Reassessing my rain gear solutions

Thanks – this will be an interesting thread to follow.  I’ve found that my legs simply get wet when hiking in any rain, no matter what I’ve tried.  I’ve hiked with my Gatewood Cape, an umbrella, my beloved Packa, Dri-Ducks, and probably a few other options on top.  I used to carry rain pants, but never wore them hiking because I got too hot.  Switched to carrying cuben chaps for a while, but never bothered to put them on because I found that my hiking pants dried pretty quickly once I was out of the rain and my legs generated so much heat while moving that I never got cold.  I’m one who walks through streams regardless of how cold it is, so I’m somewhat used to hiking with cold wet feet so I may not be a good barometer for this topic.

I wonder if you’re better off accepting wet legs while hiking and carrying something light and dry to put on once you stop for the night.

I try to be a fair weather hiker but I get rained on a lot regardless

Waterproof jacket – condensation inside makes the cure worse than the disease

Some WPB jackets aren’t breathable enough, still get a lot of condensation inside

Waterproof poncho sort of works (except around shoulder, hood) but if it’s windy it gets blown around a lot

Good WPB jacket works best.  Extra baggy for less condensation inside.  Extra long to keep the top of my pants dry.  At least it keeps my pockets dry.

I have a decades old 3 layer jacket that still works, but it’s heavy.

I made 2.5 layer eVent jacket but it delaminated at shoulders and hood.

Now, I make one with 2.5 layer WPB and have a lining at the shoulders and hood.  14 ounces.

I just wear nylon pants.  Supplex.  It gets wet in the rain but it dries out quickly.  Wet Supplex isn’t as uncomfortable as regular nylon.  There are a lot of pants for sale with similar fabric – tight weave, feels more cottony than regular nylon.

When hiking, I tend to think of a shell’s primary function is to keep me warm enough to not get dangerously cold from evaporative cooling, generally while generating heat by moving. Not necessarily keeping me dry.  My experience both bike racing and running ultras leads me to the conclusion that no matter how breathable a garments marketing hype says it is, it will quickly wet out under even moderate exertion. This includes the latest and greatest, and ponchos. While the poncho windshirt combo works, I still end up wet under it. My own best combo so far is a MLD poncho, Patagonia windshirt, shorts or 3/4 tights, possibly gloves and waterproof mitts. The mitts are important because I’ve found I can still become cold and the fingers need to be working well to get the shelter up fast should I get cold.

If it is really cold then I will plan on moving slower, having more layers, e.g. early November in Sierra. This means heavier shells (e.g. 2 or 3 layer gore tex or event). Full jacket, mitts and pants, with layers under… and dry layers to potentially change into.

My 2 cents. ;-)

I tried a rain kilt and found it too hot over normal clothing so I was soaked with sweat. Wore it one day on the AT over my long briefs and worked well enough but a bit too transparent for me. I have since switched to Montbell convertible rain pants  with the bottoms zipped off over briefs in rainy weather. They work great and seem to breathe well enough for me to stay comfortable and not soaked in sweat.

I try to stay both dry and warm, but if I have to pick one, I’ll pick the latter.  I’ve had a lot of success with lightweight wicking layers under the shells; they tend to pull sweat away and they give me a barrier between my skin and the clammy shell materials. For me, the worst time is the summer: I’m usually dressed so lightly that it’s hard stand full-length layers during wet weather.

Whether or not you can just let yourself get wet depends on temperature, wind, and how long it rains. If it’s in the 40s F (or even 50s) and you get soaked, you may be able to stay warm enough while moving but the minute you stop you’re going to get very cold very quickly. When you stop you’re going to have to either get in a shelter or change layers very quickly, neither of which is easy/possible to do without getting cold or getting dry layers wet.

I’ve spent a fair bit of time backpacking and packrafting in shoulder-season conditions where it’s wet and cold. I’ve experimented with a wicking grid fleece layer beneath a windshirt, and while it’s possible to stay warm and semi-dry in this system, it takes much longer to dry out and the wicking layer can’t be considered part of your insulation system. As much as people bash WPBs, I’ve found that good/light 3L jacket and pants are the best option. My new Gore Shakedry jacket has been a gamechanger – hopefully it lasts! I really, really, really wish there was more work being done on non-absorbent WPB fabrics. These could be the ultimate solution.

If it’s warmer and/or the wet weather is short-lived, it becomes more of a comfort issue than a safety issue. You can decide whether you prefer to be hot/clammy or cooler/wet.

In the quest to achieve our goals, sometimes we forget that slowing down is an option. In some conditions, you can’t hike slow enough to avoid sweating in a WPB, but it certainly helps.

Well-stated. There are different solutions for different situations – I am definitely enjoying seeing how others tackle the same problem. I also hope the WPB fabrics continue to improve. The last time I got rained on, I had an LL Bean goretex jacket and REI goretex pants, and they definitely did not keep me dry, although I was not uncomfortable since it was not that cold. The WPB fabrics have their limits, and also they have a limited useful life that is not really easy to determine without experiencing the failure/limit.

I have older REI eVent parka and pants and they do “fairly” well in rain and snow. The parka really could use pit zips.

The pants –  well ANY rain pants are a PITA, I wear them for cold windy days and heavy rain to avoid hypothermia. But actually in the summer I don’t carry them. They are mainly for shoulder season use when hypothermia from cold rain is a real danger.

In winter I’m wearing Duluth Trading Co. fleece lined nylon cargo pants that are DWR treated (by me) and shed wet snow pretty well. Those are the best winter pants I’ve found for travel situations.

I have always been a fair weather hiker

That’s been me for quite some time, but easy to do in the arid west.  Rain often comes with lightning and as trees disappear…

My rain gear lives in my pack, but when needed it has to work as I’ve been deluged.  So a very lightweight 3-layer waterproof breathable full zip in high viz color is my choice at almost 5 oz … no hand pockets.

Been thinking of an even lighter pullover (less zipper .. less weight for a Rab design at 2.5 oz but not 3-layer).  I have a high tolerance for rain when moving with a pack, admittedly (so far anyways)

“Summer” and “warm” mean different things to different people.

In the SE US it’s quite normal for daytime temps to exceed 80F, and in those cases simply hiking in the rain feels great.  It’s much better that sweating you rear end off.  After a day long shower, you are cleaner than when you started.  As long as there is no chance of hypothermia, I much prefer to just get wet.  My normal hiking clothes will dry in less than 45 min of wear once the rain stops.

As has been noted, this is a tough subject since locale, season and luck all change the variables. So, my observations, moving up the scale: I always have a light 2.5 jacket like a Helium for both exposure safety and to perform as a quasi warmth/wind shirt. If I think there is any real chance of a small amount of rain: I swap out for a 3-layer goretex jacket and carry a rain-skirt and pack-cover. More than one day of rain expected: I also bring a poncho or use the DCF bathtub poncho floor of my tarp. Even more rain and cold expected: I add waterproof over-gloves and several extra socks and another pair of warm gloves. Add in dropping below 40 degrees: more dry clothes and a Ronson hand warmer, and (more) whiskey.