Rainwear
Veteran's...what did you find worked best for rainwear...poncho - jacket/pants?
rain coat and rain skirt . pack cover and bag liner
And good boots/gaiters.
My preference is a nice breathable jacket and a trash bag in the pack. No pants, no pack cover.
...Packa...
I'm so confused, I'm not sure if I lost my horse or found a rope.
Frogg Toggs. Light, adjustable, quick drying, insulating, windblocking, and cheeeeap!
A little more expensive, a little heavier, a lot more durable, Marmont Precip.
O2 rainwear brand is nicer than Frogg Toggs or DriDucks, IMO.
Have you consudered Exped brand or Equinox brand rain chaps?
Have you considered ZPacks kilt or LightHeart Gear Rain Skirt?
Have you considered LightHeart Gear Hoodie Pack Cover?
I hike in the rain with a SouWester or a NorEaster hat turned around in front to keep the rain out of my face and off my eyeglasses. Have you considered a rain hat?
I do have a Marmot Rain ball cap I use to keep rain off glasses. I've been pondering maybe a poncho. Along with the added expense, pack volume and wgt...most all research indicates that you sweat enormously using jacket/pants. For this reason I was looking into the ponch approach. Plus it keeps in the 'everything having multiple uses tradition (backup shelter/ground cloth). Of coarse it seems it does have draw backs...ex: if you have a surprise frost some nite I wouldn't have jack/pant as extra layering warmth for sleeping or breaking the wind during day if needed.hat turned around in front to keep the rain out of my face and off my eyeglasses. Have you considered a rain hat?
I've always used jacket and pants because it doubles as windlayer. To me everything is hot but I don't take any long pants and I wear my rain pants over my capilene bottoms and shorts when long pants are needed. A good cap is essential for me too. I have been looking into a packa as mentioned above. They look pretty nice.
I'm no "veteran", but I can't seem to talk myself out of BOTH a poncho and my Marmot Precip for my April/May section hike. Here's my rationale.
The Precip is non-negotiable. It's the outer layer of my cold weather gear.
A water-soaked pack adds about a pound, so some sort of pack cover seems obvious. My "Sea to Summit ultralight" pack cover is 6oz.
And have you ever slept in a single-wall 21 oz tarptent during a real toad-strangler downpour? Between misting and condensation, I want something to keep my down bag dry while I'm sleeping in it. A cheapo mylar "emergency blanket" works, but there's another 2 ounces.
For an extra 3 oz, my 11oz "Outdoor Products Packframe" poncho solves both those problems. But it can also be used as a dry spot to sit on in camp, and a temporary shelter when I want to eat lunch or dig something out of my pack during a downpour. In a warm rain, it's much more comfortable to hike in than a raincoat.
By the way, for cold rain, poncho or not, I want rain pants. Driducks - 4oz.
I carried a Marmot Aegis on my AT thru hike and only wore it once or twice while hiking in the rain. I carried Precip pants and only wore them once on the trail. I carried a Marmot Mica on my LT thru and never used it while hiking. I prefer to hike without raingear. I get just as wet with it as without it.
More walking, less talking.
Rainwear is a lot like packs. You have many options and many opinions. I'm nearly 5'11" @ 135lbs so I don't have a lot of natural insulation. For me rainwear provides a layer of warmth that can get wet especially in the spring/fall months. I made silnylon (waterproof/NOT breathable) rain jacket, rain pants and pack cover on the cheap. The downside is as others have pointed out that I still get wet from my own perspiration. I don't perspire as much as most people but even so I find that even breathable fabrics like eVent/GorTex don't allow enough water vapor (sweat) to escape to prevent me from becoming wet.
Have you considered an umbrella?
If you're asking about an AT thru hike in the "normal" NOBO season, I carried a rain jacket all the time and rain pants only for the first month or so. Other trails and other seasons have other solutions.
I haven't used a poncho for years because sometimes I bushwhack quite a bit, and sometimes I hike above treeline in very windy conditions. It's for the same reasons I don't carry an umbrella. Both of those are fine solutions for many hikers.
"Throw a loaf of bread and a pound of tea in an old sack and jump over the back fence." John Muir on expedition planning
Good points Octo and Garlic. I have jack/pants..Precip and a pr of North Face pants. Have used them and, like Soilman, I get just as wet with em on as I would w/o.
I was thinking poncho would be some protection and plenty of vent. But I have spent one cold rainy night when I did darn them for extra warmth in the middle of the night! And watching some youtube vids of summits (the wind), I think a ponch might not be the best all around choice.
I found Pmags advice on cold and wet hiking some of the best information available on how to prepare for the conditions....http://www.pmags.com/cold-and-wet-the-hardest-hiking.
I have tried lots of different types of rain gear -- Marmot Precip, Event, Luke's light weight Gortex. In the end I prefer Frogg Toggs. Its super light and works as well as the others, plus I just bought a new rain suit for $20. On the AT I paired this with a fleece sweater. I also wore Event over mittens to keep my hand dry and a fleece cap. I was able to hike comfortably all day in cold and wet conditions.
I also carry a pack cover and bag liner. My big concern in cold and wet conditions to be make sure I have some dry clothes to put on at the end of the day.
Marmot Mica 7 oz.
Go lite Tumalo 10 oz.
Garbage bag (cold, wind, rain) 1 oz.
Mont Bell wind pants 3.2 oz.
Montbell Rain trekker
ULA Rain Kilt
MLD eVent Mitts (cold wet hands quickly lose dexterity)
Either a trash compactor bag or a silnylon Dry Sack as a pack liner. The latter is more robust and can handle everything up to full submersion.
Also agree with Pmags that a good ol' 200-wt fleece is the best insulator in wetter conditions.
Accept that with prolonged time in the rain, you will never be 100% dry.
I keep a marmot rain jacket in my pack. I also used the Snuglack poncho in the Amazon Rainforest. It definitly did the job but it holds in the body heat and became very hot. For the local trails, I'll stick with Marmot.
I'm a poncho guy. One piece, it's light and covers both me and my pack.
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