[pct-l] FW: Golite Raingear

[margepr@sunvalley.net (Marge Prothman)]

Here is a great report on Golite that was sent to me off list
Marge (the old gal)

--
Golite - I have their backpack, waterproof jacket,  pants, umbrella and
numerous silnylon ditty bags, I'd make my own, but I'm sewing machine
challenged !.
I used all except the umbrella on last years section hike of Washington
State and with the addition of the umbrella, I hope I'm set for this years
section hike of Southern California - to Tuolomne Meadows beginning next
Friday.
At the time of buying the Golite rainjacket, I had not heard of, or seen
'Frog Toggs', which I would now give serious consideration - I was
introduced to them by Tim Umstead, one of the list members last year on' the
trail' and was impressed, especially by their longevity / lightness / cost.
 Regarding the 'Newt' rain jacket - these are comments I sent to Golite's
Coup Coupounas about this jacket and the backpack after last years 'hike'.
If you feel it would be of interest to other members, feel free to post it
to the PCT-l. I must say that these comments were intended as critical
feedback to the manufacturer, in the hope of  improving  an already
excellent product - they wouldn't get space in my backpack otherwise.

Best wishes
Ian D Pomfret


The Breeze Pack

	"It looks like 6 - 7 days food / fuel / 2 qts water (25lbs) is the maximum
comfortable weight  for the Golite pack - what a great piece of gear , hard
to imagine life on the trail without it ".
						a comment from my journal, after 160 miles

	On the first day on the trail - admittedly with 10 days supply for the
first section to White pass I had some stitches pull on one of the shoulder
straps where they first pass into the pack , distressing on a brand new item
of ultralite equipment. This was to happen on the other shoulder strap
within a few days, easy to fix and no recurrence after using a stronger
thread. Of the 4 other hikers I met with the Golite pack, all reported this
same problem. Whilst referring to stitching I noticed that the stitching on
the main strap going across the top of the pack and the 'haul loop' is
beginning to break.
	The shoulder straps - ugh, does Jardine have steel shoulders ?, These are
almost 'retro', I have not used such painful straps in the last 30 years -
when straps were 2" canvas webbing with a layer of felt !. Again this was to
be a recurring comment from the other users I met and would be particularly
so for female users with lighter musculature. I cut small 4" sq. pads off my
closed cell foam pad to cushion my shoulders when I had more than 4 days
supplies.
	The narrow 3/4" webbing would not grip the adjustment buckle properly and
would slip, this was made worst by their being insufficient tale on the sewn
end stop, which would settle inside the buckle requiring pack removal etc to
fish the end out and re-adjust it, I ended up knotting the webbing, which
was  inconvenient when extra clothes required extra strap length.
	Possibly the most  serious defect I came upon was during the only two days
of rainfall I was to encounter in Washington !!!. That is the proofing on
the back of the pack - the spectra reinforced material - started to peel off
when it got wet, sandwiched between my sleeping pad and waterproof jacket,
I've never seen this happen on a proofed fabric before except loooong ago
with the early polyurethane proofed nylon before the bugs had been solved.
It wasn't a problem for me since I don't regard packs as waterproof and I
had a garbage bag liner, however, it should  be  a quality control problem,
and I would imagine it's eminently solvable.

Wish list - That it had a waist strap - the most common reason I've  heard
against buying the Breeze, more for stability / preferance, why not fit one,
or at least the attachment loops, if we don't need them we can all use a
pair of scissors - whereas we're not all proficient with a sewing machine. I
actually retrofitted one  by passing thin line for the waist belt attachment
through the loops that the shoulder strap buckle attach to, although ideally
they should be lower.
	That it had drawstring closure as well - the pack is as often 'less' than
full as 'more' than full and a drawstring closure is then more efficient at
passing on the packload to the shoulder straps.
	I had intended to say that with a waist strap, without the mesh  and with a
drawstring closure ( necessary  IMO to provide a smooth shape for upward
progress / hauling ) it would make a great alpine pack, but I see you've
more or less already done it !


The Newt Rain Jacket -

	As previously mentioned I only had two days of rainy weather - near Rainy
Pass of course !, however, during that time the main problem I encountered
slight leaking from the rather poorly taped seams, where the tape had
wrinkles in it,  I also found the elasticated cuffs a trifle loose and  are
cut a trifle short, despite indications to the contrary in your literature
( I actually exchanged for a medium size after finding the small was too
snug )  This is sufficient of a problem to make me wary of buying the pants
to complete my wardrobe, unless you are able to assure me the manufacturing
problem has been fixed.
	Also of concern was the thinness of the material around the press studs -
when it was close to freezing these would grip harder - they never did tear
but I wonder if small reinforcing squares of material should be included.
	The pocket flaps - face forward and tend not to block the rain from the
pockets - perhaps a press stud / Velcro or reverse the flap, also a small
drain hole at the bottom outside of the pocket.

These comments are based on usage on a solo thro-hike of the Washington
section of the PCT about 510 miles, average 18 - 20 mpd, base packweight 11
lbs - typically 20 -25lbs max with food, fuel and water depending on
resupply. My weight 155lb (a variable !), age 53, been mountaineering for
about 36 years. During my 20's I used to instruct outdoor activities for the
National Mountaineering Centre - Plas Y Brenin in North Wales and took part
in equipment testing / evaluations on their behalf.
I hope you will take these comments , as they're intended, to give positive
feedback,   certainly all the equipment is in excellent condition and will
see much further use on the Southern California section of the PCT next
year - guess I'll need a 'Dome' for the Desert .