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  1. #1
    Registered User Falcon's Avatar
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    Default What's the best rain jacket for hiking the AT?

    I have a very light weight sierra designs rain jacket but I it's like being in a sauna when I wear it hiking. What's the best rain jacket for hiking the AT in rainy nasty weather?

  2. #2
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    The Packa. Puffy sleeves. Huge pit zips. Light weight. No need for pack cover and rain jacket. 2100 mile guarantee. Love mine.
    In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years. - Abraham Lincoln

  3. #3

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    my marmot mica was my mvg on my section hike this spring

  4. #4

    Default

    there really isn't one, thats the one piece of gear i've never been able to find something that satisfied me

  5. #5
    Getting out as much as I can..which is never enough. :) Mags's Avatar
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    Default

    Oy vey..

    There ain't no such thing as the "best" gear...

    Here's just a few variables that may help a person find the best gear for YOU:



    • Is this person tough on gear or do they treat it gently?
    • Tend to hike cool or sweat a lot?
    • Like ponchos?
    • Want more breathability or more water proofness?
    • What time of the year is the person hiking the AT?
    • Prefer simplicity and lightweight or want extras like pit zips that add weight but perhaps more functionality?
    • Tend to hike more or spend more time in camp?
    • What is the budget?
    • Want one jacket for multiple environments or something more suited for the well marked , defined and maintained Appalachian Trail?

    For my own hiking, I tend to use a GoLite Tumalo for an all around shell for its price, versatility decent breathability/water proofness ratio and durability for off-trail and/or non-hiking activities (climbing and backcountry skiing) For on-trail hiking in summer and early fall, the DriDucks wins out. But that's just me. Our theoretical AT backpacker above may have a different set of criteria than I do.

    More info:

    http://www.pmags.com/rain-gear-what-to-wear


    Last edited by Mags; 08-03-2013 at 22:49.
    Paul "Mags" Magnanti
    http://pmags.com
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    The true harvest of my life is intangible...a little stardust caught,a portion of the rainbow I have clutched -Thoreau

  6. #6
    Registered User Just Bill's Avatar
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    I like a rain cape- homemade- sorry for not helping. It's the only thing that works though for me. Otherwise a Patagonia Houdini is my favorite piece for sporadic rain- but it will wet out in an hour or two as it is only a DWR jacket. The only dry rain gear is when it's cold enough to snow. An umbrella works well too (not a joke), especially when combined with a Houdini.

  7. #7
    Registered User canoe's Avatar
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    04-29-2012
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    Default

    It depends. If its summer and 80' I dont use one. in cooler weather a packa or marmont are both good

  8. #8

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    Frogg Toggs.

    Sure, they're delicate. But the AT is hardly bushwacking (save brown blazing, lol). But if it your jacket ever becomes irreparable and fails you, just have your contact send you a new one in your next maildrop. You'd have to go through 10 of them to approach the cost of an expensize jacket.
    Awwww. Fat Mike, too?

  9. #9

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    I do love my Frogg Toggs.

  10. #10

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    My husband loves his patagonia, don't know the specific kind. Daughter didn't like her REI one.

  11. #11
    Registered User Wise Old Owl's Avatar
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    Don't laugh...


    Dogs are excellent judges of character, this fact goes a long way toward explaining why some people don't like being around them.

    Woo

  12. #12

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    Quote Originally Posted by Wise Old Owl View Post
    Don't laugh...


    I would never laugh at something this ridiculous.

  13. #13
    Registered User Nutbrown's Avatar
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    I like a cheap poncho.

  14. #14
    Registered User
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    Silnylon poncho in warmer weather (think quick summer showers) and something like Frogg Toggs/Driducks all other times.

  15. #15
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    i also give recomendation of the packa

  16. #16

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    Dry ducks and a rain kilt for now. I like it well enough, but not overly impressed. Its the best I've tried up to date.

    Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk 2

  17. #17

    Default

    6pm.com has Marmot Super Micas for $119.99, free shipping. Even less if you have a coupon code.

    http://www.6pm.com/marmot-super-mica-jacket

  18. #18
    Registered User
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    08-05-2013
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    Greeneville tennessee
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    My Marmot precip worked great on my last section and it was defiantly put to the test.with the pit zips open I didn't even sweat that bad

  19. #19
    Registered User
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    North Conway, NH
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    What Mags said.

    Quote Originally Posted by Wise Old Owl View Post
    Don't laugh...


    How would you breathe?! It looks like it needs one of those warnings found on plastic bags.
    Merry 2012 AT blog
    "Not all those who wander are lost."

  20. #20

    Default

    i'm in the poncho camp. i've always used a cheapo wally world one. but i'm thinking i'll pull the trigger soon on something better. of the three, which one would yall suggest
    gatewood cape 11oz $135, packa 13oz $120, sea to summit poncho 12oz $90?
    i'm not too concerned about tarp/shelter performance. just poncho in the rain, with pack coverage
    all my other gear is pretty dialed in, its getting harder to scratch the new gear itch.

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