What the Shell?

[VA paddler]

I have a NRS Riptide jacket - great for paddling in the rain and cold on top of a wetsuit. Oppressive if its not cold and raining.
Carhart Storm Defender for working in the rain around the harbor.
But for real durable, water proof, hard wearing gear, there's nothing like Grunden's.

 

[RPATCH]

I carry three shells. If I know it's going to be a rainy day, I wear an Arc'teryx Beta SL rain jacket under my PFD, which I normally keep packed away in my clothes pack. In my accessible grab bag, I have a Black Diamond Stormline rain shell in a size larger than I usually wear that fits over my PFD. If it starts raining, I can grab that and put it on quickly without removing my PFD. If it's really ugly and cold, I can wear both. What I end up using 90% of the time is a $15 windbreaker that I also keep in my grab bag along with a Rab Alpha fleece mid layer. I also carry Showers Pass Refuge rain pants.