[pct-l] Rain Gear suggestions

[Dan Engleman]

Hello TJ,
I hiked in 2011; had more than my fair share of spring storms in southern California and pretty frequent thunder storms in the Sierras; I found the Zpack cuben fiber cloud kilt and an older verison of Marmot's lightweight rain jacket (Marmot Mica - 6 oz - always on sale online, somewhere  -Backcountrygear.com has one for around $1250.  My lightweight rain "kit" worked worked well for most of the trail. 
 
I used the Marmot rain jacket as a windbreaker, for a little extra warmth in the morning, and for bug protection (when I was cleaning up, before getting into my quilt).  It worked pretty well for rain, but is nothing like gortez; that being said, it breaths well and as long as you keep on moving along you stay fairly warm and reasonably dry; I like the fact that it dried out so quickly (between downpours) and I didn't sweat much when I had it on; size up on the jacket if you want the arms to hang down below your fingers, rather than use rain mits; worked for me.  
 
I did get a rather spendy pair of merino wool long johns (Icebreaker brand) when I got to Bend, Oregon to deal with the incredible amount of dew and moisture from the wonderful greenery, up north; no regrets on spending the extra cash, but be extra careful because they do have a tendency to get snagged on the underbrush; I wore my cuben kilt to protect the  upper part of the longjohns and it worked great; I did get some battle scars on the lower legs, but just cut the bottoms off after I finished my hike and I still use the uppers. Even if you don't see a drop of rain in Washington, your legs will be wet from the dew.  Unfortunatly, I saw far too many raindrops in the later half of September; my roommate offered me his spendy, bombproof, Arcteryx, rain jacket at the Oregon/Washington border and I turned it down becasue Oregon was sooooo dry; I crossed the border and that all changed, it rained more often then not and very hard near the end of my
 hike.   Merino wool is a wonderful comfort item and they will keep you warm when they are wet; Icebreaker long johns were easily one of my favorite pieces of gear for Washington.  

I would get a nice lightweight jacket and Zpack cuben kilt and send your heavy, but reliable (duct taped) rain gear to Bridge of the Gods.  I believe a lightweight jacket and cuben kilt serves the purpose for MOST of the PCT, but my lightweight jacket was a joke (not a funny one) once I hit Washington.  I have heard that others waltz all the way to the Canadian border without getting pounded by rain, but that was not my experience so I would never hike Washington (in September) without changing my lightweight rain jacket out for a heavier (albeit less breathable) rain jacket.   

Good luck ... 

Dan (711) 
  

________________________________
 From: "tmjgame at comcast.net" <tmjgame at comcast.net>
To: pct-l at backcountry.net 
Sent: Thursday, May 16, 2013 10:34 AM
Subject: [pct-l] Rain Gear suggestions
  




Looking to upgrade the quality and lighten the weight of my rain gear.   In typical hiker trash fashion, I currently have a decades old gortex hooded jacket(patched with duct tape)  and a lightwt pair of golf pants for my rain gear. 



I section hiked Central oregon last year and did not need the raingear or my rainfly.  However, I do believe in carrying raingear as storms can occur at any time. ANY suggestions on light, quality raingear is appreciated.  Inexpensive (not cheap) gear is , of course, preferred.  What is the best VALUE going for rain gear? 



thanks- 



walk on! 



TJ
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