His-n-Hers Mountain Hardwear Threshold Rain Jackets: Durable, Comfortable, and Repels Rain Easily

We live in the Pacific Northwest, where the rains start consistently in November, and we jokingly say the “faucet” shuts off July 4. It’s a thing. So, we need durable rain jackets that have taped seams, a large hood, and other features to get us through. We tested the men’s Mountain Hardwear Threshold Rain Jacket as well as the women’s Threshold iteration to see if they’d stack up against Mother Nature. Would they become our new go-to rain slicker? Read on to check out our impressions.

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The Mothership

Andy and I own a lot of clothing from Oregon-based Mountain Hardwear (MH), which is under the Columbia Sportswear umbrella. MH, along with brands PrAna and SOREL, is part of Columbia Sportswear, and they’re located half an hour away from where we live.

We live in their pants, shorts, and other technical clothing, especially when adventuring across the country. We’ve had very few issues with any of these brands of clothing and have definitely put them through their paces. So, when we had the chance to test some of their jackets, we jumped at the opportunity.

Mountain Hardwear Threshold Rain Jacket Materials

The Mountain Hardwear Men’s Threshold Rain Jacket (as well as the women’s version) is a three-layer waterproof jacket that has many features. It has a three-layer DrySpell coating that offers solid durability and waterproof protection. This coating is also hydrophobic. This prevents any water from soaking into the fabric, but instead, beads up and rolls off of it.

Note: Mountain Hardwear recommends washing and drying the Threshold jacket before its first use to activate the DWR finish on the fabric. This will allow the moisture to sit on top of the fabric and roll off the face of the fabric. Seed debris that’s falling on us is quick to come off, too. (See below.)

 Material:

• Fabric Body: DrySpell™ 70D 3L (100% recycled 3L protection)
• Nylon Ripstop: 100% Recycled Nylon
• Waterproof and wind-resistant

Men’s stats (based on a medium-sized jacket):

• Center Back Length: 29” / 73.7 centimeters
• Approx. Weight*: 12.9 ounces / 366 grams

Women’s stats (the size of the jacket these stats are based on is unknown):

• Center Back Length: 27”  / 68.6 centimeters
• Approx. Weight*: 13 oz / 368 grams

His-n-Hers Threshold Jacket Features

It has an adjustable hood with a narrow visor. You adjust the entire hood tighter (over the forehead and around the back of your head) with a rear drawstring. Note: They don’t have individual drawstrings at the base of the neck to cinch the hood like many other jackets have.

MH Threshold jacket has a water-resistant center front zip and underarm pit zips for when you need extra ventilation, and taped seams. The Threshold jacket also has two zippered pockets, one on each side, for your hands. One of these has an interior drawstring with a small carabiner clip loop at its end. This is perfect to clip your keys onto it, so you know they won’t get lost. This same pocket can also be used to fold your jacket into it, stowing it into a neat, compact pouch.

The MH Threshold jacket does not, however, have an interior pocket on either his-or-hers model. It does have beefy Velcro cuffs for easy adjustments (they stay put, too), as well as a dual-cord hem adjustment to keep the elements out.

The Mountain Hardwear Threshold Rain Jacket comes in two-tone or single-tone hues. Andy tested the jacket in “Aspect and Badlands” hues in size small, and I reviewed the “Icy Teal, Aqua Marina” combo, also in size small. This jacket model is offered in a standard fit, which is not too loose and not too tight. We’ve been able to wear different clothing, like t-shirts or bulkier items like a wool long-sleeve jacket or fleece half-zip under them, without restricting movement.

Threshold Impressions

“I really like the men’s jacket’s style,” Andy said. “In addition, it’s exceptionally waterproof. It has pockets in the right places and just fits right.” Andy really liked the Threshold’s color scheme, too. “I will, however, need to be careful with dirt and muck due to the light-colored panels.”

I add to Andy’s sentiments, loving my mint green blocky color scheme. I don’t think I’ve ever gotten so many compliments on a jacket’s colors before. Home run, Mountain Hardwear.

We finally got a few good rain showers in Portland, Oregon, where we live, to properly test both jackets. Some other rain slickers we own keep us fairly dry, but the water soaks into the fabric. Not the Mountain Hardwear Threshold jacket. Water beads on top of the fabric and easily rolls off of it. Once the jackets were taken off, we just gave them a quick shake before heading indoors, and the water came off very easily. They were quick to dry, too.

It didn’t matter if we tested them in the rain or while dry, but both his-n-hers Threshold jackets are pretty good at keeping chilly spring wind from going right through you. Even though the company states they are “wind resistant,” we think they’re better than that.

Threshold jackets fit just right. They’re boxy but fitted, offering up zero bulk that other rain jackets can give. The sleeves are at the right length, too, giving us adequate coverage without too much extra. And thank you for including beefy Velcro strips. They stay put and don’t get caught on other things.

The Nitty Gritty

I felt the hood on the women’s iteration was a bit too small. While it kept water off my eyeglasses, it wasn’t deep enough to cover all areas when cinched down. In all fairness, however, we’re used to wearing rain slickers that can fit a climbing helmet, so they’re extra large in size.

Threshold jackets don’t have interior pouches or pockets. Most of the other rain jackets we’ve tested offer that, or have a pocket elsewhere on the exterior, increasing storage space.

The Threshold jackets also don’t have a hang loop on the inside for hanging them on a coat hook. Not a biggie, but noted when you need to hang it from its hood or neck area, being careful not to put too much strain on the taped seams around those areas.

But, if you can live without a third pocket and don’t care about a hanging loop, then the Mountain Hardwear Threshold waterproof jacket, in either men’s or women’s, is a sure-fire slam dunk to keep you dry when adventuring in inclement weather. It’s quickly become one of our favorites when the going gets wet.

Price for either men’s or women’s Mountain Hardwear Threshold jacket: $200.00.

Photos by Mercedes and Andy Lilienthal