After spending 6 days in torrential down pours during the Colorado 2nd Elk season, I have come to the conclusion that my rain suit sucks. I've gotta invest in some quality...too old to enjoy wet...
I don't have money to burn so I want to buy once and cry once. Suggestions?

Hey bud, glad you made it back safely! Bummer on the weather though.

I have a few friends that recently got into Kuiu rain gear and have nothing but great things to say about it.

Back when I was doing more back country hiking/climbing/skiing, I invested in Arcteryx shells for jacket and pants. Great investment in quality. Bit the bullet on price, but even made a good amount of it back selling them to a climbing buddy, after about 4 years of hard use.

You can get new with tags US MIL, made in the USA, goretex on eBay. I bought the top and bottom for 250.00 if you look. Tough, waterproof and comes in multicam camouflage .

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbth...0438864/1/Opinions_on_rain_shell_jackets

Ain't nuthin works in 6 days of torrential downpour, ESPECIALLY if one is hiking/packing/working up a sweat. The question is do you want to be cold and wet, or warm and wet?

"Breathable" stuff works OK in light conditions and light exertion activities, but for severe weather go with impermeable stuff. There are some good designs out there (I hear) that ventilate almost on par with breathable membranes - which DO let moisture in if said moisture comes in contact with the membrane from the outside, and are slow in passing body perspiration. It is only the outer "water-repellant" layer over the membrane that makes "breathable" stuff semi-waterproof. When this fails after a few days or less of real weather (or bucking vegetation), gore-tex et. al. is about as waterproof as cotton. But a little warmer, as it does stop wind.

There is a reason commercial fishermen wear Helly Hanson, and not Gore-Tex, etc.

And yes, I have and wear both types of rain-gear... I just pick the conditions for each. And plan on getting wet.....

I'm also looking for better rain gear.
I hunted 7 days of rain during 2nd season.
The action on my old rifle rusted shut.
I found myself wanting to change into something different after wearing the same stuff for a few consecutive days.
The only raingear I had that I liked was my LaCrosse Grange boots.

try frogg toggs.

Got 'em. Love 'em. Used for 3 years now. Best rain gear I've tried to date.

frogg toggs noisy junk that will tear

They have come a long way from their initial offerings. What I have is pretty quiet, fairly inexpensive, and tough as rain gear goes. Works better than the expensive Gore-Tex crap I've used in the past. Wife bought me what I have now as a gift. I was skeptical at first.

Only my opinion and experience. YMMV.

First Lite Boundary Stormtight Jacket and Pants

The old stuff certainly was. Fine for the golf bag though.

Haven't used any of the newer designs. Toad something?

If you want to go the MIL route, I think I have a set of digi camo Gore Tex that was worn 1x for fit. I'm 6'1, 180# and believe it's a size L. If so, you can have it for free if you cover shipping. PM me if you're interested.

Cheers,
Eric

Frogg Togg will make you sweat!

I use a three year old FT jacket while coaching football every year from July to November. I'm standing the whole time and if the rain is much more than a shower, you're getting wet.

They beat wearing a trash bag and that's about it.

I have a set of helly hanson impertech that will keep you dry, if you aren't hiking a lot. I love them but I do have a couple of gripes. They do not breath at all! If you are hiking around a lot in warmer weather you will sweat and it wont leave the raingear. Pretty nice for chilly weather though, this time of year is perfect for them. The cuffs are set up so if you wear gloves on the outside of the raingear all the water that runs down your sleeves goes straight into the gloves, not fun. They are also heavier than gore tex. I don't care what anyone says, if you sit in the rain long enough the water will seep through gore tex and you will get wet. I cant justify spending the money on sitka gear or kuiu when they just aren't durable either. A good friend of mine had to buy multiple sets because at any given time at least one is being sent back because they ripped. They do stand by their warranty but why pay that much money for raingear when you have to send them in repeatedly because they aren't durable.....

Apologies for the late reply.Thank you and I appreciate the offer, but I have a couple sets already. Maybe some deserving youngster?

Camp Dry

Spray your rain gear that failed you

Hang it outside to dry and air out

$6 a can

It works on everything

I even spray my Carhart chore clothes

This^^

My son and a grandson each killed a bull elk in true rain forest within the past ten days, and backpacked both out of deep canyons. Both wore commercial fishing chest high Grundens. They still got wet but it was a warmer and controlled wet.

Back east to mule deer country, we wear beathables.

Not sure anything will help 6 days of torrential downpours bearable

I finally gave in and bought some true rain gear after getting drenched in an early season bow hunt this year. I bought Cabelas Rain Suede and have been very happy with it

First use was standing in 6 hours of steady rain during the Georgia Alabama football game pre game and game back in early October. I was basically dry at the end much to my pleasure and surprise

I then used it again a couple of weeks ago. Left the house in a torrential downpour because the radars said the storm was passing at about sunrise and I wanted to be in the stand. Rode an ATV a couple miles thru the downpour, including thru some roads overgrown with 5 foot soaking wet pines. It rained off and on all morning. Not only did I stay dry, I also had deer within 50 yards of me all morning and the fabric was plenty quiet

So far my only regret is not buying it sooner. I think I paid about $250 for the pants and the parka. They run big too. large fit me fine whereas I am nornally an XL in everything else

I've used Cabela's Rain Suede sine 2004. Not sure if it's the best, but it works well.

anyone that says anything but helly hanson basically, has never been in real, extended rain..

We run impertech mostly... but will be getting HH soon, for those really bad rainy seasons.

I"ll never on purpose pay for goretex again as rain gear. Total joke,

The spray on treatments are the same. Total joke.

Both of these became jokes in AK on us. NOt in other places.

I carry others like LAS says, even frog togg, for some light rain issues, but if its wet and extended, HH that i"ve worn is the ONLY stuff that keeps the rain out. And does a dman fine job of keeping the sweat in.. LOL

Impertech is HH, and it is great for spring or fall temps and wet work/weather.

After ten straight days of rain on a northern canoe trip a couple years ago, I went on a mission to buy the best raingear I could find, no matter what the price.

Ended up with a waterfowling parka and bibs made by Sitka, called "Pantanal". The price tag was breathtaking, but it's been worth it. Very well thought-out, the pocket designs, the way the hood moves with your head, the elastic cuffs, everything. And the outfit has kept me dry in some heavy downpours. My wife makes fun of me because when a thunderstorm breaks, I put it on and rush outside, just to enjoy the storm and the sensation of being dry in it. I even stood under a waterfall once to test it.

For me its not so much how dry you are but how fast you can dry out and get back to hunting that matters the most for me. I wear the Cabela's Whitetail extreme M50 shells for snow/ice and high mountain stuff but HH and the lightweight "Gamehide" for most everything else.

We hunt hard all day and getting dried out and warm has just become part of it.

Good advice, I do this as well.

I took a set of Helly Hansen Imperitech on a moose hunt in Newfoundland last year. Day 1 was the worst weather I have ever been in. 5" of rain and 60 mph wind all day but I stayed dry when ever we out in it. My only gripe is that it seems to make a little noise. Kind of like something rubber stretching. I like it though. (The rain gear, not the weird noise).

Agreed. That, and the 1st time I wore them on a spring bear hunt I got about 10 steps from the truck and started sweating. I tore the bibs that day and threw them away, pretty sure I gave away the top so as to not be tempted to endure it again.

Best is Simms...spendy but the absolute best and made in Montana

Filson Tinware. A little stiff but when it's broken in it is tops.