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AlyontheAT2016
02-05-2016, 23:56
I'll be going nobo starting April 24 from Springer. Are rain pants necessary that late into spring in the mountains? Could I get away with just wearing running shorts + base layer on top + rain shell (and another mid layer on top in case of cooler temps? I have all of my clothing and gear other than I need new trail runners and I don't have rain pants, and I'd rather not spend the money if I don't need them.

NoSew
02-06-2016, 00:02
I'd say you will be fine without them as you are starting so late...if you do decide to get some, I would go with the $20 Frogg Toggs, mainly for wind protection in the higher elevations

mattjv89
02-06-2016, 00:09
For most of the AT I was happy with my rain kilt because I didn't want the weight of rain pants the whole way. Cheap, weighs hardly anything and packs down tiny. The ventilation is great though it doesn't handle high winds very well.

Christoph
02-06-2016, 01:35
I started last year April 19th. I only had a pair of shorts and some zip off hiking pants. But I hike hot, so when I relaxed at night it got a little chilly sometimes but not unbearable. Never used my zip off hiking pants the entire time. But people are different, I'd plan for a few cold temps some nights and you'll more than likely tweak your gear a little here and there as you go. As for rain and generally getting wet, well... you're gonna be wet some days. Just try to plan whats best for you and go for it.

sparky2000
02-06-2016, 08:07
That is a good question... I've carried rain pants and only used them once - in the sleeping bag at the Roan mtn.
shelter. That night I was glad that I had them... kept them in the bottom of the pack.

rmitchell
02-06-2016, 08:34
I'd say you will be fine without them as you are starting so late...if you do decide to get some, I would go with the $20 Frogg Toggs, mainly for wind protection in the higher elevations

+1 On this. Even as late as June you can encounter a cold rain with wind. Weather at 5000 feet can be much different than in the valley.

ocourse
02-06-2016, 08:34
You might consider gaiters to keep rain from running down bare legs into your footwear.

Coffee
02-06-2016, 08:38
I'd say you will be fine without them as you are starting so late...if you do decide to get some, I would go with the $20 Frogg Toggs, mainly for wind protection in the higher elevations

This is a good idea. I've never carried any rain pant other than FT. It is more useful when cold than in warmer rain of course.

poopsy
02-06-2016, 08:46
Rain pants are an abomination! Should you gird your loins with cling wrap? I think not. Get thee gone tool of evil.

Bronk
02-06-2016, 12:13
I never wear rain pants. My rain jacket goes well below my waist so the only part of my pants exposed is just above my knees to my ankles. I wear nylon jogging pants which don't soak up a lot of water and dry really fast...usually 20 minutes or so once you're out of the rain.

AlyontheAT2016
02-06-2016, 13:01
Thanks for the feedback everyone, it's super helpful! My main concern is with a rainstorm rolling through with cooler temps. I know a good reason for wearing rain pants is to keep in body heat, not necessarily to stay dry. I'll check into frogg toggs. Can't beat 20 bucks.

Rain Man
02-06-2016, 13:14
Thanks for the feedback everyone, it's super helpful! My main concern is with a rainstorm rolling through with cooler temps. I know a good reason for wearing rain pants is to keep in body heat, not necessarily to stay dry. I'll check into frogg toggs. Can't beat 20 bucks.

Yep. Rain pants are about 10% for rain and about 90% for wind and cold. Layering is the name of the game.

nsherry61
02-06-2016, 14:30
. . . Can't beat 20 bucks.
Obviously, I should be out hiking/skiing right now instead of being a trapped jerk at a computer . . .

But hey, you CAN "beat 20 bucks!" You beat it with free! And not carrying something is significantly lighter than carrying it, even it if is only an oz or two.

I generally travel with a light pair of nylon pants. If I'm expecting constant wet and cold (30-40 degrees), my light nylon pants will likely be waterproof over long underwear/tights. If I expect cold (always below freezing - so dry) or only intermittent wet, I use non-waterproof pants because they breath better, weigh less, drag less on my legs, have better pockets, and they dry fast enough I don't care if they get wet. In the end, I almost never carry or use rain pants.

