Windbreaker Jacket & Weight

Five ounces seems to be a sweet spot for standard windbreaker jackets. Anything more is overkill, and unnecessarily heavy. Beyond that, the lighter the better, unless you plan to take it bushwhacking or climbing. On the opposite end of the spectrum, just under two ounces seems to be the lower limit and the cutoff for super ultralight models. Because a two ounce windbreaker accomplishes nearly all of the same things (in terms of wind protection) as a four ounce windbreaker jacket, it’s often preferable to save the weight. However, the models on the two ounce end of the sprectrum are often made with fabric that is more plasticy, and less breathable than those which are a bit heavier.

What’s more, when considering a two ounce wind shell, it’s so light that it can almost be thought of as part of a modular system in conjunction with a fleece, as opposed to a five oz windbreaker, which is heavy enough to be its own layer. Framing it this way makes it really hard to justify a midweight windbreaker. Why would you want a 7 oz wind shell when you could have a 5 oz fleece and a 2 oz wind breaker?

Wind shirt vs wind shell vs windbreaker

All the same thing. If you see us, or others, using these terms interchangeable, that’s because they are.

Reminder – Wind shells are not waterproof

Reminder – wind shirts are not waterproof and you don’t want them to be. The expectation is that a windbreaker jacket with a tight weave and DWR treatment should be able to keep you dry in light rain for a short amount of time. That’s all. It’s okay to wear a windshirt in the rain and get a bit wet if you expect to dry out quickly after. It can also be preferable in warm rain when you would overheat in rain gear.

When Should Hikers Pack A Windbreaker

A lot of micro decisions lead up to what you ultimately pack. We would recommend carrying a windbreaker for the following scenarios:

• Obviously, when you are expecting lots of cold wind
• in conjunction with an ultralight fleece jacket to make a modular system
• In lieu of a rain shell in very dry climates when no precipitation is expected

When Not To Pack A Windbreaker

• When you are already packing a medium weight fleece, a puffy jacket, and a rain shell
• In wet environments when you’ll mostly be wearing a rain jacket
• In non-windy environments

When Can A Rain Jacket Serve As A Wind Shell?

Unfortunately for windbreaker jackets, rain jackets significantly narrow their range of viable use cases. Waterproof jackets are windproof by definition, which means that rain gear beats wind gear at its own game. The fact that most hikers carry rain jackets on most trips makes wind jackets fairly redundant in a lot of cases. And if you’re trying to shave weight, skipping the wind jacket and just committing to wearing a rain jacket in those situations is a great option. You lose out on some breathability, but it still gets the job done.

Reminder – A Wind Shirt Can Act As Mosquito Resistance

The combination of a windbreaker jacket over a knit polyester sun shirt can be as effective as a woven nylon button up. You might consider treating your windbreaker with permethrin to act as a bonus bug shirt. And you’ll be grateful for the hood!

Windbreaker Jacket Features In Order Of Importance

1. Front zipper
2. Hood Adjustability
3. Chest Pocket
4. Hand Pockets
5. Armpit or back yoke vents
6. Hem adjustability
7. Packs into own pocket

Windbreaker Plus Polartec Alpha Direct

A growing trend with ultralight backpackers is to layer a Polartec Alpha Direct Hoodie underneath a windbreaker to create a modular puffy jacket system. For this purpose, we recommend the lightest possible windbreakers, like the Zpacks Ventum and Enlightened Equipment Copperfield. The Polartec Alpha Direct fabric, usually 90g, is like the guts of a synthetic puffy jacket uncontained by a shell. It’s like a grid of fluffy fur.

However, Alpha Direct is so breathable that you will even feel a breeze just by walking. Without the addition of a wind shell, it is incapable of maintaining heat if there is any wind whatsoever. But with a windbreaker, it becomes as warm as a heavyweight fleece or a lightweight puffy jacket. Thus, the alpha direct hoodies and windbreaker jackets go together like peanut butter and jelly.

Windbreaker Maintenance

Windbreaker maintenance is fairly simple. Double check washing instructions provided by the manufacturer, but for the most part, they can be laundered as normal. To restore its water resistant DWR coating, wash and treat the windbreaker with a 1-2 punch of NikWax Tech Wash followed by TX.Direct. Fix up small rips and tears with Gear Aid Tenacious Tape. Easy peasy!