Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Cost Effective Rain Gear???

Unless 'cost effective' equates to 'cheap', I highly recommend Cabela's MT050 jacket and pants. Waterproof, quiet, comfortable, and wear like iron. Mine have been on countless hunts- deer, elk, sheep, moose, international hunts, waterfowl and upland birds. Initial cost is not cheap, but you will get 20-30 years of use out of this gear.

Two of my hunting buddies use the cabelas mt050. Both love it. They bought it maybe ten years ago.
Second also the Mad Dog gear if you can find it. I have it and It works great. I am a sweating fool as well and the mad dog gear wicks away the sweat and keeps you dry. Worn with a quality base layer it is a comfortable set up.
I tried the scent lock rain gear but it gets saturated and heavy when its raining. I threw it in the closet and I am back using my Mad Dog Gear. I dont recall it being all that expensive.

German goretex surplus is pretty damn nice for the money. I like the pattern, durability, and it is pretty damn quiet.

Those elk areas are actually close to NW Wyoming and it could rain/snow quite a bit. Not by Pacific NW standards, but last year there was at least several days of rain/snow the week of Sept 15th.

I guide in 60,70, and 64. 60 and 70 are pretty similar to where the OP is headed and I would have rain gear. But you could easily go and not need it.

I use the Marmot precip stuff. I think I got the pants from STP when they had them for $50-60. They've worked pretty well for me for Wyoming rain. No they aren't super quiet, but they shed rain pretty well, and are fairly light. Most guys probably are using equipment that is just as noisy, but for some reason folks get hung up on "loud" rain gear. Maybe worry about that more if you are bowhunting through thickets in the rain.

If you have to be walking around in the rain take everything else off underneath that you need to to keep from heating up and use the pit zips in the jacket.

I like the merino wool light weight stuff for a base layer for just about any conditions and they work great under rain gear.

Seems like most guys tend to hole up under a tree or something anyway while it's raining hard. And if it's raining bad the visibility usually is bad too.

Unfortunately,I don't remember the exact name, but I have been using Bass Pro's that sell for about $60 each pants or jacket.
I tried the more expensive Cabelas pack able ones and they are trash. Mine lasted one season. Anytime you kneel in the grass,you have a hole that leaks. Walk thru sage brush and you have strips of rags

The point isn't to wear the bag, it is to have something handy for an emergency. I carry a packable rain suit that compresses down to the size of a softball but have never worn it. The bags I've carried for many years but, like the rain suit, have never used them for rain gear. They have often, however, been employed to keep my butt dry or meat clean. Never needed a bag for emergency shelter, either, but would much rather devise such shelter using a bag than a rain suit.


Here's a pic from 2013 where a trach bag kept my butt dry. Even though I was wearing wool pants, the dry ws much appreciated. A short while after the picture was taken the bag was keeping meat of my cow clean.



Another from 2015 where my long time hunting buddy (in photo) and I both used the bags to keep our butts dry. Once again I was wearing wool pants. No elk that day but we returned the next day when the bags were used again to keep our clothes dry and free of mud. And to keep the meat from the 6x5 bull I shot clean.

I bought a set of Cabelas "Space Pants" rain gear after last years trip. my buddies both had them and swore by them. my frogg toggs, were pretty noisy by comparison.

very lightweight too.

I got mine in the Bargain Cave for around $50, IIRC.


that said.... I've not used them in the field yet.

I would check out KUIU.

This. I bought mine years ago when I was living in Alberta. It just works.

Two more options I have done a lot. If it is warm, wear nothing but synthetic shorts and synthetic T shirt under the rain gear. If you are hunting in continuous light rain and need to be quiet, put a fleece jacket or light wool shirt over the outside of your rain gear to keep quiet. Ditto for pants as needed.

Wife and I went took the Alpine loop (this weekend in a UTV. (For those that aren't familiar, Alpine loop is Silverton to Cinnamon Pass, Lake City, Engineer Pass and back to Silverton again.) Bought some Frogg Toggs before we left and are very glad we did. $19.99 at Wal-mart. Didn't bother wearing the bottoms but to do over we would.

Had intermittent drizzle mixed with sun. Enough drizzle to soak my left thigh at one point but enough sun to dry it back out. The biggest problem was the seats soaked out butts. The seat covers were dry but I think the padding was wet and moisture was seeping through the seams.

If the clouds had let loose, as they did after we got back to Silverton, we would have been very thankful the bottoms were in arm's reach.

The Frogg Toggs were not as quiet as some rain gear but quiet enough that I plan to replace the rain gear I've been carrying for years. And they were comfortable, light and relatively sturdy, which is more important to me than a little extra quiet.

For pants, I use my retired fabric chest waders. Just cut off the feet. If they can keep me dry standing in rib deep water for 8 hours, they can certainly do rain. A shorty Gortex shell to keep the upper 25% dry. Make sure it's roomy. Form fitting and it's tough for air to circulate.

Try some still hunting. One can rarely work up a sweat.

x2 on the MT050 I've had mine since 2005 and it's been great. Wash it in Nikwax techwash and retreatment.

In the arid west, a fall rain is seldom warm enough to wear shorts or a T-shirt. Usually a good wool shirt or sweatshirt is needed at the minimum. When it starts raining the temperature will normally drop 20F or more very quickly.

The worse the weather gets, the more I like the ECWCS (extended cold weather clothing system) military system.

The shell is not the quietest in brush, but possibly the most durable. Cost is relevant to use, something that gets a lot of use could be cheaper when compared to something disposable. If something limits your hunt, it cost you a lot of money if you think about it.