Best gear for hiking in pouring rain and cold?

Ask questions and share your experiences with hiking & backpacking gear, and share trail recipes and gadget tips. Please see classifieds forum for buying/selling stuff.
User avatar
VanMarmot
Posts: 1924
Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:03 pm
Contact:

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

Post by VanMarmot » March 12th, 2016, 1:56 pm

Best: Only hike on bluebird days.

Second best: ESPN, sofa, beer.

Third best: Packa, rain pants, waterproof boots. Nothing keeps you totally dry - either precip and/or sweat will eventually dampen things - but the packa is the best ventilated thing I've found. Rain pants only if it's really raining, but I've used them more often when there's no precip but I'm ploughing through wet veg. The waterproof boots are good in snow, rain, and (again) if there's wet veg to be gotten through. These boots also shed the water coming off the rain pants.

User avatar
SWriverstone
Posts: 96
Joined: January 26th, 2016, 8:28 am
Location: Eugene, Oregon

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

Post by SWriverstone » March 12th, 2016, 2:42 pm

Interesting replies. Sounds like my typical setup is probably as good as it gets:
• merino wool base layer (up to 50deg or so); I worship my Minus33 brand layer—expensive, but worth every penny!
• fleece shirt or quarter-zip pullover
• gore-tex jacket

I once read that breathable membranes only work well when there is a significant temperature difference between inside/outside the garment (so ideal would be 25deg outside, 70deg inside by your body). As the two numbers come closer, the membranes work less and less. (Seems to make sense.)

I agree, working (like hiking uphill) generates a lot of heat. It can be 30deg out, and if I'm freezing when I start uphill, within 20mins I'll be sweating.

I dunno...sometimes I think for all the fancy gear out there, outdoor clothing really hasn't advanced at all over the past few decades. I mean look at native peoples of the far north: historically, they'd be naked underneath fur-skin coats and pants, with the fur on the inside—and that seemed to work perfectly for them.

Scott

User avatar
SWriverstone
Posts: 96
Joined: January 26th, 2016, 8:28 am
Location: Eugene, Oregon

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

Post by SWriverstone » March 12th, 2016, 2:50 pm

VanMarmot wrote:Best: Only hike on bluebird days.

Second best: ESPN, sofa, beer.

Third best: Packa, rain pants, waterproof boots. Nothing keeps you totally dry - either precip and/or sweat will eventually dampen things - but the packa is the best ventilated thing I've found. Rain pants only if it's really raining, but I've used them more often when there's no precip but I'm ploughing through wet veg. The waterproof boots are good in snow, rain, and (again) if there's wet veg to be gotten through. These boots also shed the water coming off the rain pants.
Hmm...somehow I've never heard of the packa. Just checked it out and it looks great! I think I have to get me one. :-) I remember backpacking as a kid and just pulling one of the cheap vinyl ponchos over me...this looks like a great improvement on that.

Scott

User avatar
Charley
Posts: 1834
Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:03 pm
Location: Milwaukie

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

Post by Charley » March 12th, 2016, 11:09 pm

I've given up on remaining dry when it's utter crap outside. I'm focused on remaining warm.

My system for dayhiking and skiing (in the rain or in snow, too) is to wear clothes that are supposed to stay dry (I've got waterproof breathable gear), or at least warm when wet (I love my wool underwears and synthetic hoodies) then carry insulating stuff (synthetic puffy) in the pack for emergencies. My WFR and Mazama BCEP classes reinforced the reality that, if the group has to stop for some reason, I'll quickly freeze; thus, I carry extra gear that I don't even normally wear on a regular basis. Rainpants usually stay in the bag when I'm dayhiking, even in the rain. They're there mainly for emergency.

For backpacking, I take along enough clothing that I can consider some "sacrificial." In other words, no matter how cold it is, when it's raining and I'm going to be out for a day or two longer, I try to hike in just my underwear layers and rainjackets and pants. While I hike, those sacrificial garments will be wet and uncomfortable, though not unsafely cold. The extra socks, insulating top, sleeping leg tights (depending on the season) and beanie will be in my pack, in dry bags.

When I reach camp and pitch my tarp, I shed the raingear outerwear and put on warm insulation layers on top of my underwear. The underwear will dry out quickly enough without ruining my insulation, and I'll stay warm even though I'm not moving anymore. This is also the time of day that I cook and eat dinner, giving me a quick metabolic warming boost, and get into my sleeping bag, preserving some of that warmth.

I've yet to be truly skunked by this system, though it's not always fun: returning warm and dry socks to the dry-bag in the morning, and putting cold, wet socks from the previous day is not fun, but at least it'll guarantee me dry sleeping socks for the following night.
Believe it or not, I barely ever ride a mountain bike.

