Best LIGHTWEIGHT rain gear/coat???

[mtnwrunner]

Just curious what others use. I am looking for the lightest bulletproof rain coat. I know generally what is on the market but maybe I overlooked something??
It needs to be the lightest that I can get and TOTALLY waterproof. I'm looking to put it in my daypack. Goretex and all the other "high tech" stuff is crap. And if someone tells me that goretex is waterproof---they ain't never been to alaska or central idaho in the last four days.................

Randy

[Coyboy]

frogg toggs.

[jamesmc2]

I have been using GoLite gear for several years. They have their full featured Gore-Tex Pac Lite jacket on sale for $75. Weighs 12oz with hood, pockets and waterproof zips.

M's Currant Mountain Paclite® 2-Layer Jacket

[RDM416]

Sita gear is good stuff. There is a wide range of quality with gortex. Not the gortex itself but the way the garment is made. I have a Simms goretex wader jacket and waders. They WILL keep you dry! Simms is a good way to go, but not available in camo. They only make fishing gear.

[solitude]

Gore-tex, and others like it, by definition is "waterproof". The water molecules are larger than the pores of the gore-tex membrane, thereby preventing the water from penetrating through the gore-tex barrier. However, cheap garment construction, often at the seams, is more likely to be the problem.


The other feature of technical clothing is to allow water vapor (perspiration) to pass through. Breathability is important during strenuous activity. Gore-tex and other technical fabrics breathe relatively well, but will still trap some moisture. This often leads to the misconception that the garment is leaking.


Personally, the Kuiu Chugach jacket what I've been wearing for the last couple of years.

[mtnwrunner]

The only thing that I have found go be COMPLETELY waterproof is PVC. The trouble with that stuff is that it is heavy. I have sitka and other "quality" gear and I have not found ONE of them that does not leak when exposed to serious rain. Does anyone know of really lightweight pvc gear? Or something equivalent?

Randy

[NW Hunter]

Frogg Toggs...

They are very light to pack and are relatively tough. I hunt through alot of huckleberry brush and in three years of use, only one small snag in the pant leg.

On a high buck hunt in the Cascades in WA state, I got caught in a squall above timberline. I tightened up my Frogg toggs and sat on the ground hunched over for 45 minutes in a driving rain. When it was over, I took off the coat and found my polar fleece coat underneath DRY!

I have never had that happen with my gore-tex gear.