Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting Rain Gear for Alaska

I am gearing up for my next Alaskan hunt in September and as usual, I am trying to find the best rain gear. I have tried a various assortment of rain gear on previous trips to include the US military gortex, German flectar gortex, Bass Pro Squall Tex, hip waders with a 3/4 parka and I just finished out deer season in a two day rain storm in Cabelas DryPlus Space gear. I have yet to find the perfect solution on lightweight, durable and waterproof yet breatable rain gear that is easy to dry in a dome tent without a stove or fire after it gets wet.

Looking for suggestions.
Gary

I use an Impertech jacket & HH Storm pants, and that's what I'm taking back to BC this year for a sheep/goat hunt. I haven't seen a lot better although I've heard good stuff about the this stuff. Here's a link.

http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_detai...D=1161879000850

http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_detai...D=1161883072715

Gore-Tex raingear is NOT up to BC-Alaska coastal rain, I live here and base this on 30 years of trying it. My favourite is an old Cabela's "Kool-Dri" suit in the original Trebark pattern and I treat this like gold to keep it functional when I need it.

I don't care for MEC GT parkas after using one for about three years, there are better choices, such as Integral Designs eVENT raingear and HH Impertech. My choice would be the latter.

I used the military gore-tex rain gear for many, many years here in Alaska and I can honestly tell you it is crap. It might repel water for maybe an hour but after that you will end up soaked and don't try walking through rain sokaed brush, you'll be miserable. The past 2 years I have been using the Helly Hanson Impertech jacket and pants and in my opinion, it doesn't get any better that that. The only downfall I've found is if you do a lot of hiking in it you will sweat like a hog but luckily for me, I have not had to hike all that far in the rain. I use it for fishing as well but instead of wearing the bottoms I wear hip waders.

The military gortex has been very disappointing. My unit was part of the initial fielding a testing of the gortex in Alaska in the late 80's. Your experiences are similar to mine. I used the Bass Pro Squall Tex 2 years ago and it did fair but once the liner was damp, it stayed damp for the rest of the hunt. Last year I used German gortex that doesn't have a liner but fortunatly, we got very little rain. I am looking for one of the HH Guide jackets now.

Impertech if going cheap, Marmot Precip or Oracle if going for broke.....

For occasional use, the Impertech is hard to beat....

BD, what makes the Marmot Precip and Oracle better than the Impertech? We received a lot of rain this summer, more than usual, and I stayed completely dry whenever I was outside fishing, riding wheelers, hunting, and hiking. Not bashing your choices, just curious as to what makes them better.

Marmot ranks high for weight, packability, venting, and quality....

I can dig lots of stuff by HH, ID, Marmot, Patagonia, Grunden's, etc.

Lots of good stuff out there these days.....

I've tried Goretex off and on over 20 years, and it simply doesn't work in serious conditions.

If you spend a week in the bush with no means of drying out your clothing, you need to come to terms with the fact you will get wet, and you need gear that will keep you warm while wet.

I've found good wicking synthetic long johns, a layer of fleece, and a waterproof layer does the trick, with adjustments to keep sweating to a minimum. Also add a warm hat and gloves.

I was wrong. I use a Precip Jacket and HH Storm pants. Kute is right about the Intergal (sp?) Designs. I've heard a lot of good reviews about that stuff (at least from the sheep hunters). If physcial activity was going to be minimal, HH stuff is hard to beat.

The one thing I have learned about breathable rain gear is that there is no such thing, if it is breathable then you will eventually get wet. I have never tried the Marmot gear only because the Impertech works so well. Grundens is great rain gear for fishing and such but I wouldn't wear it hunting as it tends to be noisey.

Waterproof and quiet don't exactly go hand in hand, IMO.

The problem with 'which rain gear is best?' is that it all depends on the application.

For SE alpine hunts, make mine Precip or similar. Light and easy to pack. For sneak & peek still hunting, I often forgo rain gear and opt for good windproof fleece, resigned to the fact that I'll likely get wet sacrificing waterproof for stealthy.

On a winter skiff run, gimme PVC coated HH's or Grunden's, with good fleece under.

All rules change, depending on the game.....

I like the Impertech when hunting moose, caribou and brown bear, haven't tried it on a sheep hunt yet but thats forthcoming. I might have to try the Grundens for riding the wheeler and halibut fishing where I don't have to worry about being quiet. BD, have you ever used the Impertech for hunting?

+1 on everything Brother Dave said.

High Alpine Hunts (Sheep,Goat)---- Precip
Everything Else----------------------HH Impertech

Used to use the Helly for high alpine hunts but switched to the Marmot precip and for its weight and ability to keep you dry, its now what I use exclusively for sheep and hopefully for goat this coming fall!

This pic is of a sheep hunt a few years back where it poured for 3 days straight, the creeks all swelled and we almost couldn't get out of the mountains. Helly worked good, but knowing what I know now the precip would have been better! It was a wet SOB on this hunt!

Alpine= precip
in the bush= HH impertech
on the boat= Grundends

enough said. BTDT and am tired of waisting time and money looking for something that does not exsist.

Not to sidetrack the thread but I would like to add a little story to this pic. If you look directly behind me theres a small creek, maybe 25-30 yards from the tent. Got up in the middle of the night (about midnight) to take a Chit (the Mountain House type) and as I am doing my thing up in the rocks behind me a beautiful choclate colored griz with a blonde hump walked right past that little opening you can see there as he rooted along the creek, wasn't fun, gun was in tent and partner was sleeping and couldn't hear me whispering. Thats sheep hunting in Alaska for you.

Yeah, I've used Impertech for hunting caribou, coastal black bear, deer, and a fair amount of hike-in fishing. It's surprisingly good stuff. I figured it'd tear up in the brush, but it's actually pretty durable. Not as loud as I thought it would be, either.

Between Brother Bill, Uncle Jim, and myself we've probably got a half dozen jacket and pants pairs around, with some mileage on 'em.

In the nastiest brush, the only rain gear I've found to last reliably is the PVC coated stuff from HH and Grundens. Even it will tear out, but usually long after most other types are shredded. The fleece lined variety of this rain gear is extremely comfortable, vs non-fleece lined.

All things considered, a guy can get a lot of mileage out of Impertech....

Thanks for the info, i'll have to give that Grundens a try this summer.

Is "precip" a brand name? How about a store or two that may have it. I'm always looking too.

Its made my Marmot, Campmor has them from time to time for a good price.Here is the link to the gear.

http://marmot.com/products/product.php?cat=cloth&subcat=67&style_id=I5491

http://marmot.com/products/product.php?cat=cloth&subcat=67&style_id=I5412