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View Full Version : Driducks - anyone actually used?



ABR
10-26-2005, 08:21
Hi,

I've been looking around on the net and can't seem to find any description of actual experience with Driducks. Lots on how much (little) they cost, how fragile they are, yada yada yada, but what I want to hear is how well they do their job -- keeping you dry without sweating to death. Has anyone actually used them in rain that's more than a drizzle and lasts more than an hour? With what results? Also, how are they for wind protection?

thanks..

Sly
10-26-2005, 11:17
I bought a pair of Driducks for a recent hike in California but they hardly came out of my pack. For a typical (wet) thru-hike I doubt they'd make it much past Damascus unless you were very careful with them. Also, they don't have the snaps to hold the flap over the zipper, slits for your pockets or zippers at the bottom of the pant legs

They are light, but if I were thru-hiking I'd go back to the slightly heavier and more expensive Frogg Toggs.

The Solemates
10-26-2005, 11:38
do a search for them here on WB bc the have been discussed before and i think a few people posted comments about their review. i wouldnt mind trying them, but havent convinced myself to fork over the money for something that is so thin and fragile.

mingo
10-26-2005, 13:11
they're not that fragile. personally, i love 'em. they keep me completely dry and i stay relatively cool. they're definitely not as hot as frogg toggs. i think they only have two layers instead of three in frogg toggs. i used a rainshield jacket on a three-month hike and, with duct tape here and there, it was fine

peter_pan
10-26-2005, 19:03
Hi,

I've been looking around on the net and can't seem to find any description of actual experience with Driducks. Lots on how much (little) they cost, how fragile they are, yada yada yada, but what I want to hear is how well they do their job -- keeping you dry without sweating to death. Has anyone actually used them in rain that's more than a drizzle and lasts more than an hour? With what results? Also, how are they for wind protection?

thanks..

My O2 Rainwear has seen 900 miles of AT in 2003 (rainy year), almost daily wear.... Now semi retired for perminent funk... This years DriDucks have 6 days of AT... Both are still servicable, although both have small duct tape repairs...BPL has a version of the Dri Ducks for 19.95 non-members and $14.95 for members....Pizza is more expensive in some locations.

This stuff is all that is advertised ....Waterproof, windproof, very breathable, lightweight and inexpensive.... only catch is durability... on that issue, duct tape fixes most issues and many a set has gone the distance of an AT Thru.

Pan

The Solemates
10-26-2005, 19:25
well that makes me feel better. maybe i will get a jacket. my precip is no longer waterproof anyways.

Nameless
10-27-2005, 02:57
I used driducks from Katahdin to Monson this summer (June 8 up Kahtadin) and had a horrible time with them. They are great lightweight raingear, and I really do like the owners, they are very very nice people (had quite a bit of correspondence dealing with problems of not having a checking account, and they cannot take credit cards for a small size, they have other vendors for credit cards above size small). The problem was the dri ducks are NOT strong enough to handle a wet thru hike. Maine was dreadfully wet at the beginning of June (and worse in May but I wasn’t there) and some days hiking in raingear was absolutely essential, because it was pouring and I couldn’t stay warm or remotely dry without them. The problem was that the dri ducks couldn’t handle the constant wearing. Even the simple action of them rubbing together on my legs as I walked thinned the fabric until it failed on my legs. In early June a lot of trail maintenance hadn’t been performed for the year yet, so there were a lot of blow downs I had to deal with, which ripped the driducks to shreds no matter how careful I was. They were so thin from rubbing that anything could rip them. After three days of hiking the driducks were in absolute SHREDS, I wish they were with me here instead of my parents house so I could post a picture, you would be amazed. I ended up in near hypothermic conditions (I am extremely thin, and get cold easily and quickly, especially when wet) because the pants had completely failed that day, and I was soaked from the waist down in cold spring Maine conditions (spring came about a month or so late to Maine this year, Katahdin didn’t even open until I believe 2 days before I hiked it, and I ended up coming down Katahdin on a scary class IV day, but the dri ducks did hold up well on the rocks, (I only used the jacket, which gets less of a beating, so held up much better). I was scared that day about if I had got into those conditions when I didn’t have a dry shelter (there was no setting up tarps in that cold rain) to crawl into at the end of that days hike (over White Cap and the surrounding mountains). I was cold enough it could have been dangerous that wet in a tarp without room to move around and dry out.

