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Columbia Saudan Pro 3L Shell Jacket
Gear Review
I would argue that after your tent, paddle and canoe, the most important piece of gear you bring on any canoe trip (or backpacking trip minus the canoe) is your rain gear. You don’t always need it, but when you do you want it to be the best thing in your pack. I’ve spent many a rainy day in Algonquin wishing I’d realized this while prepping for my trip rather than when it started pouring on me midtrip. The best rain gear I’ve ever owned is the Columbia OutDry Extreme Wyldwood Shell Jacket and Pants. This combo has been a game changer for me in terms of staying dry. I’ve used them through a couple of full seasons at this point, as well as on multiple canoe and hiking trips that have featured at least some rain, and they’ve kept me dry and comfortable throughout. So when Columbia reached out to ask if I’d like to try their newest addition to their rainwear lineup, the Saudan Pro 3L Shell Jacket, I was thrilled. I figured the only thing better than one awesome rain jacket is two awesome rain jackets. And, not to spoil this review, I was right! I was also lucky enough to receive both a men’s and women’s shell so my wife could provide her perspective. Again, I don’t want to spoil the review, but the fact that she has essentially lived in that jacket throughout this cold and wet spring speaks volumes.
Overview
The Saudan Pro 3L Shell is a comfortably designed rain jacket that is part of Columbia’s Titanium Hiking lineup. The Titanium lineup is Columbia’s premium, high performance apparel collection and is designed for difficult (read: gross) conditions. The jacket features some of Columbia’s most advanced waterproofing and breathability technologies and combines these with numerous small and thoughtful design features. The end result is a dry, wearable and technical jacket that has, so far, stood up to all the rain this very rainy Ottawa spring (and somewhat rainy weekend in the Rockies) has thrown at it. I’ve worn it through quite a few storms now and have been pretty happy with how dry it has kept me. But that’s just a general impression, let’s get into the details.
Materials
The Saudan Pro is a three layer jacket (that’s what the 3L in the name stands for) that looks like a single layer nylon shell. There is an outer shell that keeps you dry, a waterproof but breathable membrane in the middle and an inner lining that’s meant to protect the membrane and feels pretty comfortable against you skin if you happen to be wearing the jacket with just a t-shirt underneath. The three layers are bonded together, resulting in a what looks like a single layer of shell that keeps the water out but lets water vapour escape. This is ideal if you happen to be wearing this jacket while doing something strenuous. There’s nothing worse than walking or paddling through a downpour and ending up soaked, not because your jacket wasn’t waterproof but because it was too waterproof to let heat escape. Actually, let’s talk about that a bit more.
Waterproofing and Breathability
The Saudan Pro uses Columbia’s proprietary Omni-Tech Pro waterproofing and breathability technology. The jacket has a 30,000 mm/30,000 g/m² 24 hour waterproofing to breathability rating. If those numbers mean nothing to you, you’re not alone. The good news is that as long as you remember that in the case of both waterproofing and breathability ratings higher = better, you’ll be fine. Most standard jackets are going to have between 10,000 and 20,000 as the base metrics for each of waterproofing and breathability. At 30,000 this jacket is designed for strenuous activity in severe conditions. Theoretically you should be able to tackle a challenging hike or portage in a downpour and come out of it reasonably dry. While I haven’t thrown a climb up Everest in a thunderstorm at the jacket yet, I have been out on some decent hikes in some not so decent weather and stayed comfortably dry. For context, I am someone who heats up very easily. I will typically break a sweat walking up a hill in a t-shirt. Hiking in rain jackets has always been tremendously unappealing to me because I end up looking like I just came out of the shower regardless of whether it’s raining or not. So far, I haven’t had that problem, and in fact stayed quite comfortable on the consistently uphill Johnson Canyon hike just outside of Banff.
Fit
My one struggle with Columbia’s clothing over the years is that the sizing doesn’t always fit right for my body. I’m 5’10 (5’10.000001 if you count my remaining hair), slim with what you’d probably call an athletic build. For the most part, I’m a medium. Every shirt I own is a medium, as is every sweater, jacket and vest. Typically, if the label says M then I can be reasonably confident that whatever is attached to that label is going to fit well. However, that’s not always the case with Columbia’s clothing. Sometimes their medium size works exactly as I think it will, and sometimes it feels a bit big. The good news is that I’ve found Columbia’s rain jackets to be exactly what I want them to be. The Saudan Pro fits well. It allows for plenty of flexibility and freedom of movement, does not get in the way when you’re crouching down or reaching for something and looks pretty good too. My wife has been similarly impressed with the women’s jacket. She is 5’4 and also went with a medium. She has found the fit to be well suited to her body and, like the men’s, allows for plenty of flexibility and freedom of movement.
Hood
The hood of a rain jacket is where everything can fall apart. If the hood doesn’t fit well or gets in the way when you’ve got it up, it can make an otherwise decent rain jacket into a problem. Fortunately, the hood of the Saudan Pro 3L works as well as the rest of the jacket. It has three drawstrings for adjustment. One at the back of the head (hidden beneath a strip of material for extra protection) and two just above the collar bone. Together, these three cords let you adjust the jacket so it fits well both around your head and around your neck/chin. I may be just bad at wearing clothes, but the collar bone cords took me a second to figure out. There are two buttons right above the cords that kind of look like the belong on an inflatable shoe from the 90s. These are the cord locks. To get the cords to stay in place, you engage these while pulling on the drawstring, and then press them again when you want it to release.
Design Highlights
No matter how breathable a jacket is, sometimes you need a little bit of extra airflow to keep things comfortable. Both the men’s and women’s jackets included fully seam sealed, zippered underarm vents. Speaking of seam sealing, that is standard on every seam on the jacket. While I’ve only owned this jacket for a couple of months, I can say that the seam sealing on my Wyldwood Shell has held up quite well over the years.
The jacket features two zippered pockets that are big enough to carry a phone and a set of car keys and are designed to keep the water out. Also helping to keep water out? The drawstrings on either side of the bottom of the jacket (right above your pants pocket) and the adjustable velcro cuffs on the sleeves. Between hood, waist and wrist adjustments there are multiple points where you can tailor the jacket to your exact fit.
The Verdict
Based on my previous experiences with Columbia’s rainwear lineup, I thought I was going to like the Saudan Pro 3L Shell Jacket, and I was right! This is a great jacket. Both the men’s and women’s versions provide comfort, flexibility and, most importantly, protection from the elements without turning into personal sauna. My wife wears the jacket daily as even when it’s not raining it helps break the wind. I’ve used it on quite a few hikes and found it to be a fantastic outer layer that has kept me dry without overheating. At $350.00 it’s not the cheapest jacket on the market, but it more than earns its keep. I’m happy to have this one as part of the rotation, and am looking forward to the next rainy day in Algonquin.
Wait, no, that’s insane. I am not looking forward to the rain. But I’m not dreading it! It’s nice to know that I’ve got an option that will keep me dry no matter what Mother Nature throws at me.
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