Outdoor Research Dryline Rain Jacket Review

The Outdoor Research Dryline Rain Jacket is a 2.5 layer waterproof/breathable rain jacket with pit zips, an adjustable hood, wrist cuffs, and a hem adjustment. The seams are seam taped to prevent leaking and the jacket has a waterproof main Aquaguard zipper. There are two zippered hand warmer pockets and a chest pocket and it stuffs into one of its pockets for easy packing. The jacket’s external face fabric is a 75D recycled polyester which has some built-in stretch but it is best used in the cooler months including winter. Mid-priced, the OR Dryline is a solid value with features that work well in the field and look good in town.

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Specs at a Glance

• Waterproof/breathable: Yes (2.5 layer, OR Ventia laminate)
• Face fabric: 75D recycled polyester
• Weight: 14.1 oz in a men’s large (a women’s model is available)
• Length: Hip Length
• Pockets: 3
• Adjustable hood: Yes
• Helmet-compatible hood: Yes
• Pit zips: Yes (12″ long)
• Wrist cuffs: Yes
• Hem adjustment: Yes
• Stuff in pocket: Yes
• Sizing: True to size

Waterproof/Breathability

The Outdoor Research Dryline is 2.5 layer waterproof/breathable jacket which just means that the jacket has an outer nylon face, a thin waterproof/breathable layer in the middle, with a thin protective veneer on the inside—the half layer—to protect that waterproof/breathable layer. It’s made with Outdoor Research’s proprietary Ventia waterproof/breathable laminate which is waterproof but not particularly exceptional in terms of its breathability, which probably explains why OR does not publish any breathability specs for it.  All of the jacket’s seams are seam-taped and the main Aquaguard zipper is waterproof.

The Dryline Jacket is coated with an external DWR coating which makes rain falling on the jacket bead up and roll off. However, DWR rubs off with use since it’s just a chemical coating. I found this happened after just a few uses while wearing a backpack, primarily on the shoulders, hood, and arms. That doesn’t affect the waterproofness of the jacket but reduces the jacket’s breathability because the external fabric becomes saturated and prevents internal water vapor from escaping through the breathable membrane (see also: Why do waterproof breathable jackets wet out?) If you want to prolong the life of your DWR coating, don’t wear the jacket with a backpack or stuff it up because it will rub the DWR coating off (see also: How to make your DWR last longer.)

Adjustable Hood

The Dryline Rain Jacket has an adjustable hood with a rear control that lets you control the hood volume but lacks neck cords to adjust the size of the front opening which is often the norm on less expensive rain jackets and winter shells. The hood is large enough to wear with a climbing helmet and comes with a front bill, but I prefer to wear it with a billed cap because the bill lacks an internal stiffener or wire to stay “up” when used, another feature you’ll find on more expensive jackets.

Wrist Cuffs

The Dryline has hook and loop wrist cuffs which are good for sealing in the heat around your wrists and preventing cold rain from dripping down your arms. This is particularly important in colder weather because your blood flows close to your skin there and it’s easy to become chilled.

Pit Zips

The Dryline has 12″ pit zips in the underarms that help shed excess heat and prevent the buildup of perspiration inside the jacket. Many of Outdoor Research’s rain jackets and hard shell jackets include pit zips even though they are made with waterproof/breathable fabrics. If you can prevent perspiration by opening your pit zips and cooling off before you perspire, you reduce the need for a highly breathable membrane to vent the resulting water vapor. It just makes sense.

More Features

The OR Dryline Jacket has an elastic hem adjustment to prevent cold wind from blowing up your torso. It has a large zippered chest pocket in addition to two well-sized handwarmer pockets, which are not easily reachable when wearing a backpack hip belt. One of the handwarmer pockets has a key fob inside which also serves double duty of a hang loop on a climbing harness. Finally, the jacket stuffs into one of its handwarmer pockets for easy packing

Comparable Rain Jackets

Recommendation

The Outdoor Research Dryline Jacket is a mid-priced waterproof/breathable rain jacket made with a moderately stretchy 75D recycled polyester and OR’s proprietary Ventia breathable membrane. While you can use it year-round, it does run rather warm in summer due to the fabric thickness. Instead, its sweet spot is really in colder spring, autumn, and winter weather where its adjustable hood, pit zips, and hook and loop wrist cuffs provide suitable functionality for winter hiking use. Personally, I like the added warmth of a rain jacket/winter shell with thicker fabric and pit zips for cold weather use, even though I feel that non-breathable rain jackets like the Lightheart Gear Rain jacket or Warbonnet Stash are more suitable for warm weather and summer use.

Disclosure: Outdoor Research donated a jacket for review.