Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting packable raingear that will NOT leak?

so far I have tried to brands of packable raingear. my experience is they work fine the first couple times I use them. Then they start to leak in the shoulder area and soak my shoulders. I have tried cabelas brand which isn't exactly cheap. I have tried another red ledge I think it was, I bought it from sportsmans wharehouse. Short of going to a poncho or a trash bag is there anything else out there that actually works?

Yes.

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I have a set of Red Ledge from Sportsmans Whs. The jacket leaked from the 1st time I used it.

Give it to em Tanner. After two consecutive hunting seasons in Alaska you probably have as much on the job training with rain gear as anybody.

Hunting seasons in southern ID are usually dry and I've carried rain gear for 2 or 3 years running without putting it on. However, it can still get plenty wet when it wants to. The problem is finding something that works without spending a wad on a jacket that gets used once every 3 or 4 years.

Re-treat your rain gear

I had the same experience with Cabelas junk. I now have a less expensive set from Bass Pro.It has held up so far two muzzle loader seasons. Will see this coming year.
I don't know that any packable rain gear is geared towards hard use though

Marmot Precip. Or Westcomb.

IMO, the OP would find better options at the Patagonia Outlet or the REI near there than he would at Sportsman's or Cabelas. I have a no longer offered packable REI jacket that's never let me get wet. Just glancing at what they have one their website, the Motility (4 way stretch) and Kitmah (eVent) models look like good choices.

I've been using some of Patagonia's jackets for sometime. I literally wore out the lining on my Rain Shadow Jacket, but it never leaked.
What I found very interesting is their Houndini Jacket. It isn't waterproof. But, if I'm on the move, my core body heat runs out what seeps in. True, my head can get wet, but any sort of fleece cap takes care of that. Pretty amazing performance for a 3 oz. jacket that rolls up into a ball the size of an orange. And, yes, I've used one many times with a pack. Have had two of them for a number of years now. E

Dunno about Westcomb (Event?) but I've never had a leak or a soak-thru with Precip. People say it doesn't breathe well, but that maybe why is doesn't leak? They do come with pit zips.

You can catch those precip pants on sale for 60 bucks or so, same with the jackets. The precip pants fit like really high dollar stuff, great freedom of movement.

Marmot, Patagonia. Light rain shell and pants. Lifetime warranty.

I've had good luck for 2 seasons in Kryptek Poseidon.

I had Marmot Precip and was unimpressed. Spent the big bucks on Westcomb a few years back and have been very pleased.

Between the two, Westcomb EVent has proven to be far superior gear.

ArcTerryx, Westcomb, Rab or Patagonia.

I've used the pants for a couple years now, in some pretty continuous rains and they haven't let me down.

While not real lightweight (or at all breathable), if real heavy rain is in the cards, Helly Hanson Impertech is not a bad choice. Not overly bulky either.

I have taken to putting a set of their pants in my pack in lieu of a breathable fabric like Precip because you can sit in a puddle and your ass will stay dry. I have yet to find a breathable fabric which can handle heavy contact with wet surfaces.

I have often used Impertech sailing here in the northwest where coated material like Grundens or Helly Hanson are the only way you can begin to stay dry. I have yet to find any breathable fabric which will hold up to those conditions.

That is so very informative.

OC,

Last season my son used the Marmot Precip Jacket and Some Columbia Sportsware pants. Both did great, but the Precip Jacket was pretty damn noisy. Nobody sat in any puddles. Many, many, many like the Precip.

My go to Jacket has been the REI Taku which pains me to say they no longer make it. The Taku has been bomber for like 8-9 years. Not olny in the high country but on elk and deer, bear day hunts from the house. We only get 55-70" inches of rain a year tho.

The WestCombe e-vent stuff (I use the Spectre LT) that alaska_lanche Luke turned me onto has been a really awesome shell, but I sure wish they made a pant with a full length zipper. I've been using the Kuiu Chugach pants and they're about worn out, but they've been a decent set of britches for me. I kind of subscribe to the idea that your pants are going to get wet as a rule if you're busting wet brush or hiking through a downpour, so I just like to make sure I'm wearing a pair of pants that'll dry quickly underneath the rain gear.

That's what I've learned anyway.

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