Rain Gear

[Owl62]

I am seeking opinions on good rain gear - specifically a rain suit (hooded jacket and pants).

 

I have a coated nylon poncho that I use for backpacking and just about any good coated nylon poncho that is big enought is good for that.

 

But rain suits are another matter. Most are made of thin, coated nylon, or Vinyl or a combination. Some are of gortex or similar material but they are very expensive. Most coated nylon suits are not every effective in ongoing rain. Vinyl is ok but are subject to cuts and tears, and condensation inside gets the wearer about as wet as they rain. I only owned one vinyl suit and almost immediately stopped using it because of the condensation problem.

 

I have compromized by using a hip length hooded nylon jacket made of heavier nylon and lined with a mesh material and similar pants and treating the outside of those with a heavy duty water repellent. That seems to work well. I use this went it rains most or all day. I still carry a lighter coated nylon rain jacket in my day pack.

 

I also have a hooded nylon microfiber jacket that is about hip length that I have treated with a water repellent that works well in a pinch. I have a fleece jacket that I use as a liner for that when it is cold.

 

Anyone one else care to share your ideas and experiences with rain suits.

 

 

[orennoah]

The best ones I've found (and used) for backpacking are Marmot PreCips, both the jacket and the pants. They're waterproof, breathable and - best of all - very light and pack small.

 

Look for season-end closeouts at such places as www.sierratradingpost.com. After all, a Scout is Thrifty.

[eagle90]

I use a Columbia rain suit (jacket and pants) and it has served me well in all kinds of rain up to and including a monsoon! One thing I tell new scouts and parents - Don't scrimp on rain gear, sleeping bag, or flashlight.

[CA_Scouter]

I've got a lightweight Marmot jacket, GoreTex, that I got from REI on sale for under $100. I got a pair of plain GoreTex pants from Cabelas for about $50-60. Cabelas has a very good selection of gear of their own label that is 20-40% cheaper than the name brand stuff and just as good. Also watch REI's web bargain area, lots of stuff goes on sale there for very good discounts...

 

When you consider cost, you may find that over a certain time span that with the rips, tears, re-treatment, and especially performance... of your nylon stuff you could have very well spent an equivalent amount on high quality goretex gear...