Del Q
02-06-2016, 19:40
From my viewpoint, rain pants are possibly life saving / critical piece of gear. Light, packs small, in any outdoor situation you cannot let a set of clothes or your sleeping bag get wet. I often wear my rain pants "commando". Wet clothes also weigh more to carry.

April 24th, it can still get nasty through May. Higher altitudes, mountain temps.

A lesson that I learned the hard way, like most life lessons, ITS EASIER TO STAY WARM THAN GET WARM.

Don't get cold, rain pants rock when moving.........have been in 5 degree temps, 10 many times, 20's a lot, never cold on my legs.

tiptoe
02-06-2016, 20:36
I agree with Del Q. I tend to get cold easily, even in relatively warm temps (50-60), especially in drizzle, rain, and wind or when I'm not actually hiking. I carry rain pants and base layers even in summer and use them fairly often. But as others have pointed out, it's a highly individual matter. I'm female and a lot older than the OP. I'd much rather carry a little more weight than flirt with hypothermia.

Busky2
02-07-2016, 10:23
As someone that has been cold and I mean real cold and very wet to the point that ice needs to be hammered and chipped to get it off my gear just to remove it (firefighter) DRY IS KING. I will carry my rain pants along with my marmot precip jacket till summer an then switch to a poncho/tarp. Hypothermia sucks done it too many times and frostbite will forever effect my fingers so I carry a few plastic bags to slip on as protection for freezing cold that weight next to nothing. I have some plastic doggy cleanup bags along with two bagel bags for my feet for freezing temps. They work!

Don H
02-08-2016, 07:47
I carry a pair of Patagonia Houdini wind pants in cold weather, they weigh 3 ounces. They're not waterproof but are water resistant and really cut the wind.

Harrison Bergeron
02-11-2016, 19:20
What are you going to wear at the laundromat without any rain pants?

nsherry61
02-11-2016, 19:23
+1 on the Patagonia Houdini wind pants

Whitewater2012
02-11-2016, 23:22
No...on the rain pants.

soilman
02-12-2016, 22:49
I carry rain pants because I don't carry a spare pair of shorts or pants. I only wore them on the trail once going over Max Patch in freezing rain and snow at the end of April. Used them mostly at the laundromat.

WILLIAM HAYES
02-13-2016, 19:17
its a mixed bag some hikers do carry them some dont I carry them to stay warm while hiking in a cold rain my legs have been damn cold in late april in windy conditions and I was glad I had light weight rain pants.

dcurryjr007
02-13-2016, 21:31
Which rain kilt do you have or use?

Traveler
02-14-2016, 07:14
I carry rain pants, but I bushwhack a lot which eliminates Frog Toggs and other thin material. I use a heavier type that has full length side zips for ventilation and are very easy to get into/out of. They do a good job of keeping my legs dry and warm in rain and/or wind and provide protection from water soaked vegetation along the sides of a trail. They do add weight, however given the risk of being cold and the consequences of that condition, for me the decision is an easy one. I do a lot of solitary hiking and backpacking, hypothermia is one of my chief concerns so perhaps I am a little over cautious. Like a rain/wind jacket, I consider rain/wind pants to be part of the critical gear list.

Skyline
02-15-2016, 02:32
I've used rain pants maybe 10x in 23+ years. The only time I'd say they were absolutely necessary had nothing to do with rain. It was for a layer of protection against very sharp, jagged vegetation encroaching on a trail. Most of the AT is well maintained, so YMMV.

Fredt4
02-15-2016, 16:58
YMMV,
If you have to ask, yes they'really necessary.

Snowleopard
02-16-2016, 16:29
I'd carry them to protect against hypothermia in a cold rain even below tree line. From the White Mts. north, I'd say rain pants are necessary to avoid hypothermia above treeline. In summer, the New England mountains can have temps in the 30s, torrential downpours and very high winds. This puts you at high risk of hypothermia. I'm not sure that Frogg Toggs are sturdy enough for above tree line in New England; I'd want a better fitting rain parka than Frogg Toggs for above tree line in New England.

