Jack Wolfskin Moonrise 3-in-1 jacket: A versatile waterproof that gets the job done in an understated way

Meet the reviewer

Rosee Woodland

Rosee Woodland developed a taste for adventure at a young age, growing up in a home where camping was the default holiday, and good weather was a vacation bonus rather than a necessity. After bike-packing the length of France in her mid teens with her family, she started to undertake solo forays in her 20s, usually without the benefit of much technical gear at all. Happily, the years she later spent as a mountain biking journalist eventually gave her an appreciation of decent kit! These days she loves a water-based adventure, and is an outdoor swim coach, and a keen free diver. She has a soft spot for Northern Ireland's Mourne mountains, and can also be found hiking and kayaking in Pembrokeshire and the South West of the UK.

 Jack Wolkskin Moonrise 3-in-1 jacket: first impressions

 If, like me, you prefer your outdoor gear more than a little on the garish side, then the Moonrise 3-in-1 jacket from Jack Wolfskin is unlikely to set your heart aflutter. With an understated look and self color logo that’s firmly in the normcore camp, I struggled to be excited about it, despite its respectable spec, as one of the brand’s higher end offerings.

But, while my emotional response was a distinct ‘meh’, it quickly won me over simply by being good at what it’s designed for.

First things first, this is not a jacket for mountaineers. If you want to scale the heights or bag Wainwrights in quick succession, look elsewhere. Our buying guide to the best waterproof jackets should set you straight.

But if your idea of a good time is a moderate hike, over moderate terrain in moderate weather, then look no further. And yes, it might not get you over Caradhras but it will do a decent job of keeping you warm, and save you from an unexpected deluge. 

For the men's equivalent see the Jack Wolfskin Taubenberg 3-in-1 jacket.

 Jack Wolkskin Moonrise 3-in-1 jacket: in the field 

Although I’d worn this jacket all over the Lake District and the south west UK for a few months, I kept getting lucky with the weather and was struggling to properly test its waterproofing.

Then a few weeks ago I went out for an easy Sunday afternoon walk. The sky was almost clear blue and I messaged friends asking them if they wanted to meet for a cheeky pint at a favorite pub. The messages came back with a resolute ‘no, haven’t you seen the forecast’. Color me naive, but as I’d strode out the door I hadn’t bothered to check - it was too nice a day to worry.

I shook my head and carried on walking, laughing with my partner about how weird our friends were being. We were ambling through a country park on the edge of the city where we live, and turned to catch the views across it. And that’s when we saw The Cloud. Behind us a huge storm was coming in fast and we were on very exposed ground with no shelter to come for a couple of miles. We walked faster but the clouds circled and started to catch up with us on the left as well as behind. We were in for it. Fifteen minutes after clocking the first cloud we were in a downpour with nowhere to hide! I only had on running leggings so I had to transfer my phone to the fleece jacket’s inner pocket and just hope. Eventually we found a country lane and hurried down it, with trees dropping huge splashes onto us. An hour later we finally made it home, and I fished around inside and found my phone bone dry. I was also feeling barely clammy, despite it being a very mild afternoon. The jacket had passed its final test. 

Insulation

This jacket is a 3-in-1: an outer shell that zips onto a Polartec 200 high collar fleece. The fleece is fine and dense, and does a good job of keeping you toasty in cool conditions, but we’d want something cosier for the most extreme weather. The two parts zip together easily, with a long front inner zip, and small loops and tabs at the back neck and cuffs. I had no problem using these quickly when I wanted to add or remove the fleece - it’s a simple system that works well. 

Fit

The Moonrise is a regular fit jacket according to Jack Wolfskin and I’d say that’s just about right. It came up true to size, with sleeves that were a good length for my arms, which are longer than average. It has a slightly pulled in waist, but not enough to be a problem or ride up over trousers. The cuffs can be tighten with Velcro strips. The waist has a toggle cord to pull it tight and keep the wind out when the weather sets in.

I do wish it had a slightly larger hood. This is a women-specific model and if you have thick long hair like me, that can eat a lot of space. But the slight peak on the hood does a decent job of keeping the rain off your face, so this is a minor issue. The hood also has a Velcro strip, allowing you to reduce its depth and is elasticated around the face, but there is no toggle cord to pull it tight, something I would have liked to see. 

Both the inner and outer layers zip up to a high neck, and the waterproof layer has a zip garage to prevent it getting caught on skin or long hair.

Storage

There are two zipped hand pockets on the outer shell, and two zipless hand pockets on the fleece, plus two large inner slip-in pockets that are big enough for water bottles and maps. I would have preferred to have zip pockets on the fleece too - there isn’t a zipped pocket on it, so it’s not possible to be entirely confident that valuables stored in are going to stay put. A zipped chest pocket on the outer shell would also have been a useful addition.  

 This is a fairly simple jacket, designed for changeable conditions, rather than the most extreme weather. If you see it as that - a reliable option for easy hikes and lower level terrain you won’t be disappointed. 

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