Best gear for hiking in pouring rain and cold?

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dikkeknodel
Posts: 19
Joined: September 5th, 2016, 9:24 am
Location: The Netherlands

Re: Best gear for hiking in pouring rain and cold?

Post by dikkeknodel » February 23rd, 2017, 10:32 pm

retired jerry wrote:I've heard people swear by Paramo

It's kind of heavy
I heard that too, but have yet to meet such person in real life.
I don't mind heavy, won't notice that when the backpack is 35 lbs anyway. It's slightly warmer too, but it should be okay if you just wear a thin base layer.
Keep hiking!

Pdxmaestro
Posts: 34
Joined: August 25th, 2014, 11:00 am

Re: Best gear for hiking in pouring rain and cold?

Post by Pdxmaestro » May 23rd, 2017, 11:54 am

Get a pair of runners tights and top. They act sort of like a wet suit and trap the wet..then your body temp warms that layer of water keeping you warm. Not dry but warm.

I do have a question for everyone that carries layers on layers on layers ..... where do you put it when you take it off? There isn't enough room in a day pack to store all that stuff lol. I actually got a close pin to hook my layers the loop on my pack lol

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alpinista55
Posts: 25
Joined: June 30th, 2016, 1:44 pm

Re: Best gear for hiking in pouring rain and cold?

Post by alpinista55 » May 25th, 2017, 2:31 pm

There is a new option for raingear in the new "permanently beading” surface fabrics. Columbia Sportswear was first to market with their OutDry Extreme line of raingear, followed quickly by Gore with their GoreTex Active products. These new products have moved the waterproof/breathable membrane to the surface of the garment, and eliminated completely the durable water-repellant layer. This eliminates the wet-out problem of the DRW layer, which renders the membrane in traditional 3-layer shell useless.

I have been using a Columbia Sportswear OutDry EX Diamond shell for several months as foul weather gear on my sailboat, and it has never wetted out, period. Water beads on the surface, and I haven't been wet at all. The jacket is fully seam sealed and would seem to be extremely durable. I cant speak to the jackets breathability, as I have not done any hiking in the jacket, but I take any manufacturers claims of breathability with a large grain of salt. I rely on open pit zips and venting to get rid of interior water vapor.

The OutDry EX is too heavy for lightweight backpacking, but the new OutDry EX Light shell is just under 11 oz. in a men's medium. I may try this shell for my upcoming backpacking trip in SEKI later this summer:
http://www.columbia.com/mens-outdry-ex- ... 2#start=16

NorthFace also has a lightweight GTX Active shell:
https://www.thenorthface.com/shop/mens- ... tionId=JK3

For my legs I use an MLD Rain Kilt, at under 3 oz., which doubles as a waterproof mini ground sheet:
https://mountainlaureldesigns.com/produ ... rain-kilt/

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