Gore Tex is taking some licks on another post here as suboptimal material for being out in extended foul weather.
If Gore Tex isn't the ticket for bad conditions, has anyone run across another magic material or maker for foul weather gear that keeps you dry for extended time outdoors, is lightweight, and doesn't make you feel like a clam inside it?
There is no "magic" fabric.
Having said that, I find eVent fabric to be far better suited to the task than Gore-tex given your parameters and I've had quite a bit of experience with both.
Dave
I havent found anything that is 100% foolproof. event stuff is good no doubt , but if you hike hard enough long enough ,you will get wet , or stand in the pouring rain long enough you will get wet. I live in a mountainous rain Forrest and have tried north face- worthless, sitka stuff - almost worthless , kuiu stuff - pretty good , Arcterex stuff - pretty good , westcomb (sp?)pretty good. There is no magic solution , but some are better than others, Breath-ability wise. Im sure someone has had better luck than me and knows more , I just haven't found it yet. Ofcourse i am referring to hunting rain gear
eVent is what I'll be using from now on.
Tanner
Tanner are you using westcomb or kuhl or what? Pretty good stuff.
Westcomb Spectre LT top. I wish they made a shell pant with full side zips- I'd buy them in a heart beat.
Tanner
This year I left the Cabelas Space Rain gear at home in favor of the Driducks Ultralite (they now.call it bi-laminate). It is 11 ounces for the set versus 16 ounces for the Space Rain. I wore it in two days of pretty solid rain and it kept me dry. It doesn't breath very well and it is fairly fragile, but the stuff worked and it never wetted out like Gore Tex can do. It is less than $20 a set. Also, it is the quietest rain gear I have tried.
I have a set of Chugach that is 3 times as heavy, 25 times more expensive, less comfortable, and much louder. The Chugach may breath better but the Driducks is a pretty good set of rain gear for the price. I could throw in three sets for the same weight as the Chugach. I don't hear much about it on the hunting sites (the backpackers love it) but I think it is underrated or maybe undiscovered.
I would be interested to hear what is available for tall men these days. My gore-tex gear is starting to show all its flaws. After Tanner's post I started looking around for eVent products in tall. Can't find much. Can anybody point me in the right direction.
different strokes for different folks
disclaimer: I've not used Event type stuff.
but I've done a fair amount of high country hunting
one of the keys to backpack hunting ime, is multi use gear.
I carry a silnylon poncho for the occasional siwash, to use as something to lay pieces of freshly butchered meat on etc.
in a heavy rain, sitting and glassing on goes the rain gear, for me Red Ledge top, frog togg bottoms, and then the poncho goes on over it along with my pack underneath the poncho. you can stay pretty dang dry for a good while in that setup.
if I'm hiking on the approach...or worse, hauling out meat, and it's raining hard, I zip the legs off my Cabela's supplex nylon pants and stuff them in the pack, don the poncho and am now just wearing shorts with long handles covering my legs. Wool tops for anything other than sheep hunting for me, poly pro on the bottom, all poly is sheep hunting due to weight. Ankle gaiters over my boots.
lots of breathability, some protection from rain, you're still gonna sweat though.
again ime, if you're packin or working hard, you're gonna get wet, either from rain or sweat, I prefer sweat, but will take the rain on my legs, the polypros dry out fast ime.
none of the stuff I use is way pricey, but it works for me.
just an alternative way of doing things.
slip the poncho on, lots of breathability
Make a poncho from a 55g contractor grade garbage bag, cut holes for head and arms� covers you all the way to just above your knees. Can also be used for ground tarp, emergency shelter, clean place to lay quarters/meat, pack liner, pack rain cover, etc� 100% waterproof, not very breathable (humor)� packs up small and light in the pack, and really cheap!
Will be watching this as raingear is one thing on my list that needs an update.
My patagonia stuff doesn't breathe at all (has pit zips though). It has actually held up pretty well, and it was free. The pants have enough aquaseal on them that they no longer qualify as light weight, but they still mostly work.
Embrace the wet. Nobody ever said hunting was supposed to be comfortable..(grin)
I've given up on dry. I've moved more towards "comfortable while wet".
That's kinda where I'm at... although you deal with a lot more rain than me.
Embrace the wet. Nobody ever said hunting was supposed to be comfortable..(grin)
I've given up on dry. I've moved more towards "comfortable while wet".
I'm sure it is just a product of being a newb to the really wet climates, but getting soaked kind of freaks me out, just in the event of getting stuck out in those duds or having a major cold front move in. It all depends on where you're at and what you're doing, of course... I think like you said it some places you may just have to say "screw it" and give in to the moisture. Skin dries pretty quick anyways!
Tanner
Here in Oregon during bow season it will 65 degrees and poring rain. I do wear my chuga rain gear but and its pretty good but I wear a wool top and bottom and rain gear. I will get wet either from sweat or wind blown rain but the shell cuts the wind. That is why I wear it or I could go with fleece or wool and just get wet, I have done both but prefer the chuga yes its noiser than a napped gortex but it does matter much in a down pour. And it doesn't wet out as fast and drys a lot quicker and that can be very important too.
Embrace the wet. Nobody ever said hunting was supposed to be comfortable..(grin)
I've given up on dry. I've moved more towards "comfortable while wet".
I'm sure it is just a product of being a newb to the really wet climates, but getting soaked kind of freaks me out, just in the event of getting stuck out in those duds or having a major cold front move in. It all depends on where you're at and what you're doing, of course... I think like you said it some places you may just have to say "screw it" and give in to the moisture. Skin dries pretty quick anyways!
Tanner
Our solution so far has been to carry a light syn sleeping bag, 40 degree bag and make sure we run silk/merino wool. If caught out dump the wet outer stuff, in a rain gear failure, and crawl into the bag as needed, along with an 12-18 hour body warmer and a handwarmer. It adds oz but it adds security.
Having packed through devils club, alder and the like, I just don't totally trust any rain gear. Especially with how clumsy I can be.
We have a poncho type top these days, and Marmot Precip bottoms have still done ok for us.
Next purchase will be Event for rain bottoms but still a poncho top, as its much more versatlie and has better venting IMHO.
And something like Helly Hansen fishing type rain gear for riding the ATV into the hunting camp and out....
Embrace the wet. Nobody ever said hunting was supposed to be comfortable..(grin)
I've given up on dry. I've moved more towards "comfortable while wet".
That's pretty much how the Army sees it now. Instead of trying to keep soldiers "dry" they changed their focus to "warm" and "warm when wet."
I get a lot of their surplus gear because I'm an Air Guardsman and there are a lot of stores around with Army-wear, and could not be happier dollar for dollar, lb for lb.
http://www.armyproperty.com/Resources/NSN-Listings/ECWCS.htm