Isn't a rain jacket sort of pointless?

[Wise Old Owl]

Nothing wrong with a Packa ... but this topic has been done so many times..

There are over 500 threads on Rain Jackets 4 pages on the same subject.

Bottom line is to find something light with pit zip and trap a layer of air for spring and fall to keep your core warm and dry. $100-$200 shells that are breathable tech is unnecessary. Under 8 oz if you can find it. Most of the time I use a 4oz disposable poncho from the $ store.

[Bucho]

California certainly gets cold rain.

Absolutely, it's also rained a whole lot less when I've been there than NH, ME or oh say Scotland. I just wait until there isn't a miserable cold rain and then keep hiking.

[Deadeye]

Hiking with an umbrella on the trail seems odd to me.

Don't knock it 'til you try it! I get some funny looks, but I also get a lot of curious/envious looks and comments. It's particulary useful on warm summer days when you get a bunch of brief showers. I can deploy the umbrella in a second with one hand, while my jacket-wearing partner is either sweating, soaked, or futzing with switching back & forth.

[Hairbear]

Nothing wrong with a Packa ... but this topic has been done so many times..

There are over 500 threads on Rain Jackets 4 pages on the same subject.

Bottom line is to find something light with pit zip and trap a layer of air for spring and fall to keep your core warm and dry. $100-$200 shells that are breathable tech is unnecessary. Under 8 oz if you can find it. Most of the time I use a 4oz disposable poncho from the $ store.

+1....im a poncho guy too.

[Drybones]

+1....im a poncho guy too.

+1 for poncho

[Drybones]

No pit zips. I gotta have those.

If it's warm enough to need pit zips I don't need the jacket anyway, I'll be enjoying the rain cooling me off. If it's that warm I'd rather have the rain making me wet than the sweat, smells better.

[OzJacko]

I used a poncho (Sea to Summit silnylon) on my Bib hike and it was great for throwing over the pack as well.
I found it very limited value in wind (last 1/3rd of Bib very exposed to wind) as the sides let in too much.
I am getting it modified to have a couple stronger press studs put in but probably won't use it in colder parts of AT. Vermont area looks to be where it will see the light of day.
I'm a firm believer in rain jacket for windshell not windshell for rain.
I think Franco had the key for many.
If you're hiking and it starts to rain, before putting on the rain jacket - take off something else.
Most people just think "rain - must put on jacket", but the rain often doesn't mean lower temps (often the opposite) so you need to remember that layering when done properly means mixing and matching to the conditions.
If it's warm, I generally leave jacket off and get wet and dry alternately with the showers.
If it's coldish I generally take everything but my thinnest long sleeved top off and put rain jacket over top.
If it's very cold I only worry about keeping warm and don't care about sweat except to ensure the wind doesn't get to it.

[10-K]

How much money do I need for a thru hike?

<oops, sorry - wrong thread>

[Drybones]

For the warm weather I use a poncho now, and often I just hike without even putting it on if it's warm enough. For early spring & late fall though I switch the poncho out for a jacket to get the extra warmth.

I use the same approach. Actually hiked in the jacket only once, 25-30 mph winds with horizonal snow but even with that I had to unzip the jacket to keep from over heating. The appropriate choice of clothing depends a lot on whether you're hot or cold natured. When others are hiking in pants and sweater I'm in shorts and tee shirt so I need very little while moving. On the other hand when I'm not moving I need as much or more than the average person to stay warm. You have to plan clothing to fit your personal needs.

[chiefiepoo]

all of it $$$$$

[Wise Old Owl]

that was my point too chief

[Bucho]

Don't knock it 'til you try it! I get some funny looks, but I also get a lot of curious/envious looks and comments. It's particulary useful on warm summer days when you get a bunch of brief showers. I can deploy the umbrella in a second with one hand, while my jacket-wearing partner is either sweating, soaked, or futzing with switching back & forth.

+1 for umbrellas. They're only good in certain conditions, you wouldn't want to depend on one on top of Mt. Washington for instance. However they're great for the conditions along most of the AT.

[Hosaphone]

i am also pretty anti raincoat. i stay warm enough hiking with only a t-shirt down into the 40's, and will throw on warm clothes once i get to a shelter or setup my tent. but, my coat does always seem to make it into my pack anyway...
i have been looking at the northface verto jacket tho. 3oz water resistent wind breaker seems to fit my hiking style better

I know this is an old thread, but I read this comment and I think maybe this is a false weight savings?

When you get cold, your body compensates by burning more fuel. Shivering is a method of turning "fuel" into warmth. Hypothermia sets in when the body can't overcome the heat loss or it runs out of fuel to burn. This is why you tend to get cold faster if you don't eat enough.

So if it's 40F and raining and you go, "I'll just hike a bit harder to stay warm", your body is burning extra calories which you need to carry in the form of more food.