It's worth reading the book, "Not without peril", http://www.amazon.com/Not-Without-Peril-Misadventure-Presidential/dp/1934028320/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1455654359&sr=8-1&keywords=not+without+peril, used on Amazon for as cheap as 50 cents. A good lesson is reading the chapter on MacDonald Barr, died August 1986 on Mt. Madison of hypothermia.

evyck da fleet
02-17-2016, 00:09
You may want them in camp at the beginning and end of your hike. Unless it rained all day I didn't need rain pants but I did like being able to put them on to stay warm whenever it did rain and hanging out at night when it got cold either from rain, becasue I was atop a mountain or in a gap where the wind funneled between the mountains.

If you're a big dude from the northeast with lots of hair on your legs who hikes warm your answer may be very different from a southern girl who hikes cold and isn't going for the Wookie look with her legs.

OldTrailDog
02-26-2016, 21:09
I have worn wool or synthetic pants underneath goretex rain pants and OR goretex gaiters for years during the fall rain and snow season in wilderness in Montana and Wyoming. However, for the AT it will be Arcteryx nylon wind pants and zpack kilt.

CamelMan
02-27-2016, 03:25
a southern girl who hikes cold and isn't going for the Wookie look with her legs.

Patty, is that you? (http://i.imgur.com/wHJRTVe.gif) Just kidding, I like the natural look.

Anyway, from the posts it looks like the key is temperature. Mostly, I remember packing my rain pants, but not using them. Usually I carry a 3/4 or full length lower-body base layer (at least for sleep), and put shorts on top of that. So, if the solution to my problem is switching shorts out for long pants, or covering my already base-layered legs with waterproof nylon, then yes, would consider putting on the rain pants. Otherwise, it's up to you, based on your experience.

In 2013 in April, in GA, I was slackpacking (daypacking out of Hiker Hostel--with my own pack but less gear) in some classic hypothermia weather: cold, wet, and low 40s. (Yes I got lost on Blood Mtn for the 2nd time in my life, but had enough sense to realize it and even helped somebody who had never been there, just because I heard a voice.) It would have been great to have some rain pants. More than great, actually, because I had to rely on getting inside Mtn Crossings to warm up and wait for the van. So if I wasn't slackpacking there was potential for real trouble, which to me means I failed. At least a little.

The only time I actually remember having rain pants on is as wind pants, during a "wind storm" down here in the Smokys, when I went hiking just for fun. But that's not an answer for you and how you hike. Try them out and see what temperatures you like them in. Cold and wind are great reasons, but you may or may not have to find some others.

High Mileage
02-29-2016, 21:07
I didn't use mine a whole lot, but it was a 50/50 between cold rain and cold.
There is a wide range in which they become useless, but if they are really breathable instead of saying breathable they can be extremely useful in select situations.
Mostly it will be extra wbut I used Zpacks and they breath very well and come in handy when I really need them.

bigcranky
02-29-2016, 23:38
I'm with Fred on this one, if you have to ask, you need to carry rain pants. Go go antigravitygear.com and order a pair of silnylon rain pants, they are very light and can be used in cold rain, or as a layer around camp when it's very cold. They are not remotely "breathable" but then again most "breathable" fabrics aren't either. The AGG pants will last much longer than Frogg Toggs and the like, and don't cost a lot. And they probably fit better, based on my Frogg Toggs experience.

brendathompson71
03-01-2016, 15:46
in the past i used my rain pants all the time, I love them... but mine weighted way to much.. so now I either need to go with ones that are about 4 ounces (don't want to spend the money) or go without... and honestly I go back and forth.... I may just attract the rain I hear a lot of people say they never use them and didn't need them... I tend to spend almost as much time in the rain as without rain.

AlyontheAT2016
03-01-2016, 17:45
I decided to go with Frogg Togg pants, since I more than likely (hopefully) will not be wearing them every day for a month straight. They will do the trick. Thanks everyone for your input!

Water Rat
03-01-2016, 17:51
I decided to go with Frogg Togg pants, since I more than likely (hopefully) will not be wearing them every day for a month straight. They will do the trick. Thanks everyone for your input!

It's not likely you will need them that often - one hopes! :) They will be nice to have on exposed ridges up north, as well as in the evenings. Best wishes for a safe and happy hike!

Migrating Bird
03-01-2016, 21:39
I decided to go with Frogg Togg pants, since I more than likely (hopefully) will not be wearing them every day for a month straight. They will do the trick. Thanks everyone for your input!

Very wise decision, from Hanover to Katahdin - Aug-Oct they are most helpful.