rain pants?

[ddanko2]

I have REI sahara convertible pants, which are 100% nylon and have seemed to hold up pretty well in the 3 days of rain hiking I've done so far with them. Didn't have to use my rain pants, which are 9oz and fairly bulky. So should I even bring the rain pants on my thru, or will I be okay with just the convertible pants?

I'm antsy as hell waiting for this trip.

[ChinMusic]

IMO rain pants are for colder weather only. Having a wet trunk in cold weather is not comfortable. For summer temps rain pants are totally not needed. I am going to experiment with my rain skirt this season even in colder weather. But I will have some light down pants for camp for days my trunk gets soaked.

[bigcranky]

Are you starting a northbound thruhike in the next month or so? If so, bring the rain pants - you'll be glad you have them. You may decide to send them home with the rest of your winter gear at some point, which is fine.

[ddanko2]

Are you starting a northbound thruhike in the next month or so? If so, bring the rain pants - you'll be glad you have them. You may decide to send them home with the rest of your winter gear at some point, which is fine.

I'll be leaving March 18 from Amicalola.

[ChinMusic]

I'll be leaving March 18 from Amicalola.

I would def want trunk protection for a Mar 18 start. It's too late to experiment with a skirt IMO. I agree with Cranky, bring em and send em home after Pearisburg, VA.

[DavidNH]

leaving March 18 or so from Amicolola you definitely want the rain pants, if not to stay dry, then for warmth. It can be frigid and damp on the peaks then. they even get ice storms.

[bamboo bob]

Yes, definitely want them when its cold and rainy after that I use them because you often need to where something in the laundromat. Although I've used a pack on my lap once.

[bigcranky]

Yes, please, bring the rain pants. When it's 33-F and raining sideways in the Smokies, you'll be glad you have them.

[Donde]

I swear by my ULA Skirt. I used my skirt and a poncho on my thru leaving March 1st in 2010. Rain Pants just leave me wet from sweat instead of water. That being said you better have something dry to switch into as soon as you stop moving.

[CornerCreek27]

To ask the reverse to the original question: For a NOBO March 20 start, Can i get by with just rain pants??

(I will also have C2 long underwear and shorts)

I lost a pair of those nifty zip offs a while back and would like to not buy another $50 pair of pants.....

[Don H]

50 bucks isn't too much for a pair of pants you're going to wear every day for the next 5 months.

[bigcranky]

To ask the reverse to the original question: For a NOBO March 20 start, Can i get by with just rain pants??

And just wear the shorts all the time when hiking? Sure. I don't wear pants when hiking, just shorts and maybe long john bottoms if it's cold. I put on rain pants if the weather demands it, and wear them when doing laundry.

[soilman]

I carried a pair of Marmot Precip pants on my thru hike and only used them once on the trail. A day of snow and sleet over Max Patch. Used them in town when I did my laundry.

[Papa D]

I carried a pair of Marmot Precip pants on my thru hike and only used them once on the trail. A day of snow and sleet over Max Patch. Used them in town when I did my laundry.

This is pretty accurate mostly, but when you need them, YOU NEED THEM - I wouldn't think it was reckless not carrying rain pants June-August on most of the AT - I would have them for the other 9 months of the year for sure - mine are Marmot Precip too - pretty light - rolled up tight at the bottom of my pack - cut off ice axe loops and a couple of useless buckles and pieces of fabric on your pack and you have accounted for the weight.

[brian039]

Start with them, then send them home in Pearisburg. Get them back before the Whites and keep them until the end.

[swjohnsey]

I have some Montbell Dynamo wind pants. They weigh less than 3 oz, have some pockets and are wind and waterproof/resistant. I wear them for wind pants, rain pants and in town when I am washing everthing else.

[Tinker]

Somebody should make a rain coat - long with a zip off hem for use with pants if desired. Adding your own hem of silnylon or cuben fiber would probably give better ventilation than a jacket/pants combination with more wind protection than a poncho (but less versatility). Hmmmmmmmmmmm

[Rain Man]

I swear by my ULA Skirt....

Somebody should make a rain coat - long with a zip off hem for use with pants if desired. Adding your own hem of silnylon or cuben fiber would probably give better ventilation ....

I made a silnylon rain skirt, but found it would NOT stay under my pack belt. The silnylon is simply so slick, it slid and moved and would NOT stay in place. Nor did my pack want to stay up on my hips any longer. It seems like a great theory, but really sucked in actual practice. The thing has been gathering dust ever since. Y'all have any suggestions for me?

RainMan

.

[BrianLe]

"To ask the reverse to the original question: For a NOBO March 20 start, Can i get by with just rain pants??"

A nicely phrased question IMO. I started NOBO in late Feb and brought rain chaps, but didn't use them too often. If I were starting in late March, I wouldn't bring rain pants; possibly a rain skirt but more likely nothing. For laundry in town, I have a very light set of running shorts that double as (my only) spare pair of underwear. In really cold times I'll typically have a set of cap 1 or silk longjohns along to wear with those shorts in town.

This stuff varies a lot with the individual, and even a little by how long your rain jacket is. In general you do want to keep your thighs from getting too cold, but lower legs aren't in the same league as your core in terms of what must stay warm.
In this context a rain skirt sounds ideal, and it can be --- but not so much when the wind is whipping your skirt around. It looks sexy when it's Marilyn Monroe standing over a subway grate; less so when it's you with cold legs and the wind is rendering your rain skirt useless.

[SCRUB HIKER]

To ask the reverse to the original question: For a NOBO March 20 start, Can i get by with just rain pants??

(I will also have C2 long underwear and shorts)

I lost a pair of those nifty zip offs a while back and would like to not buy another $50 pair of pants.....

Yep, that's what I did. Hiked only in shorts because I get too warm and sweat too much to ever hike in trousers--plus hiking pants cost a lot, nylon shorts cost next to nothing. On the very cold and wet days, I would put on rain pants to hike. I don't want to say that it won't happen too often, because each year is different, but for me this was only the case like three times in the South and twice in the Whites. The following also never happened to me, but I suppose if you got to a point on a very cold wet day where your rain pants were soaked through by the time you got to camp, you just just hold out in your long johns and sleeping bag for the evening/night if you were worried about hypothermia.