Looking for good gear to stay completely dry in rain? i already have rubber boots, but dont have good pants or jacket etc. the ponchos at stores are terrible and rip.
any ideas? something a farmer in Scotland or Ireland would use i assume
Best gear for rain?
What are you using it for?
I have a Packa for hiking. It’s billowy and fits over your pack like a poncho but has sleeves and a zipper like a jacket. There are lots of great little details; huge pit zips, can be used as a pack cover then “deployed” easily, great hood design, very large inside pocket…
If you’re bushwhacking and hacking your way through a jungle it’s not the best choice, as it’s 20d nylon.
exactly what you said bushwacking thru forest, a lot of rain in winter as well but very shitty always being soaked
>Looking for good gear to stay completely dry in rain
It REALLY depends on where you live and what you do. Here in Washington state it's a lost cause and it's more important to focus on being comfortable in the rain over attempting to be dry. I just use a normal rainjacket and a rain hat with a bill, which really helps keep my face drier. But if you're stuck in wet weather here it doesn't let up for days. You'll just be wet and it's better to have gear that makes that comfortable than try to avoid it. Especially if you're doing shit off trails.
layers
layers
layers
For long times get a real shell, with a thermal layer that stays warm when wet (wool is OP, but some fleece works if you are cheap) and a wicking layer next to skin.
Eventually almost all shells fail (unless they are insanely heavy and not breathable) but with layers it doesn't matter.
Also extra gloves and hats make a huge difference to comfort.
>Here in Washington state it's a lost cause and it's more important to focus on being comfortable in the rain over attempting to be dry.
100% - Dry is impossible in long wet romps through Western WA woods, you just need to be OK even if damp, via layers.
Also a backpack cover helps a bit, but more importantly put your clean clothes in your pack inside trash bags to keep them 100% bone dry - at least when you get into your tent you can change into something dry, especially socks.
>to stay completely dry in rain
That is a lost battle before it begins. If you go with full waterproofing condensation will get you, if you go with membranes it will be a bit better but only as long as DWR coating keeps up with shedding water. Long story short, the more you isolate yourself from the external moisture, the more you produce your own. You will never be completely dry, just accept that. On the other hand, at least for me it seem anything completely waterproof (PU coating, rubberized stuff, whatever) loose enough to allow some air to blow underneath is good enough, a poncho, an oversized rain jacket, hell, you can make a tarp cloak if you want, all works. You will get the splatter, no escaping that, but (again, in my experience) as long as you can keep your head, neck, torso and feet comfortably not-soaked you will be fine. Also, wide brimmed hats work amazingly well if waterproofed.
what about if the conditions suck and there is high wind?
If you have your layers right it doesn't matter much, i personally believe in one item - one job. Thermal layer is to be warm but breathable as much as possible (also helps if you have to sleep in it, you don't wake up all disgusting and damp), waterproofing is to be as waterproof as possible, does not have to offer any thermal properties. even if you get some cold gusts under your rain layer the thermal layer should make it a non issue.
This is the reason i don't like all those "all in one" swiss army knife of a jacket things, they can do all the functions well enough if properly designed and maintained but will never match the comfort of split function layering. The other advantage of splitting the jobs is flexibility, if the day is warmer than expected there is no issue taking one thermal layer off, if it's dick freezing off cold you can put every last piece of clothing you have on and still fit that rain layer over that.
Large plastic garbage bags and lots of desiccants
I lived in Vietnam for several years and rode 2 wheels the whole time. Vinyl poncho and accept a certain level of wetness.
Also check weather reports and don't plan a trip in the middle of a weeklong depression.
Or spend $400 on something thats 30% better than a $10 poncho, sure.
From my experience with raincoats the only material that's truly 100% waterproof is PVC coats. They don't breath at all, and range of motion kinda sucks, and you still get wet inside from your own sweat since they don't breath at all, but better than a $600 gortex raincoat that will fully wet out in 30 seconds in the Alaskan TongASS rainforest.
I used to wear a Swiss Army rain 'poncho' (it's more like a cape than a poncho) if it rained while I was doing volunteer work which occasionally involved standing in the rain all morning directing parking traffic, answering questions etc. The poncho combined with rain boots and some generic rain pants worked well. Only issue is your arms get wet when you poke them out to handle things. Like some other Anons said, the next step is accept some degree of wetness and either wear things that dry quickly or will keep you warmish even when wet.
Also highly recommend wearing a baseball cap or similar, keeps the rain out of your eyes in conjunction with a hood.
>Looking for good gear to stay completely dry in rain?
No such thing. I have worn helky hansen pu coated rubber stuff and in like 30 seconds i have severe overheating and sweaty cross i use waterproof breathable goretex even when it wets out its still blocking 70% of the rain
I agree with Swiss Army poncho anon and add in military surplus gore tex pants and jackets. There seems to be a lot of german army milsurp flecktarn gore tex overalls available now.
I'd look it military surplus ponchos and gore tex. You don't have to limit yourself to US military stuff either.
Pic is the Packa I mentioned above. Keep in mind it’s only a 20d fabric, so not the toughest material out there but not much different than a lot of commercially available ponchos. Shug Emmery has a really in-depth video showing the features of the jacket, and Andrew Skurka did a review a while back (some minor changes have been made.
Shug video: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sXao8pqLtk4
Skurka review: https://andrewskurka.com/review-packa-rain-jacket-poncho-pack-cover/
I’ve been using mine since the fall of last year and it has absolutely excelled. My hiking is done in the Southeast and Deep South, so temps are all over the place but not hot this time of year (generally).
My rain gear in warm weather is an umbrella but that’s very climate dependent and only works for hiking in trails.
>OP should buy a poncho
He said he’s bushwhacking off trail. Ponchos are great in some circumstances, but that’s not one of them. They’re too billowy and loose, leaving them prone to snagging.
I feel gayer just having looked at this pic.
based poncho tarp chad, i want to use one so bad but the trails i use are usually pretty overgrown and not that well maintained so it would snag tear easily :/
oh nevermind that one isnt a tarp but still nice design, im tempted to get the MLD pro poncho but its so damn expensive, and the aliexpress knockoffs of it dont have the tieout in the center so you cant set it up in an A frame like you can with the MLD one
Yeah, the Packa is a sort of jacket-tarp hybrid. It’s a billowy, loose fitting jacket with an extra compartment on the back that goes over your pack. You can secure that compartment over your pack and stuff the rest of the jacket into it, so it acts as just a pack cover. Then when it starts to rain you can reach back and pull out the sleeves and body and put it on. Hard to explain, really.
Shug video is a great demonstration. Outside of that aspect, it’s still a great jacket. Usually hybrids are the worst of both worlds, but this one really hits a good mark.
These are straight up cottage vendor items. You can’t buy them from a website; you have to email the owner.
His reasoning is that he never wanted to start a gear company company or a retailer. He just wanted to design an awesome rain jacket and sell the design to a larger company. That never panned out, so he found a manufacturer and started making them. I think it’s the only product he makes.
moron.
army ponchos aren't comfy. They'll constantly drip on your legs as you walk and interfere with your visibility. The amount of space you get with these things as a tarp is also limited. Waterproofed pants and jacket is still the way to go