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  1. #1
    Registered User Bubblehead's Avatar
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    Default Frog Toggs raincoat and Zpacks umbrella

    Gonna be hiking AT in 2021 from Crawford Notch to Katahdin. Can anyone who has hiked this section give me their views on Frog Toggs raincoats, and whether they stood up for you through this area of the trail, or whether this section of trail tore them to shreds?
    I'm trying to cut some weight, and whether it would be worth it to start this section with Frog Toggs, or go with my heavier, more durable raincoat...
    Also am thinking of getting the Zpacks hiking umbrella....anyone with experience on using this piece of gear on trail??? Thanks for any input you have!

  2. #2

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    Frog Toggs will be in shreds in no time. We have many miles of overgrown trail we call "car wash" because you get soaked hiking through it when it's wet. I don't think an umbrella will be all that useful.
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  3. #3

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    Frogtoggs would be just fine. Umbrella may be hard to use through the whites and southern Maine. I found it easiest to just put my trekking poles up everyday and walk without them, the same could be said about an umbrella. As well, the wind through many of those sections could most definitely fold over a umbrella. Frogg Togg tops and bottoms would be my choice.

    Why $20 Frogg Toggs Are the Ideal Rain Gear for a Thru-Hike

    Trail Miles: 4,927.6
    AT Map 1: Complete 2013-2021
    Sheltowee Trace: Complete 2020-2023
    Pinhoti Trail: Complete 2023-2024
    Foothills Trail: 0.0
    AT Map 2: 279.4
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    CDT: 85.4

  4. #4
    Registered User colorado_rob's Avatar
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    I carried nothing but Frogg Toggs on my entire AT, went through 3 jackets total and one pant; the crotch ripped out very quickly, as they always do, but that just makes for better, er, ventilation....

    However, if there was any part of the trail where one might want something more substantial, it would be in the whites and Maine. Your Frogg Tagg jacket will get ripped up, but so what. A bit of tape here and there and voila, you look even more like a thru hiker.

    I did carry one of those hiking umbrellas for a spell, I'm 50/50 on its effectiveness, nice to have now and then, but overall kind of a pain.

  5. #5
    Some days, it's not worth chewing through the restraints.
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    My regular kit is a Frogg Toggs jacket, a kilt, and an umbrella. I might go with a tougher rain jacket for the reasons already stated above, but at $20 a pop, you can have a new FT jacket waiting at every resupply.

    Umbrellas are not always useful, but I consider one a necessity and well worth carrying.

  6. #6
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    Ditto on the +1 for Frog Toggs. Those black spruce branches will do a job on most any rain gear so better to have to replace one or two at $20 a whack versus crying over a $100 jacket or having to carry something considerably heavier. Throw an extra one in your bounce box and keep plenty of tape wrapped on your hiking poles.

  7. #7

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    Loved my umbrella/thin rain shirt combination on the southern AT.

    In NH, coming down the north side of Mt. Moriah, I basically had to shove it through the pines/spruces/whatever they are. Like Slo-go'en said, it's a brushed carwash effect, and it's just narrower than an umbrella. It destroys the umbrella and the wet branches whip back at you, soaking you. Because you're lowering the umbrella to push through, you lose forward visibility and can't see other people on that narrow trail. I eventually just put away the umbrella and got soaked that day. Thus ended my umbrella in the Whites experiment.

  8. #8

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    I actually met a thru hiker while on the Foothills Trail this morning as we were headed home from an overnighter to Thompson River and Hilliard Falls.The falls were pretty impressive btw but the guy we met had apparently all Z pack gear.I was impressed by the special clip Zpack makes for the unbrella.

    Umbrellas are nice but just like anything else the do have limitations.I would think they are priceless in low wind light precip.In my opinion you still seriously need a pack cover and a kilt or rain pants.They definitely eliminate the need for hiking with a hood on which greatly improves vision and air circulation.

    Frogg Toggs are ok,I have one,but they are very fragile.There's other slightly heavier but more durable jackets on the market but they aren't cheap as a Frogg Togg.

  9. #9
    Registered User JPritch's Avatar
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    I gave up on an umbrella really quick. When the vegetation is dense, it's snag city and a lot of ducking and dodging.
    It is what it is.

