Over the past several months many people have pointed out a new jacket that cadre and other GORUCK staff have been wearing. I was wondering when GORUCK would be making the announcement for it and it appears today is the day.
It’s the end of July (as of writing this) and rain (or jackets) is the last thing on my mind at the moment. GORUCK did add these to their Workshop and the pre-orders for “The American” Waterproof Jacket will start shipping in November.
When November rolls around we’ll definitely be looking for a jacket (at least in Seattle) so that timing is pretty good there. The specs are pretty much what you would expect from a GORUCK made waterproof jacket:
- Tough & technical jacket made from our ToughShield Fabric that is waterproof, windproof, and fully protective from any weather
- Full zip front with lock down waterproof zipper to keep weather out
- Reinforced hood with hidden adjustable elastic hem
- Two exterior front pockets with waterproof zippers
- Interior chest pocket with waterproof zipper
- Two Interior map pockets
- Internal inspirational quote from General Patton
- Subtle GORUCK logo on bottom seam
- Made in the USA
- Comes with our Scars Lifetime Guarantee
The lifetime warranty is pretty nice here… not many places will sell you a waterproof jacket then fix it up for life.
The jacket includes one internal chest zipper pocket and two giant “map” pockets. I don’t imagine myself putting a map in there but I’d imagine they would easily hold some headphones or maybe my wallet.
Shoulder Velcro Patch Areas No Shoulder Velcro Patch Areas
If you choose to pre-order you’ll have to decide if you want the patch area sewn into each shoulder or if you want the jacket slick. I’m glad they’re offering options here.
Finally price… this jacket is not cheap. It will be retailing for $495 when it launches however GORUCK is offering it at $345 ($150 aka 30% off) during the pre-order period. If this is a jacket you want then that’s a pretty good discount however it’s still more than I’ve ever paid for a jacket. These are made in the USA plus the lifetime warranty I’m sure factor into the price.
Will you be grabbing one of the new “The American” waterproof jackets from GORUCK? Please let me know why (or why not) in the comments!
Hi Brian… I did agree that slick was the way to go, considering that I could always slick on Velcro later.
I also confirmed my original plan to go with a Large… since the sizing seemed fractionally smaller than that of the Challenge Windbreaker – Midweight which I have in a Medium and I’ll be able to wear a layer under it if I want to. Val at GORUCK brought up the same points during a communication we recently had.
The deciding factor in the end for me can be found in the specification section with a substantial waterproofness and and reasonably good breathability.
I placed the order late today.
Awesome! I’m between the Medium and Large at the moment as well but I really like those points. If I go Large I can probably wear a layer underneath which is never a bad thing!
Sizing looks to be a tad smaller than the Challenge Windbreaker which I have, so I’ll be going with the Large. The big decision is whether to keep it slick looking or add the two velcro patches… for rucking.
I still need to measure myself for sizing! My opinion on the Velcro patch areas is go slick and use Velcro loop tape if you want to add one or two. Then you can remove them if you want it slick again and there won’t be needles piercing the waterproof fabric to put them on. That’s my plan at least… Let me know what you end up going with!