Reviewed on Mar 20th, 2023

Let’s get the tough part out of the way first: If you are headed into conditions that could be described as “torrential,” you should probably leave this one in your closet. But if you’re looking at more typical rain conditions—the light rain of the Pacific Northwest or short-but-intense squalls of the East Coast—then the Montbell Versalite is an excellent choice. It was completely dry underneath after an hour in the shower, and the underside of the fabric was only ever so slightly damp after twenty-four hours of having a pool of water sit on top of it—an impressive degree of water resistance.

This wasn’t quite the lightest rain jacket in my test (those would be the Frogg Toggs UltraLite), but the extra features it incorporated (accounting for that extra ounce of weight) upped its performance for big adventures. The biggest of these is the zipped pit vents, essential for letting you cool off and air out when the sweat starts to pick up. It also has (albeit more minimal than the Arc’teryx Beta LT) velcro cuffs and cinches at the hem, the back of the hood, and the neck, which will help keep out cold gusts when the wind kicks up.

The Montbell Versalite had the best balance of functionality and weight in our test of the best backpacking rain jackets.

from Outdoorlife

Reviewed in June, 2020

The Montbell Versalite is the jacket we’ll be using the most for our ultralight adventures this year. It’s incredibly lightweight, but still has all the features of a heavier jacket - high hand pockets that work well with a backpack hip belt, pit-zips to dump excess heat as you warm up, and great hood, hem, and wrist adjustments for a dialed-in fit. The Versalite is made with thin materials to shave grams, so it’s not as durable as some jackets. If you’re into activities like hiking and backpacking, though, the weight-savings are well worth the tradeoff. If you’re looking to keep weight low, but still want all the bells and whistles, the Versalite is a fantastic choice and a great value.

from CleverHiker

Reviewed in June, 2020

The Montbell Versalite is an ultralight waterproof/breathable rain jacket that weighs 7.0 oz in a men’s XL. It’s by far the best backpacking rain jacket in my gear closet in terms of the features important to hikers. It has pit zips, a four-way adjustable hood, hook and loop wrist cuffs, hip-belt compatible chest pockets, an internally controlled hem adjustment, waterproof zippers, and taped seams. Montbell nailed this one.

from Section Hiker

Reviewed on MAY 2018

from www.followbigfoot..com