Good Rain Gear?

[secureland]

I'm thinking you guys and gals in the PNW know this subject.

I'm looking for rain gear (coat/pants) that I can work and hunt in.
It has to be rugged for the branches etc.

What do you guys recommend?



Thanks for any replys!

 

[forestryworks]

i'd get something breathable

i used to do alot of backpacking in wet areas and gore-tex stuff seemed to hold up fine, so i'm sure it'd do alright for hunting

 

[slowp]

When it is wet and cold, I wear tin pants and fleece tops. I just plan on getting wet. The new synthetic stuff dries out pretty quick when you are back in the truck. Before fleece, I wore a heavy wool shirt over wool mix top, and carried a dry top to change into at noon. I don't like wet feet so either wear good leather boots, or rubber calks.
If I'm not moving, I'll put on a rain coat. I also have some rubber rain pants.
They have a tear in the derriere from scaling in the fell and buck. We used to find Army Surplus rain pants for $5.00 and they lasted, along with many duck tape repairs, a couple of years.

The recreators from Seattle wear the gore tex stuff. I have some gore tex for walking on trails and such.:blush:

 

[RPM]

Say no to Gore-tex if you want to work in bush out here on the wet coast. The nylon that most Gore-tex jackets and pants are made of are not durable enough for bush work - you'd shred the stuff in a day especially if you are falling, working the rigging, and general stomping around inthe woods. The nylon that those jackets and pants are made of are not heavy enough.

I have two sets - one rubber - Helly hansen like for the monsoons and a lighter (but heavier) nylon type for the rest of the year. I wear wool pants in the snow once it gets drier and colder. I hate being wet too and find, like slowp mentioned, that you mix and match to suite the day and the type of work you are doing. Always carry some dental floss, shoe goe and duct tape in your truck for repairs.

 

[Humptulips]

I wear Tingleys. Very durable and will keep you dry unlike the gore-tex. Of course if you have the heavy rains like we had last week you're going to end up wet at the end of the day. There a little noisy for hunting in though.

Some like tin clothes but I despise them. Put them on in the morning and you have them for the day even if the sun comes out and buy them extra extra big because they shrink a lot.

 

[Backwoods]

Good rain gear depends on the day.
Some days you want a light through away set just to keep the light rain off. Other days like this last week when you can watch the rain gauge fill up and over flow you want the 30 lb set that you get at the shop down at the local harbor.

 

[TimberMcPherson]

A good mate of mine is a logger and keen hunter on NZ's south islands west coast. Its really wet and rugged down there and he swears by this stuff.
http://www.swazi.co.nz/

 

[slowp]

I wear Tingleys. Very durable and will keep you dry unlike the gore-tex. Of course if you have the heavy rains like we had last week you're going to end up wet at the end of the day. There a little noisy for hunting in though.

Some like tin clothes but I despise them. Put them on in the morning and you have them for the day even if the sun comes out and buy them extra extra big because they shrink a lot.

I like the pants, but they are slowly ravelling up. I hemmed them and that lasted about a week. They are heavy and you have to wear at least a light pair of long johns underneath. When I switch to regular jeans, it feels like I can run up the hill so easily. The wax (and I've used boot grease too) gets on the pickup seat when the was is newly applied and you'd best be careful in the office. I like them better than the rubberized rain gear. They have less of a sauna effect. Once again, I think this is their last winter but I said that last year. And you are stuck in them if the sun comes out. Unless you work by yourself like I do and can carry a pair of jeans to change into.

 

[Burvol]

Saw schaps work just fine with a pair of Big Bills w/ long johns. For the top (it has to be really dumping) I just use a good old HH no pocket, collared logger rain slicker. Trust me, I cut in substantial rain every winter. The schaps slick most of the water off. Ya, you get a little wet, but nothing that is too bad for 7 hours or so. I would wear tin pants if I was on a rigging crew though.

 

[slowp]

Tin pants and chaps are miserable. Legs do not want to bend. I become a robot style walker. For me, it is only long enough to get a tree out of the road. If I plan on road clearing for a few hours, it is Carharts and chaps.

 

[046]

any pic's /links to this gear?

Saw schaps work just fine with a pair of Big Bills w/ long johns. For the top (it has to be really dumping) I just use a good old HH no pocket, collared logger rain slicker. Trust me, I cut in substantial rain every winter. The schaps slick most of the water off. Ya, you get a little wet, but nothing that is too bad for 7 hours or so. I would wear tin pants if I was on a rigging crew though.

