The windbreaker is one of those pieces that should be simple and rarely is. Most of them get the fit badly wrong in one direction or the other. Too slim and the whole point is lost, because you need to move in the thing, wear a layer under it, actually use it as outerwear. Too boxy and it reads as an afterthought rather than a considered part of how you got dressed. Regular fit is the answer, but only when the proportions are actually thought through rather than just averaged out from a size chart.

What we’ve been looking for here is a shoulder seam that sits where it should, a body length that covers the waistband of your pants, and sleeves that don’t eat your hands. Packable is a bonus. Clean enough to wear over a crewneck into somewhere other than a park. These are the ones that work as real outerwear, not just something you grabbed because it was raining.