Best Waterproof 3 in 1 Jackets for Men

In this text I give a list of best waterproof 3 in 1 jackets for men on the market. All jackets are from renown brands and built from top-quality materials.

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Why using 3 in 1 jackets

I guess this should be obvious, and this is described in detail in my separate text. So here just to stress that you have 2 separate jackets that can be used independently and together.

Typically (but not always), the inner jacket is a fleece which you can use whenever it is chili weather but without rain. The external jacket is a waterproof rain jacket, usually breathable as well and you can use it throughout the year as a light jacket for rain.

My own jackets are all of that type and I live in an area with lots of rain so the outer shell jacket I use all the year-round. The inner fleece I mostly use separately either at home or in the city. I use them together in mountains, and also in the area where I live in the wintertime.

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About terminology

The term 3-in-1 jackets is most frequently used, and this is what I do as well here in the text. But just to know that some use the term component jackets for such combined pieces of the garment, and you will see it in the names of some jackets in the list below. The meaning should be obvious – you have two components in the system.

You will also see the term interchange jackets which describes the fact that you can use them separately and together.

So do not get confused with all these different phrases, they all describe the same type of jackets.

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All-in-one jackets vs 3-in-1 jackets

After using so many interchange jackets, I know that the comfort of some of them is not always great. This is mainly the case with those that have a very thick inner fleece jacket. Also speaking from my own experience, in such a case I feel more comfortable when the two jackets are not zipped together.

On the other hand, a good all-in-one jacket (i.e., a single layer insulated jacket) may be far less constricting and confining than an interchange jacket.

However, the main advantage of 3-in-1 jackets is that you can choose the level of protection, so you truly have a tool for all seasons. This is how I use my own jackets, we have lots of rain so the shell jackets I use all the year-round, and the inner layer I add only exceptionally, like these days around Christmas.

But I do use the inner jackets separately all the time. Currently, I have 4 interchange jackets, which means that I effectively have 8 pieces to use individually. So this is plenty of options to choose from. In fact, since I do not always zip them together, I can combine the elements from different jackets.

I usually have short sleeves (I use polo shirts in all seasons), and I normally have only my interchange jacket on it. So when I enter somewhere, I use to take off the shell jacket and stay in the inner jacket. This is why I prefer to use such component jackets unzipped to each other.

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My list of 3-in-1 waterproof jackets for men

 

Below you can see a bit more about each of the items in the list. The numbers are not for ranking, they are here only for navigation.

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1. Columbia Sportswear Men’s Powderkeg Interchange Jacket

They describe this jacket as ultra-technical so let’s see what exactly it offers. The shell is a waterproof-breathable jacket with a minimalist design. This is Columbia’s Omni-Tech 100% nylon legacy twills fully seam sealed. They do not provide numbers for waterproofness and breathability. Note that you have zippered pit zips so ventilation should not be an issue with this jacket.

The inner jacket is really nicely built with a 100% nylon Shadow Ripstop exterior fabric. This is a super-warm 650-fill-power down jacket, a combination of 80% down and 20% feathers. The picture above shows how stylish it is. You can really use it as a stand-alone jacket when the weather allows.

The jacket also includes Columbia’s Omni-Heat Thermal Reflective feature, this is something unique to Columbia and they use it in many of their jackets as well as in boots and shoes. You will see a video about this below related to yet another Columbia’s jacket in the list.

This is a modern classic fit with a drop tail, you have a removable and adjustable storm hood, note that it is also helmet-compatible, drawcord adjustable hem, and adjustable cuff tabs. As for pockets, you have an interior security pocket, a zippered chest pocket, a zippered sleeve pocket, and zippered hand pockets.

BEST PLACE TO BUY

Amazon

A bit more you can see in this short video:

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2. Columbia Men’s Wild Card Interchange Jacket

This beautifully designed jacket comes in four different color combinations. The external shell is 100% polyester with Columbia’s Omni-Tech waterproof and breathable technology and with fully sealed seams. Note that this is an item with a 2-way comfort stretch for complete mobility.

The inner jacket is a bonded baffle 100% polyester construction with Omni-Heat reflective lining which you have also in several other jackets from this brand. The insulation is 650-fill power down, RDS certified. The inner jacket zips to the shell on the two sides on the front, and you also have 3 snap buttons, on the sleeves and behind the neck. As you realize from the picture above, it looks cool and stylish to use on its own.

The jacket comes with a removable and adjustable hood and it is equipped with underarm vents with zippers. You have adjustable sleeve cuffs, a drawcord adjustable hem, and a drop tail.

Pockets: Outside, you have two zippered hand pockets, one zippered chest pocket, and one zippered pocket on the left sleeve. Inside of the shell, you have one zippered media pocket on the right side. Inside on the inner jacket, you have one zippered pocket plus one mesh pocket on both sides, so 4 in total. This inner jacket also has two zippered hand pockets. So if you love to be organized and have many pockets, here you have them many everywhere.

