Budget Rain Gear Recs

[Luziana Feller]

i am on a budget and cannot afford the higher end rain gear this year. i have read through many posts here on the forum and it seems like the general consensus is there is CHEAP rain gear and there is GOOD rain gear...? there is no middle ground

will i be better suited in the cheapest (~$100 for the set) quiet rain gear in earth tone colors until i can afford the Sitka or other? or would there be any reason to spend $150-$300 on the set?

FWIW the money i save here will go towards better sleep system and/or pack.

 

[P Carter]

i am on a budget and cannot afford the higher end rain gear this year. i have read through many posts here on the forum and it seems like the general consensus is there is CHEAP rain gear and there is GOOD rain gear...? there is no middle ground

will i be better suited in the cheapest (~$100 for the set) quiet rain gear in earth tone colors until i can afford the Sitka or other? or would there be any reason to spend $150-$300 on the set?

FWIW the money i save here will go towards better sleep system and/or pack.

Columbia watertight II is on sale for ~$50 and works pretty well. Marmot Precip as well. My two cents: Don't worry about insanely priced rain gear unless you're going to be spending significant time in the Pacific rainforest. Plenty of folks do plenty well with lower-end rain gear. There are better items to worry about. (Again, unless you're in the Pacific rainforests, i.e. western Oregon, Washington, or Alaska. Then you might have to do something different.)

 

[PantherCity]

I agree with P Carter.

Marmot Precip or OR Helium are both good options. Any of the hiking/REI brands will have good raingaer that will be more affordable than the camo back country hunting brands.

No raingear is really quiet and when its raining you don't need to be that quiet.

Personally I think a good way to go and what I'm using is a high end top (Firtslite) and cheaper bottoms, (OR Helium in brown) and good gators. I am more likely to wear the top with gators and only pack or pull out the pants when its going to be raining alot.

I have a marmot Precip top in grey that worked fine for me and now I wear it around town, but this season I bought both the firstlite stormlight and SEAK in ASAT camo from the outlet and I really like both of them. I've only used the Stormlite, but I got the SEAK for an Alaskan moose hunt I'm planning.

I've never used and don't know much about them but there is some Krypetk rain gear on camofire.com today. You could get that top and a set of Marmot or OR pants on sale at steep and cheap or something and have a great set up.

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Full zip Marmot Precip - $68.99

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OR Helium - Available in Coyote brown - $89.21

 

[Lambchop]

Kryptek Poseidon 2 can be found at a good price. Fairly quiet, lightweight and packs pretty well. I would say from others reviews and having it in my hands before it would be very solid middle of the road raingear. Not the most technical set but it’s also not the most expensive. Pants offer a full zip which I think is a huge plus.

All lightweight, inexpensive rain gear is what it is. Inexpensive and lightweight will not be watertight for 6-8 hours if brush busting but it will keep you dry in some good rain or pop up showers. I always recommend a shower test to insure you have no large leaks. Like said before if it’s going to ride around your pack 90% of the time no need to drop $400-$600 on a set.

 

[Luziana Feller]

i actually just found a really good deal on slumber jack rain jacket and pants...

their down and synthetic jackets are also on sale fyi

thanks for the input!

 

[BuckeyeRifleman]

Search for ECWCS level 6 on eBay. Found in multicam, OCP or ACU. I use it both in the field hunting as well as in the military. It’s fairly lightweight and durable. Biggest complaint is it’s noisy, but that’s with any raingear. Should be able to find it for around $100 bucks.