Outdoor Research Foray II GORE-TEX Jacket
CERTIFIED tier
The Outdoor Research Foray II is a rain jacket built by a company that has been making technical outerwear in Seattle since 1981 — a city where rain is less a weather event than a permanent condition.
Origin
Made in Indonesia/Bangladesh (Youngone Corporation facilities)
Warranty
Infinite Guarantee — lifetime warranty covering defects in materials and workmanship for the useful life of the product; replacement with current equivalent; claims processed online with fast turnaround
Price
~$225 (Mid)
The shell uses a 50-denier recycled polyester face fabric bonded to a GORE-TEX Paclite membrane, with fully taped seams and YKK Aquaguard waterproof zippers throughout. The 50D construction is meaningfully thicker than the ultralight 7D to 20D shells found on weight-obsessed competitors, and that extra denier translates directly to abrasion resistance and longevity.
Owners report six or more years of hard backcountry and urban use before showing wear, and the TorsoFlo side-zip ventilation system addresses the breathability tradeoff inherent to waterproof membranes. Outdoor Research backs the Foray II with their Infinite Guarantee — a lifetime warranty covering defects in materials and workmanship, with replacement turnarounds measured in days rather than weeks.
At $225, the cost per year over an eight-year lifespan is roughly $28, compared to cycling through $80 budget rain shells every two seasons. The Foray II does not claim to be the lightest or the most breathable.
It claims to be the rain jacket that outlasts the others, and the ownership data supports that claim.