Most gear brands dabble in sustainability — a recycled panel here, a PFC-free coating there. Australian brand XTM (Cross the Mountain) has gone further with its Takayna Rain Jacket: every cent of profit from the jacket goes straight to the Bob Brown Foundation's campaign to protect the Takayna/Tarkine, a vast and ecologically significant rainforest in Tasmania's north-west that still lacks World Heritage protection and remains under threat from logging and mining. The jacket is named for the forest itself, and the brand's slogan says it plainly: brave the rain, save the forest.

The good news is that this isn't a charity-bauble piece of kit. Wild Magazine's reviewer has found it becoming a household favourite, and the specs back that up. The men's small weighs 365 grams — a middleweight that packs down small without feeling flimsy. The shell is a 2.5-layer HydroVent20+ with a 20k waterproof-breathability rating, fully seam-sealed, made from recycled polyester ripstop and finished with a PFC-free water-repellent treatment. For a jacket at this end of the performance scale, the AU$229.99 RRP is genuinely cheap.

Fit and detailing are where it earns repeat wear. The cut is regular rather than slim, with a good length and no excess sleeve to fight with. The hood adjusts easily when conditions turn foul, and the two external pockets are usefully large. Small touches stand out: the collar can be fully zipped to the chin without restricting head movement — a common annoyance on other jackets — while pit zips with a sewn-in mesh panel vent heat without exposing you to the weather. Storm flaps add a further layer of defence.

For travellers, the appeal is twofold. If you're heading to Tasmania — where the weather can deliver four seasons in a day — this is a capable, packable shell for hikes in exactly the region the jacket helps protect. And if you're simply after an honest rain jacket for walking trips elsewhere, you're getting solid performance at a budget-friendly price while funding a conservation campaign rather than a marketing budget. Details on the foundation's work are at takayna.org, and the jacket itself is sold via xtm.com.au.

Wild Magazine Australia took the Takayna out and gave it the full once-over — worth a read if you like your gear reviews tested in proper weather.