It used to be that women who desired a technical parka for inclement weather had to turn to the smallest unisex (meaning man's because we don't make a woman's) jacket available, which rarely fit properly. Fortunately, times have changed.

How is a woman's jacket sized differently than a man's? Typically, for any given size, the sleeves will be up to three inches shorter, the neck opening up to one inch narrower, the chest size up to three inches narrower, the torso up to two inches shorter and the waist-to-hem flare (women have curves you know) is up to two inches wider.

All of the tested jackets below represent the cream of the crop in 1998 for women and performed very well, so well in fact that that according to our tester, anyone of them would be a worthy candidate as a trail companion. Each featured generously cut hoods with stiff bills, full pit zips, articulated elbows, drawstring closures at the waist and hem, excellent pocket placement-above a pack's waist belt-and wicking liners.

• Lowe's Alpine Flash ($285 ) and Sierra Design's Eiger ($235), using proprietary W/B coatings instead of Gore-Tex like the other four tested jackets, remind one of lithe, responsive sports cars, designed for the fast track. With a shorter cut than the others, both the Flash and Eiger offer great versatility and are ideal for use with a climbing harness.
• Marmot's Thunderlight ($325) and The North Face's Kichatna ($385 ), both made of 3-layer Gore-Tex, are the sport utility vehicles of the group-rugged, and able to go anywhere. The Thunderlight could use longer zipper pulls and sounded rather like a potato chip bag when our testers first put it on. Fortunately, the fabric soon softened and quieted down with use. The Kichatna was a favorite (they wouldn't give it back) because of the gadget / spare change pocket on the left sleeve-nice touch.
• Mountain Hardwear's Exposure ($370), a polyester taslan 2-layer Gore-Tex with polyester oxford 2-layer Gore-Tex reinforcing construction, and Moonstone's Advantage ($389) 2-layer / 3-layer Dynamic Gore-Tex construction

(Dynamic nylon is a highly durable, extremely light and very supple fabric) are like luxury model cars, made to weather any condition in comfort. On the Exposure, our testers loved the unique roll on the brim designed to channel water to the sides of the generously cut hood. If we have one quibble, it's that the Exposure is too heavy, as if the designers intended the jacket to deflect bullets rather than raindrops. The Advantage caught our testers' eyes because of it's four pocket design on the front and the luxurious outer shell.