Am about to invest in a raincoat. It's gona cost and I would like to invest wisely. Any comments from those that are staying dry in the rain? What are you using? Any comment on the Oringi tramper jacket?
I currently wear a gore-tex jacket from fairydown. Brought it for around $150, it is quite light and well made.
My experience with jackets is that no matter how good they are I still end up getting wet. Mainly because I sweat inside the jacket and the breathable fabric can not work fast enough in wet humid conditions.
In torrential downpours a lightweight nylon jacket works as good as anything and weighs next to nothing and are cheap to buy.
i invested in a macpac resolution raincoat a few years ago. they are from what i have read the benchmark of raincoats. think they retail around the $700 mark, however i reckon it is well worth it. it is made from goretex xcr, it breathes very well and has kept me warm and dry in some horrible weather. i do also have a reasonably cheap jacket that i use during the warmer months as it is lighter and less bulky to carry in my daypack. do agree with militaris to a point though in that if you sweat you are still going to some dampness no matter how well the coat breathes
Bought myself an Earth sea and Sky Hydrophobia. Fantastic, weather any storm, cost an arm and a leg. but once you are walking it gets hot sweats like a stuck pig. Realised that the important thing was to cut wind and wind chill. So invested in a Marmot stormlight. lite whieght take anywhere as part of your layering concept works well big pit zips give great ventillation. When its pouring with rain your going to get wet inside and out i would go with cutting the wind and staying warm.
Personally I use a Wapiti Coat made by Swazi, again not cheap but just brilliant when it counts, had a load of fun with the kids as I zipped it right up and got them to deal to me with the garden hose, afterwards still bone dry.
Was very disappointed with my Swazi Thar. A beautifully made coat: looks great, feels great. But once it gets wet, the silent outer layer holds way too much water, and will not dry overnight even in front of a hut fire. After spending $799 on it, I'll be living with is for a good few years, but unless you're a hunter and need that silent outer layer, I'd steer away. Sorry Davey!
Use an ordinary macpac copland.
Does the trick and jjust recently after over a year of use I waterproofed it and its as good as new.
Used nikwax spray on direct.
first, disclosure...I am involved with macpac...
next, the good bit..
macpac is about to launch a new range of rainwear made with eVent fabric. eVent outperforms ALL other rainwear (a lot more breathable than the Gortex product we moved from)
we are having a launch, visiting stores around NZ- see www.macpac.co.nz if you want to find out more and come along and learn more..
cheers
Cam
Well done, Macpac for switching to eVent fabric and thanks for publicising the results of the US Army's comparative study on the properties of waterproof/breathable fabrics.I'll post the url on this site once I can get it off the other computer!
Lots of info about breathability of the various fabrics on the macpac site. But nothing about waterproofness.
The biggest problem I have with goretex is not its efficiency at getting ewater out, but it's tendancy to let water in, especially in wind or when pushing though vegetation. Any links to studies of relative waterproof performance would be welcome.
