Rain jacket

“Hey Nigal,

you are saying that you sweat even in good rainwear.

Talking rain jacket. I've been looking around and my choices were reduced from North Pole around 100 $ to RedHead http://www.basspro.com/servlet/catalog.TextId?hvarTextId=51708&hvarDept=600&hvarEvent=&hvarClassCode=10&hvarSubCode=2&hvarTarget=browse for 29 $. And have poncho ready just in case.

Is there really difference in these jackets or some might be extremely worse or better. I'm looking for waterproof in downpours and expecting not to be through sweat.

Any experience?”

“I've been looking at that same rain jacket (the red head) If you buy it let me know if it is any good. I have bought a lot of Bass Pro brand stuff and have been disappointed on very little of it.”

“All of this waterproof and breathable fabric stuff is a big hoax. It may “breath a little but not enough to keep you dry inside from body moisture. The secret to being dry is what you wear under the shell and the vents in the shell. I have the so called breathable stuff to cover from hoof to horn and will not buy it ever again. I now leave that stuff at home when backpacking and take the lighter, more reliable coated fabric stuff. Dress so you do not sweat much. I have been know to hike in a summer rain in just shorts and boots, and wish I could loss the shorts. My skin dries faster than any fabric and climbing a divide, I usually produce so much heat that the water is steaming off of me. The clothes are staying dry in the pack for when I stop and need the warmth. $29 will buy my rain hat, jacket and pants with change.”

“Lost, I don’t mind if you lose the shorts.”

“That's what I do, Lost. My rain outfit is a home-business-made silnylon 2-piece, with pit zips for ventilation. Whole thing weighs 8 ozs and stuffs down to the size of 2 fists. Doubles as my wind breaker. No amount of gortex hype will make it breathe when you are sweating bullets while hiking. Its fine from the car to the house, when you are walking and don't have a pack on that covers 1/3 of the surface.

As long as its warm enough (55+) I don't wear rain stuff at all while hiking, only when stopped. My nylon hiking outfit will dry 15 minutes after the rain stops.”

“ok, Lost.

give me example of coated stuff (jacket), please.

I do have nylon convertible shorts and I do know that it is not waterproof but dries real fast.”

“Techntrek, You got it. Anywhere around 60 degrees and up when I am moving with a pack, clothes are of no help for heat control, rain or not.”

“Lost, are you advocating nude backpacking? This is one of the things in which I think women have a advantage. Nude women are generally viewed as a good thing, a nude man on the trail will probable be treated as a pervert. A nude man in the company of a women will likely be less menacing.

If it weren’t for the sun, that would be good hiking attire on warm days. But the sun probably isn’t shinning if it’s raining. Raining may also mean few people on the trail. OK I’m sold – rain, 65 degrees, hiking uphill with pack = nude hiking time.”

“Mtn Gal, I would be happy to hike with you in the rain this summer if you can get my wife’s permission. She is more fond of clothes than am I. I guess I could have her hike in front with a sign, “warning, nude hike ahead”.”

“perverts!”

“Lost, I too am more amenable to nude hiking than my spouse. I don’t think Hubby would mind me hiking naked, but not with you. If I see a nude man with a clothed women hiking up a pass in the rain in the Sawtooths this summer I’ll say HI.”

“so armpits vents are important for venting since you are stating that 100% breathable is big hoax?”

“Arm pit vents are one way and common. Any vent anywhere is good. The inexpensive jackets like the one I linked to may not have vents other than the front zipper, and the openings at the neck, bottom and arm cuffs. I get the jacket larger than normal and cut the elastic at the cuffs. Ponchos have the best ventilations but are not to good when you are at 9,000 feet and the it is raining up, down and sideways. If gortex and the lot worked as they claim, why would they need to put vents in those jackets?
last edited: 3/08/05 3:44:46 PM”

“Zip pits, back vents, wherever the vent it, its good. The good thing about pit zips is they ventilate the front and back of you at one time, and since they face downward little water comes in. So they are effective. And they can be closed when you are in camp and need to retain heat instead of loose it. Ponchos get blown all over in high winds and don't easily allow you to retain heat when you need to.

When it rains you will be wet, period. Either from rain or from sweat. The key is maintaining your core temperature.”

“Without breathable parka's, pit zips ventilation etc, I wouldn't even bother wearing rainwear. PVC rainjackets are worthless to me in NYS climate. I've tried poncho's a few times with no luck. In bad rain I use a pack cover in addition to my weather resistant pack. I'll put my camera & gps in bags too under my pack cover. I'll wear rain pants & gaiters. Wear my (boonie) gandalf hat in lighter rains & parka/raingear hood in downpours. Gloves too.

I used to bring a nylon tarp to set up but rarely used it.”

“Marmot's Precip Jacket has worked for me under every condition I've encountered from backpacking to canoeing regardless of the season in the Ozarks.”

“Techntrek has it right. If you are working you will sweat. If the sweat cannot evaporate, you will be wet. There are more variables to this than just the venting or “breathing” of the jacket. They include at least the relative humidity, the outside air temperature, the temperature inside the jacket, the air flow within the jacket, the clothes you wear under the jacket, the location in your insulation layers that the temperature equals the dew point, the color of your socks and things I do not know about. Sometimes it is like a wetsuit, your may be wet but at least you are not cold. That is why I say that if the temperature is warm enough I would just save the clothes for when I am done working and need to be warm and dry. I can be soaking wet in shorts and a cool max tee shirt when it is 15% relative humidity and sunny. How can any rain gear vent or “breath” better than that. If I am wet without a jacket in dry conditions, how on earth could I expect to be dry under any jacket in 100% relative humidity? So figure out what works for you and use it. Experience is a good thing.

And nobody advocated Poly Vinyl Chloride rain wear. It is heavy, weak and smells bad. Coated nylon or other synthetic fabric is a whole different animal.
last edited: 3/10/05 2:56:10 PM”

“Ouch. PVC raingear damn near kilt me on the AT.”

“Here's one of my favorites from Golite:

http://www.golitestore.com/store/NS_proddetail.asp?number=AM1717”

“I bought a $100 raincoat, gortex, breathable from REI years ago. It had no lining. I added my own lining if I needed one by wearing a fleece shirt.

Believe it or not, in WA, I have rarely worn it. I only got caught in light rain twice while hiking. I use it more like a wind breaker just to get some use out of it.”

“lipstick, you added a good point. In colder weather I put on a microfleece shirt under the silnylon jacket. Body heat pushes the wet to the outer layer of the fleece (and on the inside of the jacket) so you stay warm against your skin.”