[pct-l] Tyvek jumpsuits as rain gear?

[tom aterno]

I work in a cleanroom, and we use Tyvek "bunny suits" with a hood.  I wouldn't use one for some of the reasons mentioned, especially that the zipper is not waterproof.  I prefer to use a Precip jacket and if necessary, a rain skirt.  I also like the inexpensive Walmart plastic poncho.  Cheap and light enough to keep a few in resupply boxes.
 
The Incredible Bulk


--- On Tue, 2/23/10, Dan Africk <danstheman at gmail.com> wrote:


From: Dan Africk <danstheman at gmail.com>
Subject: [pct-l] Tyvek jumpsuits as rain gear?
To: pct-l at backcountry.net
Date: Tuesday, February 23, 2010, 9:22 PM


I was at the hardware store earlier, and had what seemed like an
epiphany: Tyvek suits as rain gear! They're very lightweight, very
very cheap, and supposedly waterproof, windproof, and breathable. You
could buy as many as you needed and send replacements in your resupply
packages, for a fraction of the price and weight of most rain gear. Of
course after googling it, I realized this idea is not as original as I
thought:

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=1816&skip_to_post=211699

http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=20211

My question is, has anyone here tried it? How did it work? How
waterproof and breathable was it actually?

I anticipate that the main drawbacks to the jumpsuit would be:
1- Little to no ventilation, so it could get very hot while hiking in it
2 - You might need to remove your shoes to put it on, which would be
very inconvenient during the rain(this would depend on your footwear
choices, but I'd imagine with any kind of boot you wold need to take
them off)

You can also get a Tyvek jacket or lab coat, which addresses some of
those issues, but I don't think they make one with a hood, which I
consider essential. Perhaps you could cut the legs off a jumpsuit
without ruining the zipper?

Come to think of it, tyvek shoe covers have a bunch of potential uses
as well.They might be a great way to keep my insulated camp booties
clean and dry when I need to leave my tent at night and it's raining,
for example. Or simply where them over a pair of socks and skip the
booties altogether. This merits further pondering....
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