We owe our friends at Outdoor Research a big thank-you for the amazing “pilsner” (yellow/gold) Helium Jacket™ storm shell that showed up for testing. This is an amazing piece of manufacturing technology, because it’s so incredibly light, yet packs in so much tech. Here’s a quick highlight list:

Basically, the 2.5-layer waterproofing is impressive, but equally or more impressive is that last item–the entire jacket stuffs down into a pocket at the hem into a package that’d fit in a sandwich baggy. Its incredibly light weight and compact packaging make it perfect to add to any outing with potential rain in the forecast, and the handy loop makes it easy to clip to your bag or stuff it in an available nook.

The rainy spring may be past, but I look forward to testing the Helium’s breathability and waterproofing at first chance. Be sure to hop onto Outdoor Research’s site and check out the video showing the Helium’s amazing disappearing trick, and keep an eye out for a full review and comparison soon!