Rain gear

T

TomW

Joined
Oct 7, 1998
Messages
1,128
I need opinions on good rain gear.
Are there any outdoors folk here that can comment?
here's the story.
I'd like to hear words on good rain gear- top of the line stuff
Lets speak on gore tex
There is a lot of hype about the new fabrics and I've also read reports saying exactly my experience
Not much rain gear holds up to substantial rain for sustained periods of time
What happens is the average person isn't getting rained all day but only for short periods of time.
All this stuff works great since it helps in the sweating part but often fails when subjected to heavy rain for long periods but they think the stuff is wonderful.
My use of grundens is fine but as you might be well aware the heavy rubber stuff makes you sweat like crazy. But rain doesn't get you.
You never see people that work outdoors with high end gore tex type stuff
I would think that you'd see commercial fishermen using it if it worked.
For one it wouldn't hold up.
Ok here's the points to cover.
Cost,, it's all expensive we'll say over $100 but under $250
How does it hold up to heavy use?
Can it help keep you dry from the inside as well as the outside?
Has it worked in heavy constant rain for a minimum of 2 hours?
Can anybody tell me their experience with wick away type under garments?
I was looking at some in sportsmens guide and cabellas

And I could use advice on a different type also
Anybody own Frog Toggs?
My wife is interested in them not for the extreme use but for general use while sailing.
Are they worth the price?
They sound nice being so light weight
 
Moving to Gadgets & Gear ...


I'm looking at raincoats myself -- I'll be watching this thread. :cool:
 
check out www.campmor.com they have good deals on gore-tex rain gear.
All gore-tex is going to be pricey. I went ahead and bought some gore-tex rain gear a few years ago from Cabela's the price was under $200.00.
 
I'm pretty low-tech when it comes to rain gear. Unless it's a downpour, I usually rely on mink oil and my leathers when riding, and I sometimes throw a nylon shell on. However, I have heard a lot of good things about Frog Togs, which are waterproof, but still breathes. I don't know how tough Frog Togs would be under outdoor conditions other than riding.
 
Frog Togs are a Tyvek shell system. Very light and compact. My friend has them in his lightweight hiking gear. They've worked well for 1/2 hour at a time, but hasn't had anything really heavy or long lasting to try them out in.

Phil
 
I've been in long term rains over 24 to 48 hours in Gortex... it eventually will soak through... then it really sucks.

I've had good luck with much cheaper gear... try this site.
http://www.ppprainwear.com
The .35mm PVC/poly is least I'd go with and it's really inexpensive!

Need to recall a funny story on gortex... on one of our weekend jeep trailrides we spent two days in the pouring rain... anyway I was helping one fellow fix the front u-joint on this jeep which took a couple hours... the whole time I'm bent over in my gortex jacket... what I didn't know was water was running down and into both my front pockets :rolleyes:
I stood up and wondered what I had stuck in my pockets for tools... I reach in an find about a quart of water in each pocket... yup the gortex is truly water tight :D The stupid part was I had to take the jacket off to dump the pockets out!

By the way... they even carry some foot wear your wife might look at...
 
Hi !

I own several Goretex shells :

- Eider "regular" Goretex Jacket. 7 or 8 years old, still in good shape.

- Aesse "regular" Goretex Jacket. 4 years old, stiching felling appart but good all around jacket.

- Berghaus Pinacle II Goretex XCR. Jacket meant for very harduse/extrem ice climbing. Very stiff with all of the reinforced area. It has double ripstop. Leaks from several seams. Useless. It's a piece of sh*t that costed me 420€ two years ago. The front pockets also let the water enters inside.

- Eider Commodore XCR Viper. All in bidirectionnal stretch fabric. VERY neat when you have to move a lot. Incredibly light. Watertight zippers. Perfect hood. Very protective yet very packable. Doesn't leak at all. My favorite. (That's the one I'm wearing in my avatar picture).

Don't listen to what all the high-tech companies that manufacture/sell these garnment tell you. Goretex breath better than PVC, of course. But it doesn't breath ENOUGH.
It can't keep up with the water your body is producing during effort. After several hours of use, every Goretex jacket gets its liner moisted.

There's even worse : once the outter fabric is soaked with water (and believe me, in real downpour, it happens fast, even with DWR applied), your perspiration won't be able to escape anymore. It will be trapped inside the shell, against your body. That may be a pretty bad situation.

Goretex is really nice for winter sports or shorts hikes in the rain. Again, I love my Eider Commodore. You just have to know their limitation and use these garment accordingly. They are pretty expensive, too.

After reading theses forums, I'm considering a Filson Shelter Cloth Outfitter coat. A friend of mine is going to NY in july. I think I'll ask him to grab one for me (Filson is not sold in Europe). These Filson coats seems really to be a great choice for extremely wet weather conditions. Very tuf. And they are cheaper than most high-end goretex shells. They are heavier, too.

Hope this helps.
 
In truly downpour conditions, Goretex and any waterproof breathable fabric will "wet out". All waterproof breathables depend on an anti-beading treatment that is sprayed on the outside of the fabric to keep most of the rain from soaking into the material.


Goretex won't work worth a damn if you are exerting heavily, or if you're dirty, oily, or smoky.

In these types of conditions, PVC based rainwear - Helly Hansen rainwear and the like; will shed water more effectively. The downside of these types of suits are that they do not breath at all. You will stew in your own juices in these types of suits unless you have an effective wicking system next to your skin.

I live in the Pacific Northwest (northwet), and spend over 100 days a year in the rain. Oilskins, PVC rainwear and ponchos are what works in a downpour.


George
 
Get yourself a Barbour 3/4 length wax cotton overcoat. Its not so much an item of clothing, think of it as a mobile tent.
 
