I bought this for a trip to the rainy UK ...
347644
I bought this for a trip to the rainy UK.  It worked as expected.  I stayed dry even on a hike in the Scottish Highlands during a persistent rain.  It also dried quickly; each morning it was dry and ready for use despite the previous evening's rain. Further, it "smooshed" down, dry or wet, into a small ball and fit into a small backpack.  It does have a panel in the back for breath-ability, but that didn't work very well when the sun came out and I began to sweat.  I also had slight difficulty putting the jacket back on when it was wet.  The jacket was surprisingly warm when paired with a long sleeved shirt or a light sweater.
855861
Finally, albiet with a heavy heart got to test out the rain suit on my Vespa today. It was practically raining sideways as I was riding. Kept my ride at a 60 MPH pace, and 18 miles later, got home realitvely dry. I believe that the wind pushed the rain through the jacket and it slighlty dampened my shirt. Overall, I am happy and need to purchase some riding boots because I'm a little tired of having soaked shoes. Def worth the purchase if you're on the fence.
1569593
This held up like it was supposed to but we  ended up camping on a very rainy and muddy weekend. I sprayed the tent with a water proof repellent beforehand but after the first day it did collect some water on the bottom which caused a lot of condensation and wetness inside. We had a tarp down under the tent also. Over all was a nice tent to have on a sunnier camping trip. We have only used it twice so I have no idea how it will hold up in the future.
955384
As a coach on the water every day we do get caught in pop-up showers here in the SE USA.  I needed a new shell to help with all the rain we've been getting and saw this.
First time we got hit with a pretty decent rain I used this.  Works as expected though skin felt like I was getting slightly damp, when in reality I was kept dry.
Some of the comments on it zippering from the reverse side; this is common in many overseas nations and it not a big deal if you are used to it.
2966805
THIS DOES NOT LAST IN RAINY CLIMATES
It MOLDED.
GROSS. I'm in Hawaii and we get sun and rain most every day (passing showers) and a LOT of rain in winter rainy season. We are tradewind country and plenty of dry out time with the wind. This was supposed to LAST. It's already a MESS, falling apart and moldy. Even when it dried out, the mold remained. Bleach would eat the fabric so that was a no go.

Do not buy this is you live in a tropical climate!!!!!

I WASTED A LOT OF $$$!
4418965
After getting caught in the rain and having my laptop get a little wet (through my supposedly waterproof backpack), I decided to look for something truly waterproof. This fit the bill perfectly. I'll admit it takes a little getting used to, because the fit is so snug, and I end up putting my laptop in the sleeve, and then the bag, which then goes in my tote purse or backpack, so that's a lot of layers each time I'm getting it out or putting it away. But on most days I only have to pack/unpack my laptop once, so I don't mind.
2283266
Hi. Have experimented with the open and close functions and am now waiting to use it in the rain. Please contact me again and I should have more of a re iew.
833464
It is NOT WATERPROOF!!! We moved from CO to Seattle, WA with this on top of our truck. All our clothes were inside it, since that was why we bought it..we had no room inside our vehicle for them. When we unloaded the Carrier Bag all our clothes, linens, & curtains were drenched & molded where it had rained on our trip. The whole reason we bought this one was because we were moving to a rainy city & needed to protect our things. Big Mistake! Do not buy this unless your trip is to dry climate or you only need it for a day and there is no possible way it will rain. :(
1641154
Not really water proof (rain proof) as I was envisioning.  I bought this bag for a recent motorcycle trip thinking it was water proof.  When I received the item I was a little skeptical since I noticed the zipper is not water proof.  Still I filled it up, strapped it on the back seat, and off to the trip.  Encountered two rains throughout the trip.  First was a brief rain and the bag held up; no water got it.  The second rain was a rain storm with heavy down pour and wind gust; the rain was blowing in all directions and lasted a good hour.  This time the bag didn't hold; I found water inside the bag afterward.  The zipper is not water proof so I think that's where the rain got through.

Other than that the bag is ok.  The hard flat bottom is useful to keep things in place without them all bunched up like in the duffle bags.  Will not use this again for motorcycle trip though since it is not designed to be true water proof for the potentially severe weather conditions encountered in motorcycle riding.
1101494
Survived a torrential rainstorm at the zoo.  I was soaking wet because I forgot my rain jacket, but my daughter and all our items were completely dry!  Plus is drys quickly and packs up small!
2544274
I had an 800 mile trip to south carolina. on the way there it poured down rain and when i arrived at my final destination my items were cool and dry. There was ample space for plenty of luggage. for around 40 bucks i think its a steal!!! i would definitely recommend this products
4861411
I actually had inititally reviewed this pack positively (the Grey version), having used it in light rainfalls, however I came back to edit my review after using this pack in a heavy rainfall and I can confirm what other reviewers have already stated: this cover WILL NOT protect your pack in heavy rainfall. My backpack was soaked and I almost ruined my Macbook Pro...would have been LIVID had that of happened. In other words, the only time when you REALLY need a rain cover...this cover will be useless.  Go with MountainSmith, I bought one of those for my hiking pack and it's definitely waterproof. This is a bummer as it's a very misleading product, glad I only bought one.
1719326
I have held off reviewing the Columbia Watertight Jacket because we have had no rain for an extended period.  Today, a tropical storm made it's appearance and I had my first opportunity to wear this jacket.  I walk my dogs four times a day and it was raining for the first three walks.  Each time we experienced a wind driven, steady, soaking rain and the jacket kept me dry, as intended.  I didn't wear waterproof pants, so those did get wet.  If Amazon sells Columbia watertight pants as inexpensively as they did this jacket, I will make that my next purchase.
4747571
Used this on a 3-week trip to UK/Europe and it was P-E-R-F-E-C-T!!!!
1273174
Somewhere in Italy there is a tour bus driver enjoying my old version of this jacket that I carelessly left on a tour bus. This purchase is a replacement. It is my go-to jacket for rainy weather - a perfect fit for me and it packs well on a trip. I highly recommend this jacket.
3246163
I took this on a summer long camp trip.  It rained daily. I loved this.  It was bright and my children could find me, still pretty cute and kept me dry without overheating. It also folds up well for packing. I wish I hadn't spent $40 on it but it was money well spent.
2957689
When I received this product, I was excited. It seemed durable and road-trip ready.  However, One quarter of the way through my trip, I ran into a rainstorm. I pulled off at a rest area after it passed to see if my cargo had stayed dry. I did not want my clothes getting moldy if the cargo carrier had failed to perform as promised.  Sure enough, everything was soaking wet.