User avatar
jdemott
Posts: 651
Joined: July 23rd, 2010, 1:43 pm
Contact:

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

Post by jdemott » March 13th, 2016, 9:55 am

In my experience when the outer surface of a waterproof-breathable jacket is entirely wetted it prevents the breathable membrane from passing water vapor from the inside to the surrounding air. All the little pores are blocked by external water.
Very true. The outer surface of waterproof garments is treated with water-repellant materials which lets rain bead up and run off so the vapor from inside can pass outside. But the performance of the water repellant degrades with time and as it gets dirty, so the outside of the garment quickly becomes saturated when exposed to rain, blocking the passage of moisture to the outside. Regular washing and treatment with more water repellant can help a lot.

User avatar
Crusak
Posts: 3617
Joined: August 6th, 2009, 7:33 pm
Location: Oregon

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

Post by Crusak » March 13th, 2016, 6:12 pm

Excellent topic! :)

Plenty of experienced PNW hikers have responded already, but I'll share what I wear.

I usually wear a smartwool long underwear base layer (pants and shirt), Buff brand merino wool neck gaiter (so many uses, but keeps your neck warm). I've got a North Face Thermoball synthetic jacket (super light, and comfortable under a rain jacket) that I can wear under a waterproof/breathable jacket.

I recently bought my first real Gore-tex pants, a super lightweight pair, and I'm very happy with them.

But I do agree with the other posters - you can't really stay dry. I've experimented with hiking slower, so I sweat less. And I unzip my jacket and/or pockets to ventilate. I also unzip the pockets on the pants to allow air to circulate upward from the pant legs. But the unzipping only happens when it's not raining. And I won't unzip the pockets if I'm carrying stuff in them. lol

One thing that really feels great (and can keep you warmer) is to swap out your base layer shirt when you reach the high point of your hike. You'll have a dry base layer shirt for the descent, and as your body cools down ('cause you're not working as hard) you will feel warmer.
Jim's Hikes

Solvitur Ambulando

User avatar
SWriverstone
Posts: 96
Joined: January 26th, 2016, 8:28 am
Location: Eugene, Oregon

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

Post by SWriverstone » March 13th, 2016, 6:43 pm

I'm getting lots of good ideas here!

I'm surprised outdoor clothing manufacturers haven't been more innovative with regard to making layering systems that are designed so you can layer up or layer down without having to take everything off. (Maybe there are but I don't know about them?)

A simple example that's been around is the Gore-Tex cycling jacket I have—I love it and use it for hiking all the time. Cycling jackets are nice because they typically have an extra-long tail in the back—which helps keep your butt warmer and drier. This particular jacket has zipoff sleeves so it can become a vest—except I have to take it off to do that.

I'm imagining some kind of base layer with velcro tabs sewn onto it. Then you could create (as one example) windproof layers that just velcro onto the base layer. They might not even necessarily have to be full-coverage; you could have sleeves, for example, that only wrap 3/4 of the way around your arm, leaving the arm underneath exposed for ventilation. The idea is that you could easily put these on or rip them off while hiking—somewhat like the packa, you wouldn't have to stop, take your pack off, etc.

I think this idea could really work...but I've never seen anything like it.

Scott

User avatar
-Q-
Posts: 1433
Joined: July 5th, 2008, 10:42 pm

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

Post by -Q- » March 14th, 2016, 11:24 pm

The mighty umbrella rules all :mrgreen:

I gave up trying to keep my feet dry years ago. Now it's all about fast drying shoes.
As previously mentioned by others, wool socks only for me. Right now I use 'darn tough vermont' all year long, weights vary by season.

Synthetic hiking pants dry super fast, so no rain pants most of the time for me either. Whatever gets wet dries real fast. The umbrella helps with keeping legs dry a lot.

An umbrella keeps my head and torso almost totally dry. No need for a jacket or hat or all the sweating they bring.

Wind and rain... That presents a fun challenge.

User avatar
5th
Posts: 121
Joined: April 27th, 2015, 9:11 am
Location: Eugene

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

Post by 5th » March 15th, 2016, 8:51 am

SWriverstone: It's been mentioned above, but I would like to stress rain pants. If you are hiking in the fall/winter/spring, everything can (and likely will) be wet, including every bit of foliage you brush against as you walk (even on trail). Without rain pants, your legs will get very wet very fast. You can buy nylon if you want, but Frog Toggs work fine.

greenjello85
Posts: 554
Joined: July 31st, 2014, 1:31 pm

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

Post by greenjello85 » March 15th, 2016, 1:50 pm

I go with a synthetic top with a gortex jacket, and shorts with gortex pants over the top. I have fleece pants and a puffy jacket I throw on if I stop. I hate feeling overheated so Im generally chilly to start but warm up quickly.

Post Reply