View Full Version : jacket question
ivanputski
10-06-2005, 12:26
I will be leaving for a thru hike around mid March. I will have with me a mid weight fleece, marmot wind shirt, red ledge rain jacket and polypro long sleeve and short sleeve shirt. I will also have a JRB no snievler quilt that I can use in camp for warmth. What would be a good choice to add for an outerlayer? Do I need it?
icemanat95
10-06-2005, 13:19
I personally think you've got one too many jackets there. I'd leave the windshirt behind. If it is windy enough that it's overwhelming your fleece and making you cold, put on your rain jacket.
<ake sure you have a dry skin layer for camp and you'll be OK.
jackiebolen
10-06-2005, 18:06
Ditto with the windshirt. It's either windshirt and umbrella combo or rainjacket. Definitely not both. Both is just too much weight.
Kerosene
10-06-2005, 18:10
I concur...ditch the wind shirt and use the rain jacket if it's that windy. I think you'll be fine all in all, as long as your quilt stays dry.
TwoForty
10-06-2005, 18:48
I use my Frog Togg rain jacket for the wind as well. It's great!
The long sleeve shirt will likely be enough for hiking, then you can throw the rest on at camp. You may not want to wear the long sleeve at camp if it is damp with sweat.
How about a 100wt fleece top, a long sleeve shirt, a short sleeve shirt, the rain jacket, and a light down sweater?
ivanputski
10-07-2005, 08:39
My thoughts were to wear a combination of the short sleeve shirt, fleece and rain jacket while hiking. That would leave the long sleeve poly and windshirt for camp/ sleeping. The opion seems to be that I would not need any additional outlayers and perhaps I am already taking to much.
The Solemates
10-07-2005, 09:05
Wearing a fleece and a rain jacket while hiking will leave you in a sweaty mess unless it is well below 0F out.
I once did the same thing, but I invested in the MountainHardwear GoreWinstopper Jacket. It was the best $220 I've spent on gear. In November 2002, I hiked in almost whiteout conditions and single digits temps with very high winds from Icewater SPrings to Tri-Corner Knob on the AT. All I had on was a coolmax t-shirt, LL bean Microfleece shirt and the jacket. I stayed warm and the jacket wicked perfectly. Of course it was a frozen solid when I arrived at Tri-Corner but it worked wonderfully. I actually called MH and boasted about it. Its wiorth the investment!!
I don't think you have enough. That is, if you get drenched in rain in the mountains in GA or NC or TN in mid March, you could be in trouble. It gets cold in the southern mountains in March. I don't think that a midweight fleece with a rain jacket over it provides enough insulation. Or, rather, I don't think it provides enough to be comfortable. Perhaps enough to survive. Assuming you don't want to go out an buy a new insulation layer, I would add an expedition weight top to your outfit (you've got thermals, right?). It won't cost you very much (don't buy anything from Patagonia), doesn't weigh much, and could make a big difference. Of course, you might have balmy weather and never need it.
tlbj6142
10-07-2005, 11:45
Wearing a fleece and a rain jacket while hiking will leave you in a sweaty mess unless it is well below 0F out.Which is why a 3oz windshirt is so valuable. They breathe and keep you much dryer than any rain gear ever could. Though his DriClime windshirt is actually a lined windshirt which makes it a bit warmer than a true windshirt.
Honestly, I wouldn't hike without a breathable (many are not) windshirt if the day temps were below 70F.
Chris is right as well. You don't really have an "in camp" thermal layer for what you might see in the South March through May.