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View Full Version : Dri-Ducks--???



q-tip
03-30-2011, 20:39
Looking at Dri-Ducks for rain pants--concerned about them not being very sturdy--anyone with experience????

SmokeEater
03-30-2011, 21:47
I take them on all my section hikes. Great if you want to go light. I have torn mine a couple of times but nothing a little duct tape wont fix. Plus they are cheap to buy.

Joey C
03-30-2011, 21:48
They are studier than I thought, but still had a few issues with snags on branches. They repair very easy with duck tape though. For the $$ and weight, works well for me.

I've had mine for 3 years now. Used the jacket 4 seasons, and the pants 3. I don't take the pants in the summer.

kolokolo
03-30-2011, 21:51
You are right to be concerned. Dri-Ducks are pretty fragile, and can easily be snagged and torn on sticks or bushes along the trail. I accidently tore the bottom 2 inches off of the sleeve of a Dri-Ducks jacket just trying to take it off (it was wet and stuck to my skin).

Nevertheless, Dri-Ducks are light and cheap, and I'm still wearing that jacket with the torn sleeve when it rains!

mark schofield
03-31-2011, 06:33
I used a Dri-Ducks jacket last fall. 10 days on the northern part of the Long Trail. Rained almost continually. Only one small rip. Fixed with duct tape. The jacket only weighs 5 or 6 ozs.

q-tip
03-31-2011, 09:38
Thanks All;

Q-tip

gumball
03-31-2011, 20:34
Dry-ducks makes a poncho and I just picked up 2 on sale at Dick's for $5/apiece. Might not last, but worth $5.

ShelterLeopard
03-31-2011, 20:50
Are dri-ducks breatheable at all?

gumball
03-31-2011, 20:58
Are dri-ducks breatheable at all?

Absolutely.

ShelterLeopard
03-31-2011, 21:18
What I really mean is, will they keep you dry? I've been in search of breathable/ waterproof raingear and just gave up. It's either breathable but not waterproof, or waterproof, but I sweat to death. So I gave up and decided that instead of trying to stay dry, I'd try to stay warm. (I still try to stay dry after setting up camp, but not while hiking.)

gumball
03-31-2011, 22:28
Nothing is going to keep you 100% dry in an all day, all out down pour (shudder)...hate those days. But for your generally rainy, miserable day, yes. Will you sweat? Yes...you're hiking. But they breathe quite well. Still, you are going to perspire and you will get a little wet in any gear from the inside out.

10-K
03-31-2011, 22:34
Bottom line: If it's raining and you're hiking you're going to get wet one way or the other.

Psychologically it feels somewhat nice not to be getting drenched in a downpour but at the end of a long day hiking in the rain I'm as wet as if I didn't have any raingear on at all.

gumball
04-01-2011, 07:03
I'm anxious to try the poncho. Its open on the bottom, like a poncho is, I am wondering if you air out any better.

ShelterLeopard
04-01-2011, 10:53
Eh, I think I'll stick with giving up on hiking raingear. I've got things to keep me dry while I'm in camp, and that's enough for me.

sheepdog
04-01-2011, 12:31
If it's warm you really don't need rain gear, if it's cold you risk hypothermia without it.

ShelterLeopard
04-01-2011, 12:33
If it's warm you really don't need rain gear, if it's cold you risk hypothermia without it.

Being warm has always been my object- so I wear windgear while hiking in the rain, raingear while in camp.

sheepdog
04-01-2011, 13:20
Being warm has always been my object- so I wear windgear while hiking in the rain, raingear while in camp.
In the fall I often hike in a fleece jacket. It keeps me warm and dries quickly.

MaybeTomorrow
02-21-2012, 01:19
Why do we as humans have to pay alot to believe something is good? I take that back. Why do we as american consumers... I think I just answered my own question.

on_the_GOEZ
02-21-2012, 02:38
Bottom line: If it's raining and you're hiking you're going to get wet one way or the other.

