July 19, 2019

Rain gear

I like hiking in the rain. Over the years I have slowly adapted my techniques and equipment to make this civilized. Done wrong it is miserable and potentially life threatening if you get hypothermic. The first priority is to keep your sleeping gear dry. I used to use a trash compactor bag as a pack liner for this, but have upgraded to actual dry bags for all of my down gear. With down gear in dry bags inside my virtually waterproof Hyperlite Mountain Gear pack, my gear is essentially bulletproof. I am ready for torrential rain or even falling into a stream or lake. The trick becomes keeping myself warm, dry, and happy.

Umbrella

These work surprisingly well. The trouble comes if there is any significant wind. Apart from the rain blowing under the umbrella, the umbrella itself becomes unmanageable and needs to be folded up. Another issue is if you use hiking poles. They will need to be stowed or you will need to grow a third hand. I have given up on umbrellas, but they were fun to fool with and make great sun protection.

Gore-Tex

There is nothing like Gore-Tex, no matter what anyone tells you. Having suffered with various rain shells made with other materials, my conclusion is that it is all wasted time. My current ultralight rain shell is an Arcteryx Alpha FL. It weights 11.1 oz and is made of Gore-Tex Pro "N40p-X (pro)". The only downside is that it is pricey and a bit bulky. Once you have been soaked and shivering wearing some bargain rain shell, you will see one of these in a different light.

Soft shells or wind shirts

I love my Patagonia Houdini, but it is no rain shell. It may shed some moisture during the first part of a brief shower, but in a real storm or anything prolonged, you are going to be out of luck. The same thing goes for soft-shells.

Rain skirt

Here is a hot tip. Get one of those big black trash bags (they used to get labeled "lawn and leaf", and maybe they still do). Cut the sealed end of it so it is a black tube. Step into it, and tuck it into your pants (or better yet, your shorts). It will hang down to around your knees and keep everthing from the knees up dry. Alternately you could spend money on rain paints (and maybe you should if you seem to be making a career out of hiking in the rain). You can make this more "official" by poking a bunch of holes (I recommend a hot soldering iron) around the top edge and threading some para-cord to make a drawstring waist band.

Pertex Shield and Event

As I have said above, Gore-Tex is what you want. The Outdoor Research Helium II is a nice jacket made with Pertex Shield, but I have read of plenty of stories of it not being up to the task in serious rain. Event is more pricey, and some think breathes better, but I have no experience with it. The truth of the matter is that all this breathability goes out the window when it is actually raining. When breathability works is when it is below freezing out and your shell is not soaked with water. So if you are skiing or winter mountaineering, all of these materials will work great. In the rain, you may as well be wearing plastic.

Hat

Hardly anyone ever mentions this, but a good hat does more for making a hike in the rain pleasant than almost anything. This is especially true if you wear glasses. Keep your pace down so you don't generate too much heat (and sweat and condensation), wear a hat with a decent brim, some kind of decent shell and if temperatures drop, some fleece under the shell. Make sure the stuff in your pack is staying dry, so you can set up a shelter and get into dry gear to sleep and you are ready to backpack in the rain.

Have any comments? Questions? Drop me a line!

Tom's backpacking pages / tom@mmto.org