Jonathan LeMaster

This jacket is great for many different conditions, and it compresses enough that you can stuff it into an outer pocket on a backpack.It can be used by itself to block wind pretty well, and it's cut wide enough that you can wear it over a fleece to add warmth. I've worn the PreCip skiing over just a thermal base layer and a light fleece, and never got wet or cold while remaining active.

At over 18,000 feet, I wore it as a waterproof/windblocking FIFTH layer over a thermal base layer, a secondary shirt, a fleece, and a more puffy fleece. So it's definitely got the capacity to fit over multiple layers, which is something I love it for.

I haven't had any problems with it while wearing a backpack, even walking about 2 miles to class in steady rain. The water does get absorbed a bit by the jacket - only light water really beads up and goes away, so during rain you can expect the jacket to look like it's getting wet. But even though there were "wet spots" in the jacket, my fleece was completely dry underneath. And then the jacket dried within 20 minutes of just hanging on a chair inside.

Overall it's a great jacket, especially for the price.

I just converted from my old external frame and I've loved every second of this backpack. It made long heavy treks amazingly better, the weight is still there, but properly adjusted it transfers wonderfully down to your legs.

My only complaint is how tight the water bottle holders are. It has a space for an internal bladder, so drinking water on the trail is easy, but it's almost impossible to get a water bottle back into the compression holders by yourself while still wearing a fully loaded pack.

Besides the water bottle holders, this pack is the best I've ever owned, and all my buddies love it too.