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The Bottom Line: The GORE R7 Trail Jacket is a fantastic, high-quality ultralight jacket with excellent water- and windproofing. It has all the benefits that came with the original R7 jacket, such as excellent weather protection and extremely low weight, but it is much more durable, and as a result more versatile. Despite a few design annoyances, it's a terrific jacket as long as you're willing to shell out $300.
Trail running in the R7 is ideal in cold temperatures around 30 degrees and low winds. Ethan Rambacher.
Several months ago, I reviewed the GORE R7 running jacket. My ultimate decision was that it was a great jacket, but because it is not durable enough to wear with a backpack, it can only be used for running—and $300 is a lot to spend on a jacket for running only. The GORE R7 Trail builds on the same technology as the original R7, the GORE Shakedry fabric, but with more durability, which in turn lends greater versatility to the R7 Trail.
The new R7 Trail jacket is thicker and heavier than the original R7, coming in at around 6.4 ounces (still ridiculously ultralight). It feels much thicker than the R7, and it is slightly warmer. I found it very comfortable at 30 degrees in low winds, but running in 40-degree temperatures I found it quite warm. (GORE suggest this jacket for use in 40- to 60-degree conditions. If you are hiking, this is pretty accurate, but if you are running then you're going to be hot wearing this if it's 60 degrees outside, so keep that in mind.)
The R7 Trail jacket features the GORE-TEX Shakedry fabric. As the name suggests, when the jacket gets wet, you can simply give it a few good shakes, and it'll be dry. This might not seem like a big deal, but it's really convenient so you don't have to pack away a wet jacket. This fabric is also extremely windproof and waterproof. I wore it in several heavy rainstorms and stayed completely dry underneath. The water beads off easily, so the jacket never "wets out" like some jackets.
I find the fit of the jacket quite comfortable. It's definitely a slim fit, and it can be a bit tight in the shoulders, but I do find it to be a bit broader than the original R7. If you have broad shoulders, you may want to move up a size. The hood fits well; there is an elastic piece under the bill that keeps the hood pulled over the head. At first glance it seems an odd design, but I actually find it quite comfortable.
As you can tell, I really like this jacket, but there are a few pieces of the design I don't like. The most annoying are the elastic patches on the cuffs. Usually, I find these to be comfortable and less fiddly than the sleeves with an elastic band around the wrist. The problem with them is that when it rains, or even if you sweat a lot, the elastic fabric soaks through, and while the rest of the jacket dries off quickly the elastic stays wet against your skin for a long time.
I love the inclusion of a chest pocket (like on the original R7), but it's a tight fit for a phone (it requires some finagling to fit it). One of my complaints with the original R7 was that it was difficult to turn the jacket inside out and store it inside its pocket. On the R7 Trail, the chest pocket zipper is now double-sided—which is great—but the pocket's opening is so small and stiff that it's very difficult to turn the jacket inside out. And the pocket seems to be just too small to zip the jacket inside. Ultimately, this isn't a big deal to me, because the jacket is already so small and packable, but it's nevertheless an annoyance.
The R7 Trail is overall a great jacket. It has a few design annoyances, but it is versatile, extremely lightweight, and very waterproof. It's a lot to shell out $300 (no pun intended). Compared to other lightweight jackets in the same weight class, the R7 Trail comes in on the upper end of the price range (more expensive than the Patagonia Storm Racer at $250, but less than the Arc'teryx Zeta FL at $325). If you are willing to go just a few ounces heavier, a jacket like the popular Marmot Pre-Cip or OR Helium II will save you nearly $150. But for the gram-counters among us, the R7 Trail jacket should no doubt be on your list.
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