BEST PLACEs TO BUY

REI

Moosejaw

Amazon

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3. Mammut Treeline 3 in 1 HS Hooded Jacket for Men

The Mammut Treeline 3 in 1 HS Hooded Jacket for Men is a highly versatile jacket for all seasons and weather conditions. You have two separate jackets here, a waterproof GORE-TEX shell and a removable down-insulated inner jacket, and you can use them together or separately, depending on the weather.

The outer jacket offers excellent weather protection with a 28000 mm waterproof rating, while the inner jacket uses 700-fill-power duck down, making it warm, lightweight, and easy to pack. I particularly like the 30 cm underarm zippers for ventilation, the well-designed hood, and the comfortable inner lining. The total weight is 836 g, which is quite reasonable for such a versatile system.

There are a few things to keep in mind. The fabric is a bit noisy and crinkly when moving, and the fit is slimmer than you might expect, especially around the armpits when both jackets are worn together. So, if you have broad shoulders or well-developed lats, I would suggest trying it on before buying or considering a larger size.

Breathability is moderate, but the long pit zips help a lot when you need extra ventilation. The price is on the high side, but you get a well-made jacket that works for everyday use, walking, cycling, and casual hiking in the mountains. In my view, this is an excellent choice if you want one versatile jacket system for the whole year rather than several separate jackets.

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4. Marmot Featherless Component Jacket For Men

This jacket is great for backpackers, mountaineers, hikers, skiers, and for around-town use in all seasons. The term ‘featherless’ in the name simply implies that you have synthetic insulation in the inner jacket.

So this is 3M Thinsulate Featherless synthetic for enhanced water resistance, and for great performance in a wet environment. Such insulation is known to work well even if it becomes wet. It is also very packable and lightweight.

The outer shell jacket is Marmot’s MemBrain 2L 100% nylon Oxford, completely waterproof and breathable. All seams are fully taped and you can be sure the jacket will keep you dry.

The jacket is with a minimum of 10000 mm waterproofness rating. So this is in the middle of the range which may go up to 20000 mm. Note also that you have a hydrophilic PU lamination which reduces internal condensation and increases comfort.

Breathability is really great 10000 g/24h, which is equivalent to Hohenstein RET: 6 to 8. So this piece is in the range of highly breathable materials.

Key features

• 4-season piece of garment.
• Insulated.
• Regular fit.
• Angel-Wing movement design.
• Incredibly versatile.
• Very lightweight.
• High quality.
• 5 pockets in total.
• The hood is completely adjustable and removable.

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5. Marmot Men’s KT Component Jacket

This is a very lightweight jacket and you realize this when you compare it with the Bastione jacket from the same brand or with The North Face Carto below. The shell jacket material is again with the Marmot’s MemBrain, but this time it is 100% polyester oxford 4.5 oz/yd and 100% polyester mini-ripstop DWR 1.6 oz/yd, as compared to the nylon used in the other two Marmot’s jackets above.

So again this is a fully waterproof and breathable piece with all seams taped, with a removable hood, and with zipped pit vents. You have 5 external zippered pockets on the shell jacket, two hand pockets plus two chest pockets with water-resistant zips, and one zippered pocket on the left sleeve. The cuffs are adjustable with Velcro tabs, and on the hem, you have an elastic drawcord.

The inner jacket is a removable insulated Thermal R liner jacket with a very cool design.

Key features

• Fit: regular.
• Center back length: 30 in.
• Weight: 1 lb 9.3 oz (717.2 g).
• Removable hood with a brim.
• Pit zippered vents.
• Zippered sleeve pocket.
• Internal media pocket.
• Many great color combinations for the inner and external jackets.

BEST PLACEs TO BUY

Campsaver

Moosejaw

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6. Marmot Minimalist Component Jacket

Marmot has a long series of interchange jackets so it is not surprising to have several of them here in the list. They are all different and you realize this when you write their features side by side as I did in my text about this Minimalist Component jacket, so follow the link below to see what I mean.

This jacket is based on their Minimalist rain shell jacket which has been around for a number of years already. In 2018 they came out with this variant which has a removable insulation layer. So this is a true 3-in-1 jacket for all seasons. The rain shell is described in detail in my separate text, no need to repeat it here, just to point out that this is a Gore-Tex Paclite 2.5-layer.

The inner jacket is a synthetic fabric with Thermal R insulation and with 3 pockets in total. It looks really good and you can use it on its own as an external layer.

Here are a few numbers you might want to know. The complete set is 1 lb 13.6 oz (839 g) of weight, so it is considerably lighter than the Bastione jacket. The average length is 30.5 inches (77 cm). Please follow the link for more.

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7. Patagonia Snowshot Jacket Men’s

As usual for this type, you have two jackets that can be snapped and zipped together. This is a really high-quality jacket with great weather protection, but also with the price to match.

