[pct-l] rain theory

[verber at gmail.com (Mark Verber)]

>  I lived in Portland, OR for many years as a commuter
> cyclist and quickly gave up on any rain gear for prolonged rides and
> instead just got wet and the ride kept me warm.

I would suggest that there an additional issue.  You also need to be
able to dry out over night.  When you are around town this is easy..
you walk into your warm dry house and let let your gear dry... but
that isn't an option when on multi-day outings.  On a thru-hike you
can't be sure that there will be a trail town within a day.

Personally, I don't enjoy hiking when I am wet, be it from external
sources or from perspiration.  I like to avoid being wet. 
Historically water proof breathable material did a fine job protecting
us from external sources, but would be overwelmed by perspiration, so
you would soak yourself in sweat when working hard.  It seems to me
that there have been three approaches that people seem to have taken
to this problem:

1) Don't worry about getting wet... stay warm.  Personally, I think
this works well down to around 50F with moderate winds... and then I
think is ill-advised.  I have found that when I pushed this approach
(especially when the temp is graduately dropping over the day) that I
thought I was warm enough, but really I was starting to suffer from
exposure... I just didn't realize it.

2) Use a layered approach so that you stay mostly dry... and that they
layers which are protecting you can be easily dried.  An example of
this is the British approach of using a pile combined with a water
resistant external which MichaelO has written about
http://www.monmouth.com/~mconnick/clothes.htmhttp://www.monmouth.com/~mconnick/clothes.htm
I think of this as a "soft shell" type approach.

3) Find a better wp/b material.  My experience is that eVENT is fully
waterproof, and it I am a little careful in controlling activity level
that I can start dry (exept for my feet) when the temp is below around
50F.

--Mark