Good raingear on a budget

[#49]

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

[ddbeattie32@gmail.com]

Impertech helly hansen- forewarning, it's loud

[tigrr]

Buy helly hanson once, cry once..
I have some that I bought in 1996. Still use it for cutting firewood.

[#49]

The only problem is if they breathe, as alot of hiking is involved

[twoSevenO]

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.

[HarryToolips]

Army surplus poncho...

[swampthing]

I have some light packable browning stuff that was on $100 each for pant and jacket.

[decker9]

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.

[Rattler]

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.


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.

[SaintSix]

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

[grouse14]

Frogg toggs offer some veryu cheap rain gear.

[adriaticum]

Good post 270.
I would always err on the side of waterproof-ness over breathability as I can adjust my activity level but I can't adjust jacket's waterproof-ness.
If that's even a word.

And another thumbs up for HH

[Useyourfeet]

I'm a HH Impertech guy too. Have had the high end water proof breathable stuff and it always ends up leaking. Breath ability doesn't keep up either, if I am hiking in wpb mcoats or pants I still sweat it out. The HH is affordable and durable, most importantly it's actually waterproof.

[decker9]

I don't normally post others experience, but here's my hunters frogg toggs from a few weeks ago, about 3 hours into our first goat stalk. He claimed they worked great for still/stand hunting. They never stood up to the bush to well tho.

http://i1074.photobucket.com/albums/w411/decker1122/07F6C8B2-B353-42DF-9359-392D42955493_zpsg75b83ot.jpg (http://s1074.photobucket.com/user/decker1122/media/07F6C8B2-B353-42DF-9359-392D42955493_zpsg75b83ot.jpg.html)

[Wentrot]

Frogg togg is absolute junk from my experience as well. I would be in to the HH stuff if I wasn't doing much in the way of hiking..really love my cloudburst, just take it easy and don't start sweating your bag off and ruin the breathability.

[ljalberta]

Budget wise, I've found it pretty hard to beat the Marmot Precip gear. The jackets have full put zips and the pants can be had in full zip as well and both pack down at about 26oz total. I got the jacket and pants together on sale for about $150. I've found them great for Alberta where you sit the odd storm out here or there, but they are certainly not a heavy duty set for hiking and breaking through some heavy bush if that's what you're looking for.

[allan]

My buddy has core4element pants and jacket. Not perfect but v good for the price he paid

[#49]

Where can you buy core4element in Canada or is it a US thing?

[frankthedog]

Bargain Cave at Cabelas

[donny.brooke]

Core 4 Element is big on camofire lately.

[markomoose]

Garbage Bag with head hole and arm holes?You said on a budget?

[Glenny]

I found the cheaper it is the noisier it is.

[Glenny]

Garbage Bag with head hole and arm holes?You said on a budget?

Doesnt have to be camo? Go for the giant orange ones to cover the legs. Said in jest op. :) Buy good n buy it once. mho

[RadHimself]

the squaltex 2 stuff from bass pro is good, wind/water proof its a bit sweaty but it dries out fast and i got the jacket and bibs for about $196 together....


they are cut for FAT people though... the xl jacket fits like a sleeping bag, but the large bibs fit me good im 6'1 230

http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Navigation?storeId=10151&catalogId=10051&langId=-1&searchTerm=squaltex

[batman66]

Dakota stuff from Marks has treated me well, use it for work.

I would try to save up and get a good quality jacket. I prefer my 3 layer gortex jacket by Patagonia (only problem it ain't cheap) it has been a life saver, been caught in some nasty weather and it has kept me warm... it has stood up to the abuse too, have had it for 4 years and has seen many hiking and hunting trips, even use it skiing in the winter sometimes.

[Elkaddict]

Search on line for surplus ECWS or APECS gear. I picked up an APECS Gortex parka for about 80 bucks and a set of pants just over 40 on Ebay. Outstanding value for genuine Gortex, and lots of pockets, which I like. The drawback,....it is NOT quiet.

[Rob]

Could check out Rivers West. They don't breathe all that great but they keep you dry. I've had there pants for a couple years and just ordered one of the jackets that was on sale for $50 Cascade direct has a bunch of there stuff on sale right now

[Citori54]

Another vote for Helly Hansen Impertech. I just came back from a north island hunting trip and there were days of absolute torrential rain and I was completely dry. I hiked all day long and yes you do sweat, but on the non rain days I was sweating in light pants and shirt/Stanfield. My partner was wearing higher tech Gortex gear and was soaked.

[Nolan1973]

Arcteryx has a 70% off sale avery 6 months you can get a complete set up for less than 400.00

[frankthedog]

Grundens is making some cool shit these days, would make alotta noise though

[Rob]

Arcteryx has a 70% off sale avery 6 months you can get a complete set up for less than 400.00


When do they do that?

[BromBones]

Helly Hansen impertech is awesome stuff. $200 for pants and hooded jacket. Nice and light.

I bought it thinking - pretty thin stuff, be ok if it lasts a couple seasons. 4 years later I'm still wearing the crap out of it, no holes. It's really good stuff.