The inner jacket is synthetic insulated and with full front zip. Note also that this inner jacket is reversible, so you have two different colors and you can use them as two different jackets.

The shell jacket is waterproof with H2No membrane, used also in many climbing jackets of this renown brand. All seams are sealed and the external fabric is an excellent water repellant coating as well. Here again, you have a free-hanging mesh similar to the Columbia Whirlibird jacket given above.

The insulation you have here is 60 grams of synthetic, and this combined with multiple layers of fabric and the air trapped in between, adds a lot of insulation and preserves the warmth. So this is a warm jacket but it is still not a match for the Columbia Whirlibird jacket.

This jacket comes with pit zips on the outer shell jacket, so it offers excellent ventilation in various conditions, completely comparable to the Columbia Whirlbird jacket.

The style and features of this jacket are somewhat unique. Effectively you have 4 different options – two different faces of the inner jacket when used alone, the shell jacket alone, and the two jackets together, and they all are rather unobtrusive.

This is an expensive tool, but it is covered with Patagonia’s extraordinary warranty, and its construction is that it will surely last long, so this is an investment that may be worth the money.

Please see here about the waterproofing they use:

Key features

• High quality, very durable, and warm jacket.
• Reversible inner jacket – this makes it a 4-in-1 system.
• Synthetic insulation.
• Pit zips on the shell jacket for good ventilation.

BEST PLACEs TO BUY

REI

Backcountry

Patagonia

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A bit more about the key features of a 3-in-1 jacket

Waterproofness

All jackets described here are with the waterproof external jackets, but you might want to know that there are such interchange jackets that are not fully waterproof. However, I would not consider such cases. For my needs, a jacket must be waterproof. In fact, I do not have any that is not waterproof. If I need such a non-waterproof jacket, I can always use the inner layer of some of my interchange jackets.

About types of waterproof membranes, you can see in my separate text. Typically, you have Gore-Tex but some brands have their own stuff. You have seen some mentioned above, like H2No, MemBrain, TexaPore, but there are many more. Gore-Tex remains the best so far, and you can read about this material in my another text.

Breathability

Making a jacket waterproof is easy, but the point is to make it breathable as well. I have had such a non-breathable jacket and it was a terrible choice. In any physical activity you will become totally wet, so do not waste money, you will not be able to use it for anything.

I have discussed this issue in my previously mentioned text, so no need to repeat the story here. So how this mechanism works? The idea behind it is that the pores in membranes are small enough to prevent the rainwater from getting in but they are large enough to allow the vapor (from your sweat) molecules to get out, it is as simple as that.

I have jackets with a breathability rating in the range 5000 – 12000 (this is in units g/m²/24h), and I can feel the difference between the jackets with such numbers. But this is never perfect and it will depend on your activity. To tell you frankly, if you are on a hiking or mountaineering tour up a mountain, you will always sweat, take my word for that.

Insulation – inner jackets

In general, you have a fleece or non-fleece inner jacket, and you have seen examples of both in the text above. I already mentioned that I use to use them unzipped, so in such situations, when you put the shell jacket on and off, you may have a better experience with a non-fleece inner jacket. This is because such an inner jacket is usually of a smooth material (polyester) so it is easier to get the shell jacket on. Also, from an esthetical point of view, some of these non-fleece jackets can really look cool when used separately on their own.

But fleece remains a great choice as well, in particular a microfleece inner jacket with 100 number (you have it in The North Face Evolve II jacket mentioned above). In fact, I am sitting and writing this text in one fleece jacket of that type which I bought many years ago, and can tell you these materials are really pleasant and they seem to last forever.

Storm flap on the zipper

The long front zipper is the area where you can expect the water to pass. So it is essential that you have a storm flap that protects the zipper. In some extra great jackets, you have double flaps, one from each side so they overlap, plus Velcro tabs that keep them in place. My wife has such a great jacket from Jack Wolfskin. With such a design it is totally impossible for the rainwater to pass through. Though this may be a bit annoying in everyday life, you have lots of work to do to get to your zipper.

Taped seams

If you plan to use a jacket in an area with a lot of rain, then all seams must be taped. You have seen one example above (the Columbia jacket) where the seams are only critically taped. This might be fine for ski jackets but this would not be my first choice for my tours in the Alps. Please see more in my separate text.

Armpit vents

This is good to have but this will depend on your activity. None of the jackets I am using now is with such openings. Typically, those are zippered vents, and this means a chance for water to get in. But my wife and daughters have jackets with such zippered vents, and the fact is they have never complained.

Pockets

The more the better, as simple as that. I would never consider a jacket without hand pockets. Yes, there are such rain shell jackets, you can see some of them here. Though, I do not remember any 3-in-1 jacket with such a design.

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Thank you for reading. Do you use an interchange jacket? I shall be happy to hear from you, please use the comment box below. If you would rather have a standard winter jacket, check this list with best insulated jackets for men. I wish you a pleasant day.