if you really want to stay dry a pvc poncho is the way top go..may not breath as well but it will keep the rain off....
if you really want to stay dry a pvc poncho is the way top go..may not breath as well but it will keep the rain off....
If you live near an REI they have an event called the "Garage Sale" and you can get awesome gear for cheap. It's all the returns and flawed merchandise. I got lucky a few times, got a 230$ rain jacket for 40$ because it was missing a draw cord in the hood.
For the money frogg toggs are the only rain gear for me... they are very light weight and breathable.... The stand behind them too! They actually guarantee them 100 percent waterproof. http://froggtoggsraingear.com
Thats all I have is the frogg they work great who needs the bla bla anyway
Would you be offended if I told you to
TAKE A HIKE!
CowHead
"If at first you don't succeed......Skydiving is not for you" Zen Isms
I once was lost, then I hike the trail
I would go with Frog Toggs all the way. I used them on my thru hike this year and wouldn't hesitate to do so again. I only had three problems with them:
1. that my first backpack rubbed a spot in the back a bit and took most of the black stuff off in one place, so i covered it with duck tape and was fine. This stopped happening once i got a new backpack.
2. With the hood on it pulled down on my neck quite a bit making it uncomfortable so most of the time i didn't hike with it on, which was fine.
3. My pants ripped in the croch which i fixed easily with some dental floss.
AT - Georgia to Maine '09
PCT - Mexico to Canada '10
CDT - Canada to Mexico '11
The problem is not wet/dry, you'll be wet from either rain or sweat. I prefer rain, less salt. The problem is cold/comfortable. Wear enough synthetic material that keeps you warm but not hot. As I said you'll be wet anyway, but if you're comfortable who cares. Keep a dry set of clothing for camp and you're good to go. Rain is not a problem but an advantage, once you accept it as part of trial life. Colors are brighter, it knocks the bugs down, your smell and sounds are masked so you see many more animals, most pesky humans have skampered away and many other advantages.
The most important thing for me is packability. Next is the tradeoff between waterproofness and breathability. Because I wear wool underneath, it's easy to deal with some shortcomings either way. Packability is the main thing. Second to that would be the right fit, and the right features, which for me is keeping it simple mostly. Some sort of half-zip. Hood is good. Elastic cuffs. Right length. Adjustable elastic at bottom.
Light weight tends to follow packability. Durability is sometimes worth paying a little extra for.
I don't know if they are still on sale, but on Friday I got the jacket, pants and a hat for $29 from Bass Pro Shop.
The frog toggs jacket worked fine for me. The zipper broke somewhere along the trail and I just duck taped it from the inside and used it as a pullover. The pants were worthless. They ripped rather quickly but that was fine. Unless it is cold I do not wear rain pants. In the end I just went with an oversized poncho and used parachute chord around the waist to keep it from blowing around during high winds. It worked great for keeping me dry and with breathability.
I am looking at the ZPack Cuben Fiber breathable Jacket it is 4.5 oz.