Talk to me about rain gear, especially jackets

[wayno]

what are your waterproof pants? don't they have long zips on them? you want three quarter length zips at least.

[slparker]

I have a pair of mountain hardwear which are really designed for x-country skiing but are fairly light and waterproof and without 3/4 zips.

[wayno]

go to a shop. try on some full length zip pants and see if theres much difference in ease of taking them on and off to warrant buying a pair

[wildernesswanderer]

Well I'm a little bit the same as you, I have a old MD Gortex jacket that I absolutely cook and sweat in, no breathability at all, but it has lasted a long time, I've had it over 10 years, it also weighed in at 890g, I've just purchased a Montane Superfly 514g, would have liked lighter but looking at the lighter jackets I wondered how well they would hold up with a pack on your back day after day in the shoulder area so I went with a jacket with more shoulder re-enforment, Off to NZ in a few weeks and no doubt will get to use it there on a few day walks.

[GPSGuided]

what are your waterproof pants? don't they have long zips on them? you want three quarter length zips at least.

Recently been thinking about a pair of full length zip rain pants. Any recommendation? Been eyeing Marmot Precip full zip...

[Joomy]

As usual lots of partially correct information in this thread... classic mix-ups when talking about waterproof fabrics.

I have read through quite few posts about jackets and goretex was mentioned a lot which is why I was surprised when the guy said that it wasn't the best for Australian conditions. My current jacket does have various vents and zips. I don't know what particular variety of goretex it is - it says Goretex Softshell. Does that help?

sorry , could be the gore tex "windstopper"
the active shells are waterproof

It's not windstopper. Its an older form of Gore-tex which was indeed called "Soft Shell" but that referred to the interior fabric which was fuzzy and meant to provide more warmth. Gore are notorious for their poor and confusing naming conventions.

As far as Gore-tex "not being suitable" for Aus conditions, as others have said that really depends on where you are. It's blanket statement and it's mostly false that any other waterproof/breathable fabric will perform noticeably better. Event and NeoShell (DryQ is just a re-branded Event membrane) are air-permeable which can aid in dumping heat, but there is a reciprocal relationship between breathability and waterproofness when you have air-permeability which puts an upper limit on breathability. NeoShell is 10,000mm waterproof and allows about 0.5CFM air exchange, which is very low, low enough to be imperceptible. Event has about 0.1 CFM. Again, imperceptible and of limited usefulness in dumping heat. Basically if you are working hard and sweating no fabric will keep you totally dry inside.

Bottom line: the point at which you are uncomfortably warm and humid probably occurs at a slightly lower work-rate with older-style Gore-tex than with Event or Neoshell meaning that Event or Neoshell will either keep you comfortable for slightly longer, or allow you to maintain a slightly constant higher work-rate. I say older-style because apparently new Gore Pro is air-permeable.

[wayno]

what are your waterproof pants? don't they have long zips on them? you want three quarter length zips at least.

Recently been thinking about a pair of full length zip rain pants. Any recommendation? Been eyeing Marmot Precip full zip...

i've got OR revels
http://www.bivouac.co.nz/clothing/mens- ... -pant.html

i'd have thought three quarter length pants would be easy enough to take on and off, but it seems not.

do the zips go as high on your pants as on these?
http://www.montane.co.uk/range/men/shell/superfly-pants

thing is some designs are really made for places where you're likely to leave your pants on most of the day and to save weight, hence non full length zips.

if you go to event or neoshell pants they'll be more breathable and you might find more wearable in a bigger range of weather conditions, rab use both fabrics. but only have three quarter zips
http://rab.uk.com/products/mens-clothing/shell.html

[wayno]

check out www.gearbuyer.com for comparing pricing elsewhere online

[GPSGuided]

i've got OR revels
---
i'd have thought three quarter length pants would be easy enough to take on and off, but it seems not...

Thanks for the model recommendation and things to watch out for!

