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Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 12,651
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 12,651 |
I've never hunted in pouring rain and really haven't worried about it much. Light drizzle is about it.
That said, I do have lightweight rain gear that I pack sometimes but have yet to wear.
Something I ALWAYS carry with me is a large plastic trash bag. They are useful for carrying straps and fillets back to the truck, something I've done multiple times. More important, and the reason I carry them, is they do double duty as emergency rain gear and shelter. For rain gear just cut a neck hole. For shelter, slit the side and top and use as a wind break on a lean-to. Never needed to use one for either purpose - and hope I never have to - but it is there in my pack if I do.
Edited to add: Note that I don't archery hunt elk - just rifle.
Last edited by Coyote_Hunter; 12/30/13.
Coyote Hunter - NRA Patriot Life, NRA Whittington Center Life, GOA, DAD - and I VOTE!
No, I'm not a Ruger bigot - just an unabashed fan of their revolvers, M77's and #1's.
A good .30-06 is a 99% solution.
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Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 19,070
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 19,070 |
I try real hard to not hunt in even a drizzle,but in ML season,after it does rain, the grass and weeds will drench you to the belt line in about 100 steps.
They also provide dry place to sit. I use them in rifle season too when there is snow on the ground if it is not too cold.
If God wanted you to walk and carry things on your back, He would not have invented stirrups and pack saddles
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Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 12,651
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 12,651 |
I try real hard to not hunt in even a drizzle,but in ML season,after it does rain, the grass and weeds will drench you to the belt line in about 100 steps.
They also provide dry place to sit. I use them in rifle season too when there is snow on the ground if it is not too cold. Yup. I call them my "butt-be-dry'. Throw some pine boughs or, as I did here, handfulls of sage tops under them for insulation. This from last November when I took my cow 487 yards to the left shortly after snapping this picture. ![[Linked Image]](http://www.hunt101.com/data/500/20131107_065843.jpg)
Coyote Hunter - NRA Patriot Life, NRA Whittington Center Life, GOA, DAD - and I VOTE!
No, I'm not a Ruger bigot - just an unabashed fan of their revolvers, M77's and #1's.
A good .30-06 is a 99% solution.
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Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 1,105
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 1,105 |
My rain suit functions as a lot more than just a rain suit, it's part of the total layering system. It stops evaporative cooling from wind, also adding another significant layer of insulation through the dead air space it creates.
I used to use water-proof nylon rain suits, but they don't breathe and get cold and clammy quickly. They also wear quickly and become leaky anyway. For a while I was using an ultra-light gore-tex pac-lite rain suit. It just didn't seem to work that great either. The Sitka Cloudburst suit I'm now using worked great in a week long archery hunt with rain every day, and in the first rifle hunt where we were getting snowed on almost every day.
The old Cabelas Dri-Plus suit worked great, but it was bulky and heavy... too much crap to carry.
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Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 490
Campfire Member
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Campfire Member
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 490 |
Seems silly to write about rain gear, when there's snow on the ground, but I'm already dreaming of next years elk hunt. We had a fairly (more like very) wet 2013 archery season here in Colorado. It became obvious that my rain gear is now suitable only in church (it's "hole-y", har har ). Sorry for the bad joke... Anyway, I'm looking for recommendations.
As for my needs; I spend most of my time in a tree stand, but several miles on foot isn't uncommon either (especially when scouting). I'll sacrifice a little in the "pack-ability" department, to gain in the way of durability. I'm primarily an archery hunter, so the stuff can't be noisy. Finally, I'm not wealthy, so the big dollar stuff is out... it's crazy what people will spend on fancy hunting clothes. That being said, I won't buy junk, so I will spend up to $200 for the set (pants and coat).
So, let's hear your recommendations; good, bad or otherwise... No such beast exists. Get Helly Hansen "rubber" rain gear to stay dry and deal with it. NOTHING goretex works, or works for lone, that I can guarantee. If I want to bowhunt in the rain, I get wet. That being said we tend to run rain ponchos, I can drape it over when it comes, and yank it back off right away. Great advice for southeast AK, otherwise disregard, lightweight rainwear will serve you fine for 98% of all lower 48 archery elk hunting.
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Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 490
Campfire Member
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Campfire Member
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 490 |
You will look like a idiot and will most likely NOT kill a archery elk wearing rubber rain gear.
Last edited by dinkshooter; 12/30/13.
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Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 1,105
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 1,105 |
I've heard the "nothing gore-tex works" line before. IME it works very well.
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Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 19,070
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 19,070 |
I've heard the "nothing gore-tex works" line before. IME it works very well. I have had 4 pair of Gore Tex lined boots. They work great for two years and then leak like any other.
If God wanted you to walk and carry things on your back, He would not have invented stirrups and pack saddles
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Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 490
Campfire Member
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Campfire Member
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 490 |
I've heard the "nothing gore-tex works" line before. IME it works very well. I have had 4 pair of Gore Tex lined boots. They work great for two years and then leak like any other. Don't buy Danners.
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Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 1,105
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 1,105 |
My experience with boots has been similar. I don't buy "hunting" boots, I buy my boots from mountaineering equipment manufacturers, usually Asolo. They work great for two or three years, but by then I have worn them to the point they are done anyway. To me, they beat any "waterproof" boot that sweats and ends up wet from the inside.
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Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 19,070
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 19,070 |
My experience with boots has been similar. I don't buy "hunting" boots, I buy my boots from mountaineering equipment manufacturers, usually Asolo. They work great for two or three years, but by then I have worn them to the point they are done anyway. To me, they beat any "waterproof" boot that sweats and ends up wet from the inside. My latest are the Asolo also.but Being as old as I am I don't wear them out so they just start to leak.
If God wanted you to walk and carry things on your back, He would not have invented stirrups and pack saddles
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Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 762
Campfire Regular
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OP
Campfire Regular
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 762 |
Thanks for all the insight, fellas! I just ordered the Cabela's Rain Suede (dry-plus)... I checked them out in the store, and I think they will serve the purpose quite well. They do have leg zippers, but only to the knee. I would have rather had longer zippers, but seeing as my old ones didn't have them at all, I think this will still be a major improvement.
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Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 1,042
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 1,042 |
Rain gear is always a tough discussion. Tried lots of different things. And here in Western WA you can get soaked on a beautiful morning with all the dew on the brush.
If it is relatively warm, ie above 45 and I'll be moving a little I wear long gaiters long jacket and marmot, north face, ex-officio type synthetic pants. I find that even though your thighs and knees get wet they dry out so fast from body heat that it works.
Other than that I usually just carry Frogg Toggs that I've broken in riding my motorcycle so they are a little quieter. Plus, they do give you a decent safety factor for very little weight and space.
I don't bow hunt but do muzzleloader hunt. So YMMV.
I agree with the dry butt theory, too. Have an ancient Thermarest pad that is about 18" square that works great and is easy to carry.
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Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 807
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 807 |
Hope your rain suede experience is better than mine. Mine leaked around the shoulders everytime it rained. Tried washing/treating that cabelas suggested when I called, but not luck. When it quits raining and the wind starts they feel like a refrigerator. Kick my self for not sending them back.
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