 

[Spotted Owl]

Grundens works great. I use this stuff in the rain like we had last week. You know, the stuff so heavy that you have a solid wash comming off your hat. for most normal days I use poly long handles and king of the mountain wool. You can move well and you are wet but you are warm and they don't get to heavy when soaked. Both are spendy but both are rugged and last a long time. Grundens has stuff that you can layer, stuff for heavy rain and light and conditions inbetween. The wool is just that wool. This stuff doesn't turn into a 60 pound pair of britches and a 80 pound upper layer. You will get wet but you will still be able to move and will be warm. Even fairly comfy with your orange legs protectors on too and not to combersome. Ifyou have to get into real nasty nasty nasty junk I will use old surpluss wool. It works is cheap to buy holds up well but that junk gets damn heavy and cumbersome. I have a set from the last job we were crawling over barb wire, junk cars and old dump sites. Nothing would have lasted long in that mess other than the surplus wool.


http://www.grundens.com/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=27

http://www.kingofthemountain.com/http/

Remember if it is gonna work good, last as long as possible and be worth having, it's gonna cost. The wool in the link is awful spendy but it works very well for working in the brush with or without a saw. It also keeps you pretty warm when wet and is very easy to move in. I have had my wool for years. Grundens I ran into commercial fishing and that is also very tough gear when a sleeve can go thru a hydraulic pot rope winder/puller and not tare, rip, or split that is tough stuff.

Don't forget what everyone has said so far. In the rain enough or on a hard rain day you will be wet no matter what you have on. Some days the rain is so bad it seems like you would be less wet if you jumped into the creek in the bottom.

 

[Jacob J.]

+1 on the Grundens. It's as good a rain gear as you can ever get. I've never seen anything Gore-tex that would hold up to working in the brush, but it's good for running equipment.

 

[Tree Sling'r]

I seldomly wear rain gear, I sweat too much. Filson pant's and Meindl caulks is pretty much it. I did start wearing Under Armour tops with a hickory shirt. Pretty much make sure I have a dry set of clothes in the pick up after work.
If I am just out in the rain, I wear some gear, but falling, limbing and bucking it just gets in the way.

 

[ak4195]

I still use an old Grundens heavy duty coat when neccesary,rotted out snaps,and the left arm is well ripped from catching hooks at the roller while hauling back many many hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of halibut in its day.
That being said,Id never buy a new one to run around the toolies with,to noisy for hunting and its out of its elliment for serious brush work.Helly Hansen are cheaper,not as tough,but for working i tend to think of gear as expendible.Id rather tear up a HH than a Grundens.
Keep a set of large sewing needles n floss in your gear bag for repairs.
I love my surplus wool pants over poly underwear with chaps on top for working.The top half is a bit harder,mix n match wooly/fleece/poly,depending on conditions,with the ole grundies slicker on top.Your gonna get wet,its just a matter of cold n wet versus,somewhat warmish n wet.
For hunting Id go for the fancier camo gortex or some sort of beathable so called water proof coat.Wool is so much more quiet,but then again your soakin up water.

ak4195

 

[mile9socounty]

When I worked in the brush thinning and tree planting. I used the gortex bottoms I high jacked from the Marine Corps. They worked pretty good for me, no tears yet. For a top? Hoodie and a flannel or hickory over that. Just make sure to have dry clothes at the end of the day.

 

[Backwoods]

When the hat starts soaking thru it is time to throttle the mill down and grab a rain jacket. However, waterproof boots are a must or the end of the day whistle will sound just a bit earlier then normal. As long as the feet are warm and dry and the fingers are warm the mill runs late into the evening dusk whether it be rain, snow, fog, wind, or sun.

 

[slowp]

I still don't understand this. I went into an independent, outdoor store in a town on the Oregon Coast to buy rainpants. The guy steered me to the womens' rack and told me that was what I needed. I looked and it was so flimsy, I told him it would be lucky to last 5 minutes. I wandered over to the mens' section and started looking at the Helly Hansens. He was upset, saying that is what the men wear. When I headed over to the Grundens, he really got emotional and said those were ONLY for the fisherMEN. Since he was the only place near with good raingear, I bought the Hellys. I really don't know what the problem was. I wonder if he's still in business? He did sell good fishing gear.

 

[forestryworks]

I still don't understand this. I went into an independent, outdoor store in a town on the Oregon Coast to buy rainpants. The guy steered me to the womens' rack and told me that was what I needed. I looked and it was so flimsy, I told him it would be lucky to last 5 minutes. I wandered over to the mens' section and started looking at the Helly Hansens. He was upset, saying that is what the men wear. When I headed over to the Grundens, he really got emotional and said those were ONLY for the fisherMEN. Since he was the only place near with good raingear, I bought the Hellys. I really don't know what the problem was. I wonder if he's still in business? He did sell good fishing gear.

what a whinebag... did you give him any cheese to go along with the whining?

damn, a sale is a sale

 

[secureland]

I still don't understand this. I went into an independent, outdoor store in a town on the Oregon Coast to buy rainpants. The guy steered me to the womens' rack and told me that was what I needed. I looked and it was so flimsy, I told him it would be lucky to last 5 minutes. I wandered over to the mens' section and started looking at the Helly Hansens. He was upset, saying that is what the men wear. When I headed over to the Grundens, he really got emotional and said those were ONLY for the fisherMEN. Since he was the only place near with good raingear, I bought the Hellys. I really don't know what the problem was. I wonder if he's still in business? He did sell good fishing gear.

Based on the advice and research it appears that the Hansens or the Grundens look good.

Around $100 for an uninsulated Grundens coat, (sound right?)

Also, slowp I'm wondering if the jerk in the store had a higher profit margin on the goretex. Maybe you should have told him that if you sit in a store all day the gore-tex might work!