Saying that, I believe that driducks are a horrible choice for technical hiking, or long times hiking in the rain, but I personally LOVE the product and plan to buy another pair. My jacket is still in serviceable condition, but is starting to separate below my armpits where it can rub while hiking. They are great when hiking peaks and you need something just incase it starts raining, or it is windy on top. I never hike peaks in Alaska without something for wind and rain, and the driducks are wonderful for it. They are completely water and wind proof, and I have never had troubles with breathability, or even rain coming though the zipper which appears as if it can be a problem area. They are good quality, and have their niche of usefulness, but Maine AT is not one of them. Maybe dryer, warmer areas of the trail where you wont be wearing them as often, and its not as critical to have a perfect set of heavy raingear.

Hope this helps.

Pink

tlbj6142
10-27-2005, 09:10
Even the simple action of them rubbing together on my legs as I walked thinned the fabric until it failed on my legs.You wear rain pants while hiking? Interesting. I suspect you are in the minority. I doubt many folks even take rain pants on a thru-hike. That said, I doubt the pants would hold up to long term hiking for the reasons you stated.

If you want to take rain pants on a thru-hike, the only model worth considering is a pair of GoLite Reeds. 5oz 2-layer Gore-Tex clone.

The Solemates
10-27-2005, 10:30
You wear rain pants while hiking? Interesting. I suspect you are in the minority. I doubt many folks even take rain pants on a thru-hike. That said, I doubt the pants would hold up to long term hiking for the reasons you stated.

If you want to take rain pants on a thru-hike, the only model worth considering is a pair of GoLite Reeds. 5oz 2-layer Gore-Tex clone.

if the temperature is below 50 or so and it is precipitating, we both were rainpants while hiking. many times my wife wears rain pants until upwards of 70 degrees. and since the temps were below 50 some 75% of the time on our thru, we wore rainpants a lot in both the snow and rain. i dont suspect he is in the minority, unless you only limit that kind of talk to those who started NOBO in April.

nameless, your comments have just iterated what i have heard too many times about the driducks, and because of that, i continue to doubt their usefulness and will once again postpone buying them, opting for a more durable option. i think its just ridiculous to buy something because it weighs a few ounces less if it is going to fall apart on you after such little time. im not one to baby gear just for the sake of "saving" my legs, but i guess thats why i am just considered a lightweight, rather than a ultralightweight. i like my gear to last a while.

gravityman
10-27-2005, 10:46
if the temperature is below 50 or so and it is precipitating, we both were rainpants while hiking. many times my wife wears rain pants until upwards of 70 degrees. and since the temps were below 50 some 75% of the time on our thru, we wore rainpants a lot in both the snow and rain. i dont suspect he is in the minority, unless you only limit that kind of talk to those who started NOBO in April.



We also carried rainpants or at least wind pants, even in the dead of summer, and used them. It can get in the low 50's and raining just about anywhere, and rainpants are essential. We did switch to some windpants for the really hot months, but back to rainpants when we hit VT.

Gravity and Danger

Seeker
10-27-2005, 10:54
i've been meaning to ask this for a while...

what's the difference? thickness? and if that's all, can a pair of windpants be waterproofed with silocone and become 'rainpants'?

tlbj6142
10-27-2005, 11:05
Rainpaints are typically made from some sort of waterproof breathable material. Windpants are typically made from a material that is by no means waterproof. They may shed a bit of mist, or very light rain, but that's it.

Nameless
10-27-2005, 16:54
In cold hiking conditions it is absolutely essential that anyone as small as I keep dry and warm(I am skin and bones and only 105 lbs). I have been hypothermic before, in Florida, and i is not something I want to go through again. In warm conditions I hike strait through the rain and enjoy it, but that is rare seeing that I live in Alaska and hiked in Maine this summer. Rainpants become a necissary peice of gear. And, I am not a big fan of Gore-Tex, so that rules out your suggestion. I still havent figured out a light weight alternative to my driducks, but will have too sometime.

I am not saying driducks are bad, i personally like the product, but they have a place, and hiking for multiple days in Maine are not one of them.

Thankyou
Pink

ABR
10-27-2005, 17:23
Thanks all -- the users of this board are indeed a goldmine of information! Since it sounds like they do work I'll probably get a set of Driducks and see how they last -- since I'm the type that will think twice about even bringing the rain gear (well the pants anyhow) if it looks too heavy and the weather report looks good. If they fall apart after one hike, then at least not much cash is lost, and I'll go for Froggtoggs or similar..