Packable K-way rain jacket review: is it truly waterproof?

When I was a kid and we took a field trip with school, my mom would always tell me to take my K-Way rain jacket with me. And looking at all the kids wearing that jacket which folds into a pouch, my mom wasn't the only K-Way jacket fan.

It’s been a while since I fitted into that item of clothing but one of those rainy Belgian days reminded me about my old K-Way coat and I wondered how the brand had been doing since.

Not so bad, I see after a search for the latest products on their website. While I associated K-Way with the basic pull-over or zip-up rain jacket known as the K-Way Claude Klassic (for men) and the K-Way Claudette Klassic (for women) I think everyone knows, K-Way actually has a wide range of jackets in every color. Heck, you can even customize your K-Way!

And if that wasn’t enough, they also have a range of waterproof pants and accessories. I was getting all excited but decided to stick to what I came for: the basic K-Way Claudette Klassic.
 

K-way waterproof jacket review

K-Way was so kind as to offer me a complimentary jacket to test, so I left for Barcelona with the famous zippered, lightweight raincoat that folds into a pouch in my carry-on suitcase. I chose a black one because I wanted it to go with everything (and I simply wear a lot of black), but this K-Way women's jacket comes in a wide range of colors.
 

Was the K-way rain jacket as great as I remembered it to be?

Luck that I'd packed it. On our third day in Barcelona, it rained the entire time. It started with a few drops in the morning but then it just kept pouring harder and harder.

I have to admit I was a bit skeptical about my K-way jacket before using it: would such a light and foldable jacket be able to keep me dry for an entire day?
 

Are K-way jackets waterproof?

Well, mine sure was. Because the classic K-Way jacket gets narrower at the bottom, at the end of the sleeves and at the edges of the hood, it prevents any water from seeping in as well. And the best thing about the hood;  it fitted me perfectly.

Hoods on jackets or sweaters are often either too small, causing the front part of your head to get wet after all; or too big so that the wind blows them off really easily. Neither of those problems occurred with the K-Way jacket I was wearing. The hood stayed on perfectly and kept my head dry throughout the day.
 

Was my K-way raincoat windproof?

Another thing that surprised me is that it kept the wind out but didn’t make me sweaty. Jackets like this usually prevent any sort of ‘breathing’ and I was afraid that I would get all sticky rushing around in it with the zipper pulled up high and my hood on. None of that with my K-way jacket, though. It's fun to do a K-way review like this!

On top of that, the Claudette Klassic rain jacket dries really easily. After a day of walking in the rain, I just hung it up in our hostel room in the evening and when we got back from dinner (luckily it had stopped raining by then) it was already dry and I could fold it back into the pouch.
 

How to fold a K-way jacket

If I would have to point out one downside to this jacket, it’s that it wrinkles pretty hard when you keep it in the pouch bag. I never wondered how to fold a K-way jacket and always just stuffed it into the pouch bag.

Well, that showed when I pulled it back out. Perhaps if you try to fold it up nicely, it'll come out better, but I honestly couldn't be bothered.

Looking ironed was the least of my worries as we were standing in line in the rain to enter Casa Batlló.
 

What about K-way jacket sizing?

I think K-way sizing is pretty accurate. The one I tried was a size small and it fitted me nicely, without being too loose or too tight. I normally have a small or medium in jackets, depending on the brand and how many layers I plan on wearing underneath.
 

Want to order your own K-Way jacket? Click here to check prices and shipping info.
 

K-Way offered me a free Claudette Klassic rain jacket to test. What I think of it is entirely based on my experience wearing the jacket.