Wow I was surprised to hear the Berghaus stuff was bad.

I have a 14 year old Berhaus Fitzroy (Used to be the best model they made, it was before the shell and zip in liner/fleece deal we see now) Its still going strong and still holds up to typhoon weather (I live in Japan)

I think the best solution to this problem is multiple layers. My take is this. Goretex while not breathing anywhere near as well as it is touted to still has its merits if you want to keep things simple. The best solution if its a 'I dont care what I have to do as long as I dont get wet' situation goes is to first put on a fast wicking tight fitting undergarment, then a fast wicking thicker garment over that and finally a Sailing type jacket that is truly waterproof as opposed to resistant.

Most of the Berghaus stuff is designed for cold places. The antarctic which is plenty cold but technically a desert due to its arid air dosent really force the Goretex to do much other than be windproof. Perhaps a good look at clothing companies that specialize in Hiking is the way to go as their needs are obviously much different. Sailing stuff will be OK but it is designed to keep you dry while being pretty much inactive. (I know sailing is a bloody hard job at times but just piloting the boat/yacht is not strenuous)
 
I got a 8 year old Woolrich Jacket in old original Gore Tex. The polyester shell soaks in and it rain has leaked through that and the thinsulate insulation once. (It can only stand so much water)
I also have a Pro Cam-Fi Goretex 3 ply jacket. Breathes a little better thanks to the membrane being closer, but still is stuffy. Vents are a must.
 
Under truly torrential conditions ive not found much that will beat the Stearns sailboat gear, we're talking gallons of ocean spray over the gunwalls here. Good water boots (knee high) are a must. For moderate amounts of water, the military surplus ponchos are a less expensive option (about $30 at the surplus store).
 
Good light and packable = Red Ledge. Hard core true rain gear = Helly Hansen.
IMHO.

Win
 
What every one said about breathable gear is true. My focus was for multi-fuctional gear I can still use as rain gear for motorcycle riding, where the rain not only come down hard, but you're helping it defeat the breathable layer by riding at speeds and allowing it to have a higher impact force. There are only two exceptions that I'll recommend. One is Patagonia's H2No technology. This will also be defeated if the coat is dirty or oily, but it really really held up in a down pour. The other is a lightweight sailing jacket by Henry Lloyd. It's designed for the most extreme wet enviornments, but still allow for full mobility. Looks kind of silly wearing it on the bike, but it really worked.

Kakster said:
Get yourself a Barbour 3/4 length wax cotton overcoat. Its not so much an item of clothing, think of it as a mobile tent.
Click to expand...
I love my Burghley. Best damn rain coat I've ever owned. Shame it does't come with a hood.
 
I purchase foul weather gear for about 250 people. When you are directing traffic or driving a loader for several hours in the rain, cheap raingear does not seem like such a bargain. I buy either West Marine Third Reef or West Marine Explorer II gear, depending on the availability when I purchase it. It's the best reasonably priced FWG we could find that will hold up to prolonged use. Some of the stuff we have is close to ten years old. I buy it from Port Supply. They are the wholesale branch of West Marine.

www.portsupply.com
www.westmarine.com
 
My primary rainwear for my work in Central America is REI GoreTex XCR. It will hold it's own during a full day of HEAVY rainy season. (6+ inches a day) However, if it is warm, I will still fill it with sweat. Also, if I do not let it dry well before taking it out again it seems to feel like any PVC suit the second day. Also, I make sure not to sit on or lean on it while wet because I have heard that makes it prone to leak.
If breathability is unimportant or day in day out soaking are in store then good PVC (ie Helly Hansen) is the best best.
Remember, these are just my experiences, not expert opinions!
 
I bought an Aerostich Darien suit about 6 years ago and loved it. At the time, I was commuting to work on my bike, so I needed something to keep dry in the wet and warm in the cold. The Darien suit worked like a charm. It's expensive, but well worth it. Cordura nylon over gore-tex, LOTS of pockets, padded armored pieces for major joints, big opening vents under the arms and in the back for hot weather, etc, etc, etc.

http://www.aerostich.com/riderwearhouse.store
 
None of the commercial fishing weight foul weather gear such as that made by Guy Cotten,Grunden,Helly Hanson is really suitable for normal everyday or sports type use.It
is very heavy and unconfortable to wear,it has no pockets inside or out and it is bulky to store or carry.

Commercial fishermen wear it because,unfortunately,none of the lighter,more comfortabale stuff is tough enough to stand up to the rigors of the job,but that doesn't mean they like it.

I have always owned this stuff continuously for over thirty years and I enjoy many outdoor related hobbies such as fishing,hiking,canoeing,etc.,and I can count on one hand when I wore this stuff when it wasn't at work.

Helly Hanson does make some nice sports weight stuff.
 
The difficulty is that it depends on what you are using the rain gear for. I expect that what you'd want for horseriding, sailing, directing traffic and mountain climbing would be quite different.

Drizabone is meant to be really good and they have long coats that cover your boots as well as shorter coats. I see from their website that Filson also has a full length duster. These are hugely different from the sailing gear that some other members have recommended and probably each is good quality for its intended purpose.
 
I've had one of their raincoats for a few years and it is great for city wear: very light weight, cut roomy enough to be comfortable over a suit or sweater, I can even carry a mid-sized shoulder bag under it.

I have traveled with it and worn it quite comfortably in tropical downpours. It breaths very well. And price wise it is a bargain compaired to anything made with gortex.

The material is very thin though, and I kind of wonder how it would hold up under more extreme conditions. At a guess, I'd say that wearing it with a heavy back pack for any legneth of time would probably not be a good idea..... but that's only a guess.
 
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