Is there a good brand of rain gear jacket and pants that work but dont break the bank?They dont have to have a camo pattern
Senior Member
Is there a good brand of rain gear jacket and pants that work but dont break the bank?They dont have to have a camo pattern
Site Sponsor
Junior Member
Impertech helly hansen- forewarning, it's loud
1 Mile Mentor
Buy helly hanson once, cry once..
I have some that I bought in 1996. Still use it for cutting firewood.
The challenge of retirement is how to spend time without spending money.
The worst day slinging lead is still better than the best day working.
Look around is there someone you can introduce to shooting because that’s the only way we will buck the anti gun trend sweeping Canada! "tigrr 2006"
Senior Member
The only problem is if they breathe, as alot of hiking is involved
HuntingBC Champ
On a budget, there are some good offerings at MEC. I bought a pair of cheap rain pants (cycling ones) to fit over my hunting pants. They were $69 and they worked quite well. I think they have jackets to match as well. These were bicycling pants. worked quite well.
From a post i made earlier regarding breathability:
fully waterproof clothes (even the breathable Gore-Tex kind) suffer from condensation. The fabric is waterproof and breathable, but if you are exerting yourself and generating a lot of sweat vapor inside your clothes, the breathability of Gore-Tex just won't be able to keep up. You will get wet from inside. This is a tricky case for all outdoorsmen whether it be hiking or hunting and as far as i know the only remedy is to slow your pace down so you aren't generating as much excess sweat. Some people just don't sweat as much as others, so the reports on breathability of Gore-Tex vary wildly. Having said that, i've still found it to be the best breathable waterproof fabric of all the others i've tried. And i've tried proprietary fabrics by other makers such as Northface HyVent, or Columbia OmniTech, Helly Hansen Helly Tech etc.
Some choose to forego the breathability altogether and get the Helly Hansen rubber bibs/jacket. Honestly, this combo is only good if you're working in a dirty fish farm or something where you need to hose yourself down often. These rubber clothes suffer from a multitude of drawbacks while being no more or less waterproof than a good gore-tex jacket. Having used it for fishing some of the drawbacks are:
- horrible fit. No articulation means every time you move or lift your arms the jacket is riding up
- no breathability. that's a given with rubber-type materials (nylon, PVC or whatever it actually is)
- open sleeves. lift your arms up and all the rain off your hands is sliding down your wrists and getting your inner layers wet. Wear this fishing and you got a nice pool of water at your elbow in no time.
- still makes noise as you walk, especially when cold and the material becomes stiff. It's like wearing a trap in my experience.
Those who advocate for helly hansen rubber stuff while claiming they have tried "numerous types" of rain gear, have truly never tried GOOD rain gear. Because GOOD rain gear is not cheap.
The best GOOD rain jackets you can buy would be gore-tex ones made by reputable outdoors companies such as Arcteryx, Simms, MEC, etc. But you're looking at at least $350-$400 for Simms/MEC and probably $500+ for Arcteryx. None will stay quiet though. The only way to get a good quiet one is to buy from a hunting-specific company such as Sitka which is probably also going to be $400 or so for a good rain jacket.
That is of course if you actually need a proper and GOOD rain jacket.
Bushwhacker
Army surplus poncho...
you only go around once
I have some light packable browning stuff that was on $100 each for pant and jacket.
HuntingBC Champ
Rather then say what I think is best, I'll just share my experience. Most of which iv used my rain gear for mountain hunting and the trapline.
About 10-12 years ago I bought a set of HH, impertec I believe. I was mind blown that the set lasted as many mountain hunts as it did. It sweated bad, but for the most part, kept me dry. 4 years ago, I bought a sitka rain jacket shell off the EE on the forum here, $200 and in good shape. My HH has been in the closet ever since.
Now, the season before last, my impertec pants had accumulated some burn holes from huddling up to camp fires, so it was time for a new set. I couldent afford the hi end stuff at the time, so I opted for another HH impertec pant for a upcoming goat hunt. I'm not sure what changed in the last 10'ish years, but those new pants were shreaded, 1/2 way up the mountain. They look and feel exactly like my old HH pants, but the ripping factor was brutal, every little snag left a hole or a rip. So last spring I found a lightly used set of sitka pants for another $200 on eBay, and been wearing the sitka set this season, the diffrence is byond night and day.
I know your asking about lighter cost rain gear, but imo, a guy is better to look for lightly used higher end rain gear then mid level new rain gear.
Last edited by decker9; 10-10-2016 at 07:54 AM.
HuntingBC Champ
Originally Posted by decker9
Couldnt agree more. Have come close to getting hypothermia because my rain gear was crappy. Spend the time looking for good used stuff.
Decent rain gear that worked for several years were the Cabelas Silent Swede. I liked the bib pant, but see these now run near $200.
Live to Hunt...
Senior Member
For cost I went with HH, I don't hike in them. I put them on after my big hike and use for walking/spotting. works great when you have a down jacket for warmth but absolutely don't want to get it wet when your glassing. I hike in fleece or wool. both dry fast
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote