Best ACTUALLY waterproof gear?

[Glendine]

Hi,

The Swazi Tahr XP is probably the best you will get and it will last you a lifetime.

Regards,
Glendine.

 

[Desk Jockey]

Not to hijack but has anyone tried a rain kilt/skirt/wrap?

Picked one up from mountain laurel designs to try out for spring and summer backpacking. Basically a 3oz way to bridge the gap between my rain jacket and the top of my gaiters. I figure if I am wearing pants that will shed a bit of water (prana zions) then I might be dry enough with good air flow to boot.

I also picked up some of their rain chaps. Going to play with the combo to see how they work.

For hunting, I am thinking if these work and I was wearing a pair of attacks or Sitka mountain pants and got hit with a drenching rain, I would have a 5-6oz solution to keeping the lower half dry through the worst of the rain.

As others have mentioned above, full on rain pants can get “swampy” while hiking even if they actually hold out the rain.

 

[ramses342]

PNW is not all created equally. Here on the Olympic Peninsula we had over 30” of rain in January. For this type of wet there is nothing that will keep you dry but rubber & you will be soaked from the inside from sweat with any activity & it can be cumbersome. So get what your comfortable in & can afford then get out there to see what you can endure.

I for sure sweat in rubber no question. One tip I heard from a fisherman is that the reason they wear rubber that is so baggy is so it can circulate air. Rubber rain gear should be a little baggy so you can circulate air.

 

[Fonkie]

Yes that’s 100% true & poses tons of issues when hunting. Like I said whatever your comfortable in & fits the bankroll is the right answer imo

 

[Benjblt]

HAHA! and I paid for mine! The Jacket anyways, rainpants are pointless IMO.

Roughly how much does it weigh?

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[freedomhunter25]

my kuiu gear has been great , even the water resistant items I have di a good job at shedding water . I have the chugach rain jacket and the katana, both work awesome.

 

[zeroforhire]

Arcteryx rain gear is no better or worse than Sitka's.

I might argue that with you. But we would be splitting hairs. Sitka being owned by gore has good stuff.

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[Where's Bruce?]

The problem with the Sitka Dewpoint, Cloudburst, Stormfront, etc...is they are FN LOUD. Not good for bow hunting. As for heavy rubber...what good is it if you are sweating bullets inside and getting swampass? No thanks. I will be able to dry my rain gear out each night...hot tent.

 

[Benjblt]

This is just my guess after spending lots of time in rain jackets. The heavy fabric gets saturated with water and after a while, it seeps through the breathable membrane. This rarely happens on day one. It's several days without being able to dry the jacket out. The worst jacket was the FL SEAK and its a 3.5 layer jacket. We had a HARD rain on Kodiak. The next day it was a soft steady downpour about halfway through the day the dam broke, I might as well not even had on a rain jacket. But the Thunderhead Jacket did basically the same thing to me here in North Idaho. The first morning it rained all night, so I walk through wet brush most of the day. The next day it rained all day. I could tell the jacket was taking on water it got heavy, then I was wet. I wore it the next day because its really all I had for a shell and it was wet.

Since then I have stayed away from jackets that have thick feeling face fabrics. The Takur is a 3 layer jacket as well but feels really thin. I have been in some real storms with the Takur and it's been impressive I don't know what they use for DWR but it's awesome. But it's a breathable material as well so I am waiting for the other shoe to drop. I don't want to sound like I am bashing companies they make great gear. But this shit does happen.

Here is a good listen on when rain gear goes bad.

Episode 61: Good Rams and Bad Rain Gear

In this episode, I’m going solo, so bear with me. I recap the sheep hunt I just had and how much fun it was chasing rams around with the bow before I got blown off the mountain. I also talk s…

tundratalkak.com

Minute 50:15 of this podcast. It never occurred to me before but I think that's what happened to me in my First Lite Seak jacket. I was out all day in a downpour and no leaking. I've only had it "leak" or "fail" once; super high winds. I thought I wet it out but I was soaked and figured there was no way I was sweating that hard. I don't sweat much. . but. . the wind was blowing super hard.

