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AK guys-

I'll be hunting sheep in the Brooks this year: is Impertech still my best bet for rain gear? I've got Sitka stuff but have never had it soaked for more than a couple of days, have heard anecdotal reports of Gore-Tex failing under sustained wet conditions.

Thanks

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It does. But, if it's pouring, the inside of impertech gets wet too as rain has a way of working it's way in and the wet creeps.

Boss bought me a set of Kuiu Chugach rain gear for Christmas. I'll be giving that a go next year.

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You might be able to spend a bunch on newer super duper materials and they might work better and not wet out like old stuff, but eventually, if it rains enough, you get wet.

I have an event jacket that hasn't been in bad weather yet so I don't know what to expect there. Older Mountain Hardwear conduit material worked fine for me in very wet conditions.

A lot has to do with your layering under the shell. I've found that if I need a puffy to be warm when it's raining, then I need fleece over that so that the puffy doesn't wet out against your shell. So I'm typically using a puffy vest or jacket, and a light fleece pullover large enough to go over the puffy if it's wet. The fleece over top can fit a bit snug...normally it goes under, but if it's wet and cold, it goes over. The idea is to get your internal dew point out of your puffy (where condensation can cause problems) and out against the shell where it belongs. Fleece does well maintaining its loft if a bit wet, not so for some of the typically thin and flimsy UL puffy insulation materials.

As far as I'm concerned, all of the cheaper laminated raingear is the same, be it from marmot, Patagonia or MH.

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Appreciate it, fellas.

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The fancy systems offered by the boutique camo mountain hunting outfits don't seem to give attention to the fact that fleece worn over puffy layers and out against the shell layer keeps moisture out there where it belongs, away from the loft of the puffy layer.

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That's a good point Vek. I will need to give that a try one of these days.

I use a Westcombe Spectre jacket that has an eVent membrane, and that has done very well for me the last three years. Kuiu Chugach rain pants have been decent too.

Mostly though, when it rains hard, this is the position I assume...grin. Quick pitch shelters are crucial in sheep country, IMO.

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Originally Posted by Tanner
That's a good point Vek. I will need to give that a try one of these days.

I use a Westcombe Spectre jacket that has an eVent membrane, and that has done very well for me the last three years. Kuiu Chugach rain pants have been decent too.

Mostly though, when it rains hard, this is the position I assume...grin. Quick pitch shelters are crucial in sheep country, IMO.

[Linked Image]


Tanner, is that one of those fancy tarps I read about so much on other forums. I've never brought along any quick pitch anythings on any of my sheep hunts, other than my hilleberg tents, but might have to try it this year if it's not too much of a weight sacrifice.

Last edited by GrizzlyKid; 01/15/17.
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GrizzlyKid, that's just a Hilleberg Tarp UL-10, it's pretty low drama and goes up easily with 2 or more trekking poles! In a pinch I can get it set up with rocks and poles in about 5 minutes. It's indispensable to me, while backpack hunting in rainy places. Well worth the pound-pound and a half extra in my opinion. I use it as a primary shelter pretty often, too.

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Originally Posted by Tanner
That's a good point Vek. I will need to give that a try one of these days.

I use a Westcombe Spectre jacket that has an eVent membrane, and that has done very well for me the last three years. Kuiu Chugach rain pants have been decent too.

Mostly though, when it rains hard, this is the position I assume...grin. Quick pitch shelters are crucial in sheep country, IMO.

[Linked Image]


Agree 100% a lightweight shelter to get out of the elements when you can is a must! And I also dig the westcomb gear wink

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Cool, thanks for the info Tanner and Luke. I use an ice axe instead of a trekking pole, so thats something I'd have to think about when getting into the tarp business. But, I think it would be great to have something I can pop up real quick to get my hunters out of the rain when sitting there glassing.

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It sure is nice when it's pouring to pop out the shelter and fire up the stove for some hot tea while waiting out the weather.

A simple tarp works for sure but I prefer a fully enclosed shelter while floorless but anything that that gets you out of the rain is a plus wink

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Originally Posted by alaska_lanche
It sure is nice when it's pouring to pop out the shelter and fire up the stove for some hot tea while waiting out the weather.

A simple tarp works for sure but I prefer a fully enclosed shelter while floorless but anything that that gets you out of the rain is a plus wink


Guess I should have elaborated a bit more on my shelter setup a bit more; I carry a Hilleberg tent in addition to that tarp. I just set the tarp up really quickly if it starts to rain hard enough in order to stay reasonably dry and not get in a sticky situation. Tent gets setup when a good camp spot is found at an appropriate time!

OP- sorry for the hijack!

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Hahaha no worries I knew what you were doing. The tarp is far more versatile no doubt I just enjoy zipping up the door of my bivy shelter to get out of the wind and rain. No wrong way about it as the name of the game getting out of the weather when the hunt allow. wink

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When I lived in Alaska I used Impertech and Marmot Precip raingear for sheep hunting and never felt like I was at a disadvantage. I can't for the life of me see how guys are spending $500-$600 for raingear from Sitka or Kuiu, I guess if one has the money to blow it's no big deal but man that's an insane amount of money for a rain jacket and pants. And on the camo raingear thing, I killed a pope and young ram with my bow and a nice ram with a rifle and using sneaky Indian techniques minus camo neither ever saw me.

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I figure that when it rains I will eventually get soaked no matter what the gear, and I too believe in the portable shelter. But I take it a step further and carry a woodstove too. On an elk hunt our teepee and woodstove weigh around 8 pounds total and sleeps all 5 of us. At the end of the day the dry heat of the woodstove allows us to dry out all our gear. It has been a life saver when we got really soaked. In the old days for safety reasons you had to stay in the tent when it rained - not so when you have a woodstove. Patrick

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I'll add that on a Brooks Range sheep hunt we brought a smaller teepee and woodstove that fit just 2 of us and together weighed around 4 pounds. We found excellent fire wood up to 4500 feet in the Atigun Pass area. Much better wood than we generally have here on Kodiak. It may not look like there are trees in the Brooks Range, but those little bushes make excellent stove fuel! Patrick

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Originally Posted by pgsalton
I figure that when it rains I will eventually get soaked no matter what the gear,


Absolutely!

Pretty damn wet here in Impertech

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Thanks again. The Hillerboerg tarp was already on my "to buy" list so good to see it endorsed once again.

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I've used Impertech once, then some Patagonia stuff for several years.

Last year I got one of those "boutique camo mountain hunting" jackets (Kuiu Yukon) for Christmas. I love the thing. I might have to get a pair of the pants, because there is nothing worse than not matching.

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How gauche.



A wise man is frequently humbled.

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