<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size="2">Originally posted by pynchonesque:
Try a North Face Mountain Jacket.
You will pay through the nose (mine was $320 about 4 yrs ago), but you will have something that you can use to stay dry in the shower (literally), and that will last you forever. My North Face jacket may well be my single favorite possession. This is an outer shell, which can be combined with an inner layer from North Face or any other merchant.
Message edited to add link: http://www.thenorthface.com/code/pro..._standard.html
Best way to get a good price is to call up ski shops and try to negotiate -- shouldn't be that difficult in the summer. They may not be allowed to advertise lower prices, but they can usually be talked down.
[This message has been edited by pynchonesque (edited 06-07-2001).]</font>
Definitely check out the North Face Mountain Lite Gore Tex jacket (which is a lighter weight version of the regular Mountain jacket). I paid about $250 three years ago and still use it for almost every trip I take. Having a waterproof shell is really nice. Works great with layers, although I would not bring it with me to a hot and humid destination. You can often find North Face at 20-30% off the suggested retail price if you are patient. I actually bought mine over the phone from a shop many states away after doing an Internet search three-ish years ago using the key words: North Face Mountain Lite Sale Discount or something along those lines.
Mountain Co-Op is also a great company. They have good quality gear and the prices are right (especially now that the Canadian dollar is weak). I still have a rucksack that I traded a fellow traveler for a decade ago.