F (25 C). Conditions for both trips were about the same in temperature and precipitation, or lack thereof.

On my Sunday day trips to a local park, my elevation gain is minimal but I did manage to get in a good rain hike. Temperatures were around 52 F (11 C). The rain was not hard but was more than a drizzle. Rainfall was mostly constant over the course of the hour long hike.

For my commute into work, I am really only above ground for about 10-15 minutes. I have seen some rain, but mostly cloudy or sunny conditions. A few days have been driving rain.

Pros:

- Very lightweight and packable

-

- No side pockets

- Hood can be difficult to maintain face coverage

Reviews > Rain Gear > Jackets and Pants > Outdoor Research Zealot Jacket > Kathryn Doiron > Field Report