 

[Ryan Avery]

Roughly how much does it weigh?

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25oz on my scale.


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[Benjblt]

25oz on my scale.


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Cool. Thanks.

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[jaredg]

Arcteryx Alpha SV line, especially the bibs. I have a pair that is 5 years old, no leaks. Sitks Coldfront line used to be bomber but is discontinued

 

[ridgefire]

I live in Western Washington and my go to jacket for the rain is a Sitka Delta jacket. I have never been wet in it and I have been in some pretty heavy rain with it. Simms also makes some good rain gear as well.

 

[Jeremy11]

Just had a thought.... has anyone put their quiet, soft outer layer jacket in the shower and weighed it afterwards? It would be interesting to see how much heavier a waterlogged jacket really is. Sorry, I can't do it myself at the moment.

 

[Brendan]

rainpants are pointless IMO.

How do you deal with keeping feet reasonably dry in an area you have to do a lot of brush busting? Gaiters on bare skin, pants over that and just let them get wet?

I don't care about wet legs, but I had water running down my pants, behind gaiters into my boots this year to the point I was continuously pouring water out of my boots. My feet FELL APART, Lost pretty much all the skin on both feet from boot top down... Nasty.

 

[Brendan]

Arcteryx rain gear is no better or worse than Sitka's.

Agree - ArcTeryx quality varies widely (But ArcTeryx warranty has been fantastic). I blew out the seams on 3 consecutive lightweight Alpha SL's pulling them on and off when my arms or whatever got damp and "tacky". They finally credited me towards an Alpha SV which is much more bombproof, but loud.

 

[Ryan Avery]

How do you deal with keeping feet reasonably dry in an area you have to do a lot of brush busting? Gaiters on bare skin, pants over that and just let them get wet?

I don't care about wet legs, but I had water running down my pants, behind gaiters into my boots this year to the point I was continuously pouring water out of my boots. My feet FELL APART, Lost pretty much all the skin on both feet from boot top down... Nasty.

I have kind of given up on keeping my feet dry in those situations. The last two years the Talus pants have been awesome at keeping water from wicking into my boots. I hope several other companies come out with a similar type of pants, but with 100% waterproof panels below the leg. I also carry three pairs of socks a lot.

 

[Benjblt]

I have kind of given up on keeping my feet dry in those situations. The last two years the Talus pants have been awesome at keeping water from wicking into my boots. I hope several other companies come out with a similar type of pants, but with 100% waterproof panels below the leg. I also carry three pairs of socks a lot.

I'm only 5' 8" and I ordered the Talus. I figured that the waterproof portion at the the back of my leg (calf muscle) was too low and would barely be above my 8" boots if that. Do find that to be an issue being shorter? Basically it seems like these will be more effective for tall people as built-in gators.

 

[Gznokes]

One other guy mentioned Simms (as in the company that makes waders). I have really good luck with breathable waders. I never have them wet through and they breathe well. It is possible to get high quality wading boots that function as hikers. I've seen a fair number of alaska hunters use this strategy. I have not tried Simms jackets but I'd like to.

One thing I've been turning to lately is a high quality poncho. Yes, I have the full Arcteryx set, but even that will wet out and get clammy. The Poncho is waterproof and light and airy so you can stay well ventilated. The key is to get a high quality one. As a bonus it works as a tarp or impromptu shelter if you get the right one.

 

[ramses342]

How do you deal with keeping feet reasonably dry in an area you have to do a lot of brush busting? Gaiters on bare skin, pants over that and just let them get wet?

I don't care about wet legs, but I had water running down my pants, behind gaiters into my boots this year to the point I was continuously pouring water out of my boots. My feet FELL APART, Lost pretty much all the skin on both feet from boot top down... Nasty.

Yeah this is why a lot of us here in SE opt for light weight PVC bibs that can go over our boots. Wet feet is no joke.