Adidas Terrex Gore-Tex Paclite Jacket reviewed

The Adidas Terrex Gore-Tex Paclite Jacket has a RRP of £170. Try our deal-finder for a cheaper price...

Adidas Terrex Gore-Tex Paclite jacket: basics

The Adidas Terrex Gore-Tex Paclite is a lightweight and packable but sturdy waterproof jacket. Designed to be used when the forecast is uncertain, it is the kind of jacket you could put in your rucksack, just in case, and feel assured you won’t get wet, even in a downpour. Terrex is Adidas’ relatively new outdoors range, covering everything from day hikes to mountaineering.

First impressions

This jacket has a distinctive sporty feel to it in looks – closer something you might expect from snow-sports, at least in style. Even if you’d never have considered Adidas for outdoor gear before, this is a rugged shell jacket that holds up well compared to more stalwart industry names.

How waterproof is the Adidas Terrex GTX Paclite jacket?

This jacket is has great waterproof capability, beads well and is thick enough to repel tempestuous weather. The slightly longer cut in the arms and waist helps keep you fully protected. The hood is deep with great coverage. Although the hydrostatic head isn’t listed, Gore-Tex Paclite fabric is generally rated at around a hydrostatic head of >20,000mm.

How breathable?

The jacket is at the heavier weight fabric end of the waterproofs in this review. It’s warm to wear but not sticky, providing a good shell to protect you against the weather. There are no vents and the breathability rating is again unlisted. However Gore-Tex Paclite is generally rated at around 20,000g/m2/24 hrs.

Design features

The Adidas Terrex GTX Paclite has all the features of a classic hiking jacket, but feels more like something you’d see on a ski slope in style. Basically, it looks and feels sporty in a way many mountain jackets don’t.

The sleeve cuffs have long and sturdy velcro adjustment straps. The hem has internal elastic, adjusted by two press toggles stitched inside the hem. This is really quick for cinching in but a bit of a fiddle to loosen back out again.

The hood is chunky, with a semi-stiffened peak and elastication that all pulls in to a single toggle at the back of the head. Despite that, this is a nice deep hood with a lot of substance that you can retreat into when the weather gets bad.

The jacket has a full length central zip with internal storm flap and two large pockets at waist height. These pockets are mesh inside and have external storm flaps. I particularly liked the looped fabric zip pulls on both the pockets and the main zip (pictured above). It’s a simple solution to make what could be fiddly zips into something that’s very easy to open and close, even in big gloves.

The pockets aren’t quite big enough for an OS map, but could fit a Harvey’s. There is a small section of soft fabric on the inside of the main zip where it joins the hood (and would potentially rub on your nose), which is a nice touch.

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Also consider...

OMM Kamleika jacket

RRP £200

If you like the sporty look of the Adidas Terrex jacket above but want something with a more athletic cut for trail-running or fast hiking, check out the OMM Kamleika. Weighing just 220g for a women’s size small, it’s made from a close-fitting, soft and stretchy fabric that repels both wind and rain, but remains breathable. It has a decent hood with stiffened peak which keeps its shape well. The main zip is narrow and backed up with an internal storm flap. There is a good tactile zip pull but it may be a bit fiddly to zip up with cold hands or gloves. If you'd like to hear more, read tester Emily Woodhouse's detailed review.

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Still looking for the right waterproof jacket?

Then check out more reviews by the outdoor gear team at BBC Countryfile Magazine.