[pct-l] Rain gear for Washington

Tue Oct 1 19:26:35 CDT 2013

My favorite rain gear combo is Frogtoggs with a six moon design poncho over the top if the weather is bad enough. So far each set of Froggtoggs has lasted 3 to 5 thousand miles. Unless you are bushwacking they are pretty tough. Marmot

Sent from my iPhone

> On Oct 1, 2013, at 5:18 PM, "Jim & Jane Moody" <moodyjj at comcast.net> wrote:
> 
> A-M, 
>   
> I bought rain gear from DancingLightGear in 2005 for my 2006 AT hike.  It was a two-person business in rural Georgia, two-former thru-hikers.  I forgot the guy's name but the girl was "Brawny".  They closed the business, but I think she lives in the PNW, maybe Portland.  If you ask on Whiteblaze.net, you may find someone who has an email address for her.  I tracked her down  in 2010 about making a new pack cover for me, but she declined.  If you can find her, she may do a custom job for you, or she may give or sell her patterns. 
>   
> Their gear was made of silnylon, very light, very waterproof, but not breathable.  When you're hiking, "breathable" fabrics are NOT.  They can't transfer moisture to the outside as fast as you generate it from sweating.  I carried my original parka and rain pants on the PCT this year, through OR and WA.  The pants have been torn (White Mtns and 2011 northern Sierra snow) and patched a few times, but they are still functional.  The parka still repels water and wind as well as it did when new. 
>   
> If you can find a pattern and can sew, you can make your own rain gear.  Several websites sell silnylon by the yard.  Whether you make your own or buy it, I suggest getting blaze orange for the upper jacket (deer season, you know) and black for the pants (when that's all you have to wear in town while you're washing everything else.) 
>   
> I have no experience with name-brand rain gear, but I have heard other hikers complain that Frogg Toggs don't last long in rough country. 
>   
> Good luck, 
> Mango 
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> 
> From: "Ann Marie" <dbanmrkr at yahoo.com> 
> To: pct-l at backcountry.net 
> Sent: Tuesday, October 1, 2013 4:44:49 PM 
> Subject: Re: [pct-l] Rain gear for Washington 
> 
> I know that some of the current hikers are still on the trail and trying to find a way to the border (and their adventures are scaring me,) but I would like to ask a favor from all of this years hikers who encountered bad weather conditions to please give a review of their rain gear selections on this list. Please name brand names and combinations of what worked and didn't work this wet year. I'm trying to select rain gear for next year, or make strategic additions to my existing rain gear to make it work in the (unthinkable, right now) wet and miserable Washington conditions for next year. 
> 
> I'm in awe of what the hikers are walking thru right now. Those wet clothes and wet shoes and socks bring back too many unpleasant memories of a past section hike in Washington. 
> 
> Is any particular gear working well? What would you absolutely buy or take again for Washington, and also what do you recommend carrying again or shipping to yourself for just unknown conditions? 
> 
> This list is a great information resource. I hope those who hiked this year respond with some reviews of this year's gear selections. 
> 
> I'm a small female and I hate trying to buy online but I do most of the time because stores don't carry my small sizes often. But I end up returning items that don't fit a lot of the time, or researching forever looking for reviews from someone about my size. Too many websites forget to provide basic information when describing merchandise....(1) hip sizes for rain pants...S, M, L, XL doesn't cut it when the item is considered "unisex" but only is displayed in the clothing category for men....a small for a man is NOT a small for a woman;  or (2) no ounce weights for every available size....seriously, it's impossible for the website to list the weight for every size besides a M?????....before you criticize, I'm going to disclose that I'm a former software programmer.....  and  (3) then the last one that has me flummoxed is the various fittings: slim vs. regular vs. relaxed. 
> 
> So what I'm hoping for is that you be specific. What brand, what model, what size, what fitting worked for you? What size are you normally? Did you have to add to your rain gear to make it waterproof? Did you add to your rain gear (extra weight) and wished you had not carried that extra weight? Did you find any emergency solutions to add to the rain gear you did carry? Were tall gaiters better than short gaiters on the muddy trails or too hot/too much weight? Did you find the desert umbrella any use at all through the Washington brushy trails? 
> 
> Please help us hikers going for 2014. 
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