Isn't a rain jacket sort of pointless?

[Odd Man Out]

A trick I have used to extend the useful temperature range for a rain jacket is to take my arms out of the sleeves and stick them out of the open pit zips, giving you essentially a rain vest. Your exposed arms get wet and act like radiators to help keep your dry torso from overheating.

[larkspur]

I've been saying that same thing for years

[daddytwosticks]

A trick I have used to extend the useful temperature range for a rain jacket is to take my arms out of the sleeves and stick them out of the open pit zips, giving you essentially a rain vest. Your exposed arms get wet and act like radiators to help keep your dry torso from overheating.

Very slick. Never thought of that.

[johnnybgood]

I've been saying that same thing for years

Hey now, that's my line.

[Bucho]

The bottomline is that even though my PreCip fell apart last month in the pitzip area, it was the single item that likely kept hypothermia at bay.

Ok I do agree with your advice to at least take the .99 cent poncho and have given it myself before but it wasn't your only option to keep hypothermia away. You had another option, the zero day. I expect you would have been a whole lot happier if you'd just said no to day 4 of that trip.

[Marta]

A variation on that theme is to hang the hood on the top of your head and drape the jacket over your backpack. (My rain jacket doesn't have pit zips.) Catches the majority of the water and directs it away from your neck and back.

[christoba123]

Ive always had a love/hate relationship with rain jackets. Its probably just the fact that being wet when you don't want to be sucks.

[Abner]

I second the notion that tainjackets are valuable pieces of equipment that give you that extra umph in rainy conditions. I use mine quite often when the rain is wind driven and cold. I use mine a great deal in camp doing chores. While hiking, if it's not too chilly I will opt instead for a rainwrap by ULA, a broad brimmed tin-cloth hat by Filson, a windshirt, and an umbrella.

The rainjacket for me is for when things get really wet out and I need the extra protection that a good rainjacket can offer. In the shoulder seasons I wouldn't think of leaving home for a long hike without one.

[Cookerhiker]

Did a day hike today in a steady rain and was glad for the rain jacket. With temps in the mid-30s, I didn't sweat much at all (granted, just a day pack); it's conditions like today i.e. cold rain where I think a rain jacket & rain pants really help.

[Dogwood]

Isn't a rain jacket sort of pointless?

Perhaps, if one is ignorant or if it never rains!
Is something in the tap water?

[rocketsocks]

A trick I have used to extend the useful temperature range for a rain jacket is to take my arms out of the sleeves and stick them out of the open pit zips, giving you essentially a rain vest. Your exposed arms get wet and act like radiators to help keep your dry torso from overheating.

I like it!

[Dogwood]

RAIN VEST. I got to write that down.

[blackwater slim]

How does the tyvek work for a rain suit? I've pretty much decided there is no such thing as waterproof and breathable. Backpacking boots with gore-tex, omni-shield jackets, pants and gloves are some examples. If it is raining all day, or if you are walking in water or snow all day, you get wet. I am now willing to try the cheap stuff (tyvek). What do you think of the tyvek?

[Blue Mountain Edward]

A rainjacket is better than no jacket.

[Another Kevin]

Did a day hike today in a steady rain and was glad for the rain jacket. With temps in the mid-30s, I didn't sweat much at all (granted, just a day pack); it's conditions like today i.e. cold rain where I think a rain jacket & rain pants really help.

Yup. I was out today for my usual daily couple of miles around town, in 34 °F, wind and freezing rain. Without rain jacket and pants, I'd have been soaked to the skin and shivering in minutes. With them, I was toasty. They aren't so much for staying dry as they are for staying warm in cold rain.

[Lyle]

As others have said, rain gear is more for warmth than it is for keeping you dry. In a breeze, with rain, some type of rain gear is indispensable if you want to stay out in it safely.

In nearly forty years of backpacking, all seasons, MANY locations, the only time I got hypothermic to the point of being somewhat physically/mentally impaired was in July in New Mexico. Luckily my hiking partner noticed the problem and said something. Steady rain, mild breeze, downhill trail. It can happen any place and any season.

[tiptoe]

My rain jacket is a North Face Venture. Not the lightest option, but it doubles as a windbreaker, and I can spread it on the ground to sit on when I eat or organize my pack. Many evenings, I wear it for warmth, as I get chilly quickly when I'm not hiking. It's essentiall gear for me.

[Snowleopard]

As pointed out the wind jacket doesn't replace a rain jacket and the rain jacket doesn't replace a wind jacket. Since you can get wind jackets that weigh only a few oz, I like to take both.

I got a new windshirt yesterday (Patagonia Houdini). My rain jacket is a Rab Event jacket. Compared them on hikes near home.
Conditions all day: 31F, winds 15+ mph, a mix of snow, sleet, rain.
Layers: bottoms: long johns + goretex pants. Top: microfleece shirt + fleece jacket + jacket, wool mitts, warm hat.
With rain jacket: a little too warm.
With wind shirt: too cold, not hypothermic cold, but cut the hike short and went home.

"In California I don't bother hiking with one, on a big chunk of the AT you can get away without one. Up here in the White Mountains if you don't have rain gear plan on getting hypothermia."

Yes. It is pretty much always the same thing, location,location and location.
I would love to have a hike in Tasmania for more than a day or two with the guys that don't use a rain jacket.
Walk at 35f in HEAVY wind driven rain (common in summer too...) without one and yes you can die...
Franco

My home is in northern Mass, with weather comparable to the AT in n. Conn or Mass, the temps can be:
May -- 20s
June -- 30s
July -- 40s
Aug -- 40s
The AT in southern New England (and probably NY/NJ) would be similar with some places being very windy.
In Northern New England, it can be significantly colder and in the White Mtns, winds well over 60mph possible.
VT, NH and ME can be considerably.

In bad conditions many people become hypothermic in the White Mountains in summer and some of these people die. I'd say carry an extra fleece and at least dri ducks rain suit ($20) for the Whites. I'd rather see people carrying a rain jacket with better hood and waist adjustment than the dri ducks jacket because of the very high winds in the Whites.

[blackwater slim]

again...Tyvek? How well does it work compared to a 100 dollar rain jacket?

[Spirit Bear]

I don't know if this meet's board standards but I use the Sierra designs micrlight rainjacket. It works fine, I sweat but so what, it's better than the rain. 10.5oz in weight.