Marmot Precip full zip is a full zip rain pants, goes all the way to the waist. I too don't like the idea of 3/4 or any of the partial zip models either. It just doesn't make sense for my needs. I also don't need to buy a very top of the line model. I have my warm ski pants for those situations but need this largely for emergencies. Fact is, I tend to avoid foul weathers and have really only got caught out badly only once on Cradle Mountains. Top stayed dry but completely drenched and freezing down below. So will be looking for a compact, easy to put on solution. Checking the specs, your OR Revel looked to be in very similar style and price bracket as the Marmot. Good that there is an alternative while I price shop. Finding a good deal and from a dealer who's happy to ship is not easy.

Gearbuyer.com is a good site. Better than what I've been using so far. Thanks!

[wayno]

i prefer pertex like the OR pants have over the precip pants that use another generic polyeurethane membrane,
my revels are also have some stretch in the fabric.
some of the pertex pants are very lightweight depending on how light you want to go. the revels arent ultralight at around 350 grams

[GPSGuided]

OR Revel is just a tad more expensive than Marmot Precip full zip. Maybe there's a reason. The annoying thing with local dealers is that they only carry the long version of these pants. The waist may be right but I need regular length. The extra 2" in leg length is too annoying to overlook. Shopping from a larger market is so much easier, until shipping.

[wayno]

WWW.MYUS.COM
WWW.SHIPITO.COM

[wayno]

Pertex is very good lightweight fabric
bivouac staff told me they had less complaints about pertex clothes than gore tex ones.
for a 2.5 layer pant the membrane is pretty tough, mine is still pristine after being used several times.

[GPSGuided]

http://WWW.MYUS.COM
http://WWW.SHIPITO.COM

Thanks for those forwarder links. I have looked at them in the past but never used. For things that can wait, I just time them to one of my US trips. Otherwise, often the fees involved is not too different to finding a cheap shipper. Just take a little more time and effort. How's your experience with them?

[wayno]

yeah the shipping rates are a lot cheaper than standard shipping rates, myus works out better if you're combineing packages.
myus haave dropped their rates recently,

[wayno]

http://www.mainpeak.com.au/men/pants-sh ... pnt-foray/

[wayno]

actually that may not be a photo of the forays, i think they have three quarter zips

[GPSGuided]

actually that may not be a photo of the forays, i think they have three quarter zips

Yes, the Forays should have 3/4 zip. Thanks in any case. And just as well, I was worried that I'll be raising a third order from MainPeak in as many weeks.

[slparker]

Amazon do the best prices for OR (IMO) and ship to Australia

http://www.amazon.com/Outdoor-Research- ... arch+revel

vs

http://www.bivouac.co.nz/clothing/mens- ... -pant.html

the recent plummet in the OZ dollar makes it somewhat less compeetitive I have to admit.

[wayno]

sory i was just using bivouac to show the pants,, the OR site was down, i usually only shop bivouac if what i want is on sale....

[GPSGuided]

Amazon is pretty weird. It'll ship some but not others, even within the same brand. There are some strange rules out there.

[slparker]

@gpsguided
If you look on the product page it'll tell you whether the product ships from amazon or a third party. Amazon store tends to sell you anything but the kitchen sink, third party stores can be very restrictive.

Wayno
You have a high opinion of he revel trousers?

[wayno]

yeah the revels have proven to be good trousers, just no sign of wear on them,

[GPSGuided]

Checked out Marmot Precip and OR's range. I have to say Precip is much stiffer and noisier material than what's used in OR's Revel. Shame the local stores only have the long models for men. Might have to go with a women's model for the correct fit. Not as if one can hem in the ends on these.

[wayno]

or buy overseas.

[slparker]

Hi wayno,
How's the fit on the revel pants? True to size? How's the cut? I hate baggy waterproof trousers.....

Going off the photos online they look slim fitting but you can never be sure

Cheers

[wayno]

i'm a large in OR overtrousers
look at the sizing chart, i think they are actually 79 to 86 for large because i'm normally around 84 to 86 in waist size and they fit me well, they have a bit of bagginess but its not excessive for overtrousers, i bought mine at a shop so got to try them on for fit.

http://www.outdoorresearch.com/en/mens/ ... pants.html

[wayno]

i'm wearing the revels in this photo

viewtopic.php?f=58&t=14277&p=190164#p188947

[slparker]

Ta for the info