A DriDucks jacket weighs ~5oz. Figure a day of food weighs 32oz... Compared to the weight of food, that 5oz waterproof jacket is a pretty negligible amount of weight to be carrying, and it probably easily pays for itself in calories saved. It might make your baseweight look prettier on a spreadsheet to go with a 3oz water resistant jacket instead of fully waterproof rain gear, but I wonder if you end up needing to carry extra food as a result? It's probably a subtle thing that would be hard to notice, but worth thinking about anyways.

[wcgornto]

I hiked the AT SOBO in 2009. I mailed my rain jacked home from Hanover, NH and got it back in Daleville, VA. I didn't miss it one moment when I didn't have it. I did get it back in the nick of time as there was a cold, rainy / snowy stretch between Daleville and Pearisburg. I was very happy to have it then. I never went without a jacket on the trail. I carried a Marmot Driclime from Katahdin to Springer. It's not really a rain jacket though. I was happy to have both when it was cold.

[SassyWindsor]

You're gonna get wet regardless, from sweat and/or rain. The key is to stay warm. Light rain gear in cool weather is a must to achieve this. I like the Marmot Precip line.

[Seldomseen]

Light rain jacket over wind jacket any day!

[Ernest Snomin]

I'm going to add my two cents to this conversation. In July, I hiked SOBO for the first time in my section hiking career because of my delay in getting to my rendezvous point with my shuttle driver. Fortunately, they were an outfitter and the dude was there all day anyhow. Nevertheless, I hiked south from Atkins, VA to Damascus, VA and on the 4th day of my 5 day hike (75 miles...ish), it rained harder than I've ever hiked in, driven in, or know to have ever existed. I own/wear/use a Marmot PreCip that cost about $100. It weighs about 14 oz...ish. The average temperatures were in the mid to upper 80's during the day while I was on my trip. At night, depending on location, it wasn't unusual for the temps to drop down to the 40's. However, with my tendency to hike from about 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. or later, my body had a hard time cooling off because my heart took longer to slow down. Come on, nearly 12 hours of heavy pumping, this guy must need it non-stop. My point? I run hot while hiking and I run hot when I hit the sack (although, in civilian life I'm a cold sleeper).

The day the rain fell upon me heavier than a shower in my bathroom, I about died. The rain came down so hard, harder than anything I have ever seen, that I could stop by nearly any tree and hold my 16 oz. Nalgene bottle under it and catch a flow coming from the canopy like the leaves were peeing. The temps dropped fast and the wind picked up. I could either wear another layer of dry clothes (pullover, shirt, etc.) or wear my PreCip that was just nylon and whatever the hell it is made of.

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. I wore it over a short-sleeve hiking t-shirt and it kept me warm even though I sweated in that mother like it was a g** d**** sauna. Later in the day, I got to a shelter and hung it up as widow makers started falling and switched to a dry pullover and waited for my break in the weather. I say that even if all you have is a $0.99 poncho, it is still better than mother nature's cold hands.

Keep searching for your wet weather solution. Read stuff like Andrew Skurka's book. Learn learn learn. Take day hikes in bad weather so you can carry your "just in case" gear and test your "lord I hope it works" gear.

Happy trails! -Ernest Snomin

[hikerhobs]

Short story IMHO? Stick with the rain jacket. Sweat soaked = Warm and wet. Rain soaked = cold and wet. cold and wet = possible hypothermia.

I totally agree.

[Dogwood]

Isn't a rain jacket sort of pointless?

MAYBE. DEPENDS - weather for one is a CRITICAL factor, also comfort, trail terrain, entire gear kit, etc

I personally would rather have a rain jacket and use it as a wind jacket than I would to have a wind jacket used for a rain jacket.

YES

You can go much lighter than 10+ ounces...

YES

...you just need to decide if you would rather give up money or durability.

MAYBE

Water is able to hold a lot of energy. It takes a lot of energy to heat up. Sweat is already at body temperature... Rain is much colder than your body, and has the ability to sap an incredible amount of heat from your body

YES

...Stops evaporation heat loss, and stops the cold rain from steeling your heat (think wet suit).
YES

http://www.golite.com/Ms-Malpais-Tri...cket-P905.aspx

What I use... same weight as the Mica about half the price.

Almost, me too, but the GoLite Malpais is about 1 oz heavier than the regular Marmot Mica(not Super Mica!) in the same size.

I have three fully WP rain jackets. Marmot Mica, GoLite Malpais(got mine at aroun $60), and an ArcTeryx for peak bagging and mountaineering. All have their use in different conditions.

[Timinator]

This jacket http://www.x-bionic.com/men/outdoor/.../404541/detail doesn't allow you to get wet inside the jacket, it has a new membrane that absorbs water and lets it out but not in, plus the spacer pads on the back put space between your back and your pack to allow air to flow out of your collar. After testing I can say that there is no way you can sweat fast enough to get this jacket wet inside unless you let the rain inside the jacket. Mine is a size too small for me and the hood is basically an afterthought so I'm probably going to try and sell it soon and trade it in for a bigger size and a model with an integrated hood which is what I need.