Psychologically it feels somewhat nice not to be getting drenched in a downpour but at the end of a long day hiking in the rain I'm as wet as if I didn't have any raingear on at all.

+ 1. The only way to remain dry is to stay in some kind of shelter. No gore tex or other fancy material will keep you consistently dry in consistent precipitation.

Therefore, DriDucks for me the whole way. Light and Cheap. If you can't Duct it....forget it :)

Traildog & Tbone
02-21-2012, 11:45
Bought the trail pack around $20. The jacket was pretty good but no pit zips or pockets, but great for the price. The pants ripped the first time trying them on over boots. Because it was a pack buy had to return both jacket & pants for exchange/refund.

swjohnsey
02-23-2012, 12:00
Driducks are sized really big. Go a size smaller than you normally would. Pants take more of a beating than tops for me. I am using a Driduck top with Montbell Dynamo pants.

Tinker
02-23-2012, 12:11
Absolutely.

Well, not quite absolutely. The brushed inner of the fabric gives you the illusion that you are dry. It feels pretty nice. The fit of the garments is loose and the fabric is fairly stiff, both of which contribute to what has been referred to as a "bellows effect" whereby your movements pump the damp air out the neck and sleeve openings. The garments are far less breathable than an uncoated windbreaker, so you will sweat more in them (I think some people expect some kind of mystical air conditioning :confused:) than in uncoated nylon - but, of course, uncoated nylon will not keep the rain off.

The pants on mine are history, and the jacket now leaks where I got some oil on it.

Tinker
02-23-2012, 12:17
Being warm has always been my object- so I wear windgear while hiking in the rain, raingear while in camp.


Sensible in cool conditions, not so much in cold conditions. I often hike with my rain jacket nearly (or completely, in calm conditions) unzipped for ventilation. Good ventilation trumps "waterproof/breathable" fabrics. ("__________" meaning so-called in the mysterious realm of punctuation - works with nicknames, too - example: Tommy "Guns" Smith). :)

tuswm
03-01-2012, 16:17
I just got a suite shipped for 18 with 48 hour shipping.
comes with stuff sack and jacket + pants + stuff sack is smaller and lighter than my GorTex shell.

vamelungeon
03-01-2012, 16:23
I just got a suite shipped for 18 with 48 hour shipping.
comes with stuff sack and jacket + pants + stuff sack is smaller and lighter than my GorTex shell.
I just got the same thing from Amazon.

Drybones
03-01-2012, 18:59
Your right about the mindset of value vs cost. Wish I knew two years ago when I started hiking what I know now and wish I knew now what I'll know two years from now. I have two titanium cook sets and I'm taking a beer can to cook in, have about every fancy stove you can think of and I'm taking a stove I made from an empty spray can, got a nice Goretex jacket & pants and taking a 9 oz poncho and a pair of DriDucks pants, etc., etc...

OBXWaMi
03-02-2012, 20:56
Glad there are no "these are horrible" replies here. I ordered a set from FroggToggs the day before yesterday. I figured at $19.99 I could afford to test them out. They told me they were discontinuing the trail pack set, so I just got the regular ones.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I've certainly wasted lots more in my lifetime.

Zipper
03-02-2012, 22:41
I had DriDucks for my '09 hike and liked them. I did tear a giant hole in the armpit on my first day in Maine, but repaired it with duct tape. I did switch to more sturdy rain gear for the final leg of my hike from Damascus south because it was getting cold and potentially snowy and I wanted something with a little more heft. But they worked for me!
Zipper
VA-ME VA-GA '09

Bucho
03-02-2012, 23:24
I hiked the AT with a pair last year, they really lack in durability. They require care and some duct tape but all things considered they are my favorite rain gear so far.

songunn25
03-14-2012, 10:44
Appreciate the thoughts on this. I was struggling to decide if Driducks would be ok for an April 3rd start on the trail. This gives me the confidence to downsize and save at least 3/4 of a pound in gear weight.