  10. #10

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    FWIW - A wisened mountaineer once told me as I was trying to repair a dirt cheap pack that had many repairs on most of the stress points, "people of modest means cannot afford cheap gear". I have tried Frogg Toggs a few times with poor results. My chief issue with Frogg Toggs is they have a nasty habit of failing when I most needed them, so I have relegated them to the dustbin of experimental history. They are perfect for day hiking in open terrain (places where you don't have to shoulder through krummholtz or constant contact brush alongside of a trail), however I won't trust them for much more than being light weather "dock" raincoats.

    The cost difference between cheap and dependable gear disappears pretty fast when it holds together well, but I have never heard anyone soaking wet in a cold rain exclaim they really liked the cheap cost of the rain gear that failed.

  11. #11
    Some days, it's not worth chewing through the restraints.
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    Traveler, your point is well taken on buying quality gear, but rainwear is one place I draw the line. I looked at a Zpacks Vertice and other rain coats, they get great reviews, but more than $200 for a raincoat? Not for me. I've found the "modern" raincoat to be fine for leisurely walking, but not worth it for hiking in the rain. I had a Marmot Precip, a jacket that everyone raves about, and it would wet out going across the parking lot to my office. It resides in my golf bag now.

    I'll take a cheap frogg togg jacket plus an umbrella over any jacket and no umbrella any day. In fact that's just what I do! As always, YMMV, it's a personal choice.

    And to paraphrase your comment on people with modest means, I've heard it put: "it's expensive to be poor!"
    Last edited by Deadeye; 12-31-2020 at 13:21. Reason: more info

  12. #12

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    There are multiple types of Frogg Toggs. The cheap set found at Walmart seems to be the Ultra-Lite. I have that set but I carry it mainly for day hiking, not overnights. It's pretty soft and seems fragile although I haven't damaged it yet. I have the Bull Frogg set too and that's a stiffer, thicker fabric. That set I've worn quite a bit and not ripped either but I will say I haven't used it much on the referenced section.

    Pretty well known but I will mention anyway, watch the sizing!
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  13. #13

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    I have tried Frogg Toggs as well as umbrellas in the past.I used a Snugpack Enhanced Patrol poncho yesterday in about 45 degree weather with just enough precip to require rain gear.I was wearing a Russel Athletic synthetic shirt under it with a ULA CDT pack under it and a Z pack rain kilt.The poncho kept me warm,dry,and comfortable but honestly the arms are too short,even for me as I have short arms.I honestly can't imagine who they think their target market is or why anyone would want rain gear that doesn't really cover the essentials.I do like the front bibb pocket the Snugpack had on it with velcro closure as I keep the kilt in there.

    One of my hiking partners had a military poncho which I am sure is a bit heavier but gave him what appeared to be better coverage than I had.Anyone had much experience with them?

  14. #14

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    I am planning on getting the zpacks umbrella myself, but perhaps with different reasoning. I hike in either a Frogg Toggs ultralight jacket (with its duck-taped tears), or my regular EMS rain jacket, and have no intention of opening up an umbrella in the rain.....my hooded jacket or poncho will suffice. I do see the advantage of the umbrella when the hiking stops however and one is cooking, setting up camp, or just cooling down out of the wet jacket. More importantly for my purposes is the functionality of being a sun shield/shade provider. I've been told the Zpacks excells at this...I'll find out...and only something like this can allow me to tackle the balds.
    "Maybe life isn't about avoiding the bruises. Maybe it's about collecting the scars to prove we showed up for it."

  15. #15
    Registered User English Stu's Avatar
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    An umbrella is well worth experimenting with; as posted an umbrella is good when cooking, setting up camp, also umbrella is fine at the end of tarp. I am in the UK, where it rains a bit, and over the years have walked 3000 miles on trails here. I always carry an light weight umbrella.
    After retiring in 2004 I started real hiking with an umbrella and straight away did 750 miles on the AT from VA to MT Springer; including the rain spin of Hurricane Ivan; similarly in 2010 I was in a rain spin in Maine on the way to Katahdyn. Clearly I didn`t walk in the worst of the spins as I was holed up in a shelter, when the forecast improved and had enough of a shelter it was okay to be in heavy showers with an umbrella.

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