Ashley Courter for NYT WirecutterTop pickThese lightweight, comfortable pants will keep you dry through rainy hikes. They are available in regular, short, and long versions to accommodate multiple heights.These lightweight, comfortable pants will keep you dry through rainy hikes. They also come in three inseam lengths.Marmot has discontinued these pants and replaced them with the new PreCip Evo Rain Pants, which come in a similar range of men’s and women’s sizes. We’ve done some preliminary testing, and we like them so far. We’ll be back with a full review soon.Marmot’s PreCip Eco Pants (available in men’s and women’s versions) are the best rain pants for most people in most situations.They will keep you dry on rainy hikes. These 2.5-layer rain pants kept us dry while we walked for several miles in heavier-than-usual rain and wind in Portland, Oregon. During our eyedropper and spray tests, we saw no signs of wetting through the 100% recycled rip-stop nylon fabric — both before and after putting the pants through five hours of continuous washing.They’re well tailored. The PreCip pants ranked among the best-fitting pants we tried, and more of our testers found that this cut, of all the pants we tested, fit them the best.When we wore these pants on hikes, we found they were easy to move and walk in; we also found their legs roomy enough to pull on over layers without feeling constricted. At the same time, the pants weren’t overly baggy. They didn’t make us feel like we were wearing a couple of trash bags — a sensation we experienced while wearing many of the rain pants in our test group. These pants also felt sturdier than the others we tested because of their gusseted crotch, which, according to our experts, can help reinforce an easy-to-rip area. Marmot’s 2.5-layer PreCip Eco Pants kept us dry in Portland, Oregon, rain even after we put them through five hours of continuous washing. Ashley Courter for NYT WirecutterThey come in a variety of inseam lengths. In addition to being well tailored, the PreCip Eco Pants come in three inseam lengths (short, regular, and long) in both men’s and women’s versions. The short (men’s, women’s) and long (men’s, women’s) versions are most reliably available directly from Marmot’s website. And they were among the few pants in our pile that proved to be true to size. The men’s pants come in S to XXL (30- to 42-inch waist, 36- to 48-inch hip, 30- to 35-inch inseam), and the women’s pants come in sizes XS to XL (24.5- to 36.5-inch waist, 35- to 47-inch hip, 29- to 33-inch inseam). Both the men’s and women’s models come only in black.They’re breathable. On our Hoh Rain Forest hike, the PreCip pants felt breathable. (The temperature was around 48 degrees Fahrenheit in the rain forest.) We felt noticeably sweaty and clammy after only an hour of hiking in the Columbia Storm Surge pants in the rain forest — but that wasn’t the case in the PreCip pants.They come with useful features. Two zippered mesh side pockets let you stash whatever you need to keep accessible. These pockets have a protective fabric shelf, and Marmot’s most recent update to the PreCip design added fully taped seams, so you can trust that your phone will stay dry during a true downpour. Ankle zippers at the cuffs made pulling the pants over our boots easy, and if you prefer pants that fully unzip (from the waist to the ankle), both the men’s and women’s versions offer that option. Unlike other rain pants, however, the PreCip pairs have an effective ankle cinch (an elastic drawstring) to help you taper and shorten them after you put them on. You can easily put the PreCip pants on over boots thanks to ankle zippers at the cuff; you can also cinch the ankles to taper the pant leg. Ashley Courter for NYT WirecutterThey offer great value. As for the price, the PreCip Eco Pants are at the lower end of the high-end rain pants we tested and at the higher end of the cheaper options. At this writing, they’re $30 less than our runner-up, the almost identical Patagonia Torrentshell pants. For the cost, these pants offer the best value of all the pants we tested.They’re easy to care for. To clean the PreCip pants, wash with liquid detergent, not powder, and dry them on low. After heavy use (or saturation with dirt or body oils), rain shells will eventually start to “wet out.” This means the DWR coating has worn away. As a result, the top layer of fabric won’t bead as nicely as it once did, and the fabric will become less breathable, though it will remain waterproof. Luckily, itʻs relatively simple to reapply DWR using a technical wash or spray.It has a warranty. If you encounter workmanship errors, you can file a warranty claim with Marmot. The company offers a limited lifetime warranty.Flaws but not dealbreakersThey make a bit of noise. The PreCip Eco Pants are made from ripstop nylon, a synthetic fabric which has a tendency to make a swishing sound when it rubs together. Some testers noticed this while walking. However, this complaint extended to most of the pants we tested.
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