[pct-l] Rain jackets

[Scott Williams]

I've used an early ZPacks raincoat plus Chrome Dome umbrella on the CDT,
AT, Camino and several more, and it is the most breathable, comfortable
jacket I've used so far.  I agree with Jay's comment on the pockets
though.  It'd be nice to have some, but at such a light weight it's worth
it to go without.  What surprised me was that the Cuben fiber has held up
so well on my original coat.  I had expected it to be a one or two hike
coat, given the rubbing and possible abrasion of shoulder straps, but it's
still in great shape.  When it's a warm rain, I just use the umbrella and
enjoy the wetting of my arms and legs, but if it's more serious, I use both
coat and umbrella and am able to keep the front of the jacket open so that
I don't end up with condensation, and because much of the coat remains dry
under the umbrella, it continues to breath.  When a breathable raincoat
becomes completely soaked on the outside, all the micropores become filled
with rainwater and you no longer have a breathable piece of clothing.  By
keeping the shell mostly dry, I remain very comfortable and not clammy when
hiking hard and perspiring as the Cuben is so breathable.

I recently added a ZPacks Cuben kilt to the mix and have been training in
lots of rain this winter in CA and really love the combo.  I'm usually in
shorts, and the kilt, which weighs almost nothing, keeps them dry and my
butt warm!

This season, we've got several people training with us who are using the
latest ZPacks Cuben rain gear, pants, over gloves and jacket and the new
navy blue stuff really looks nice.  Each of these folks are raving about
how comfortable and well they are working.  So, no I don't work for ZPacks,
but Joe's got some great and very light rain gear.  If the new blue stuff
holds up as well as my old original grey Cuben raincoat has, they'll be
some of the best gear out there.

And great advice Jay about getting water at the start of any Sierra
downpours.  The streams turn to mud for quite a few hours and the fine
particulate that remains suspended in the water, and which you can hardly
see for hours after that, plays havoc with most filters.  So tank up before
the storm hits if you can.

Shroomer

On Mon, Jan 11, 2016 at 8:42 AM, Jay Bruins <jbruins at gmail.com> wrote:

> I have a previous version of the Zpacks pants and jacket. They work
> fantastic with two issues. When you're in rain for a week straight,
> sometimes you just want some pockets. I ended up shipping my North Face
> Gortex Proshell jacket to myself in WA just because I was wearing my gear
> so much in Oregon. Zpacks is optimized for the pack, so it was perfect most
> of the trip. The other issue is despite being the most breathable gear I've
> owned, it's still not good enough. For light rain, I'd often avoid putting
> anything on while actually walking—stripping to shorts and a T-shirt to
> minimize the amount of wet fabric. In the Sierra, you know rain is coming.
> Carry an extra liter of water when it is and you can eat a comfortable late
> lunch/early dinner in your tent during the hour and a half it takes to pass
> (this also avoids going over passes with lightning). I would like to try an
> umbrella on my next hike (with a Zpacks jacket for when the wind is too
> strong).
>
> J
> --------
> Sent from my iPhone.
> Please pardon the brevity.
>
> > On Jan 11, 2016, at 7:41 AM, Jeffrey Olson <philos56 at live.com> wrote:
> >
> > This is particularly so if you have a long body.  Going through the Goat
> Rocks on a SOBO in June I ran into 45 degrees and rain.  From Canada south
> to there it had been cold enough to be snow or frozen rain.  I had to stop
> early that day and camp as water had leeched up and soaked me from the
> chest down.  It took hours to stop shivering.  I won't use Frogg Toggs
> again for that reason.
> >
> > Jeff
> > Laramie WY
> >
> >> On 1/11/2016 7:02 AM, JPL wrote:
> >> I've had good luck with my Frogg Toggs.  Only complaint is the jacket
> could be a little longer.
> >>
> >> -----Original Message----- From: Brian Gill
> >> Sent: Monday, January 11, 2016 8:58 AM
> >> To: pct-l at backcountry.net
> >> Subject: [pct-l] Rain jackets
> >>
> >> What rain jacket  (gear)  seems to be the most popular on the trail
> last few years?   My Marmot precip wets out  easily. Panama.
> >>
> >> "Sent from my iPhone"
> >>
> >>      Brian
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