Rain jackets intended for road cycling tend to be just jerseys with a waterproof membrane, which sucks in every other situation of life. I’m looking for something more versatile.
MTB gear is usually quite fully featured, often just not very packable. E.g. I really enjoy my Endura MT500 II rain jacket. It has pockets, ventilation zips and a helmet compatible hood. In my vision the perfect travel jacket would be similar but from a more lightweight/packable fabric.
The best I’ve found so far is Montbell Versalite, which checks all the boxes except over the helmet hood, as it’s not intended for helmet wearing sports. (Sure one can wear the hood under the helmet too, but it would be nicer to wear it on top.)
Are you aware of any alternatives that would have a helmet compatible hood? Or just otherwise good jackets with different compromises?
I ended up getting the Montbell Versalite. It sure packs down small, and is lightweight.
The only complaints I have are that the hood has to worn under helmet, and the lightweight fabric can be a bit flappy in hing speeds. The latter is probably an weakness problem of ultralight jackets. My heavier jackets handle winds much more gracefully.
All in all, it’s an ok compromise.