Rain Jacket help Needed!!!

[Adamdat]

Hi All,

I'm looking at buying A new good quality rain coat for myself and one for my wife also. We plan to use them for day/multi-day hikes in Tas. Mainly for spring, summer, autumn use and maybe a little winter use but that doesn't really matter as many people will know we get 4 seasons in one day here in Tas.
I have been looking on the net at a lot of jackets for a couple of weeks now and just have no idea what to get. I recently tried on a Mont Supersonic Jacket and really liked it.
If anyone has one of these jackets any feedback would be great.
Also if anyone has any ideas of some other jackets to try any help will be greatly appreciated.

P.S. This is my first post

Regards
Adam

[wayno]

the price and quality of rain jackets varies massively, whats your budget? that could well limit what you can look at buying. theres also a massive variety of garments that people use on here .
are you only walking on well formed tracks or are you going on rough tracks or off track through thick rough scrub?
also depends how much you want a light coat. light coats while light and compact dont last as long as heavier weight jackets, theres a big varience in the weights of jackets on the market
do you want a long medium or short length coat?
what build are you and your wife? the cut of jackets varies a lot. do you only want to purchase from a physical shop or are you also looking at onine shopping? are you prepared to buy from overseas and pay shipping?

[Adamdat]

I don't really have a budget so i'm willing to pay what i need to for a good jacket. Mainly will be walking on well formed and rough tracks, with minimal off track usage. A reasonably light coat is what we are after but we are prepared to get a heavier more durable coat that will last longer. Also we are after a short length coat, we are both slim athletic type build and i am prepared to purchase online, in-store, and overseas.
Regards
Adam

[wayno]

the mont coat is a heavyish design, you could get something lighter and more compact for what you are looking at doing.
coats go from 200gms up, some will pack down to the size of your fist, the bigger ones the size of a rugby ball.
you probably wouldnt need anything much heavier than half a kilo.
my main coat is a columbia peak to peak 450gm but its not in stock down under until later in the year possibly xmas, it requires using a mail forwarding comapny or someone in teh states to send it over here because like a lot of brands they won't sell abroad from overseas.
a lot of people here like montane, but i havent seen them in teh shops where i am in nz, not sure where they get theirs from.

theres 2, 2.5 and three layer membrane jackets. generally the higher the no the heavier the jacket and the longer they last and the more expensive they are...

mine is a three layer but i also have a lightweight 2.5 layer i got from overseas for when the weather isnt as bad., its 180 gram but i wouldnt recommend it if its going to be your main coat for year round use.

go to teh shops and try some jackets on to see whats out there and get an idea for what you like ,

[wayno]

breathability of the membrane isnt everything, DWR caoting needs to be good, the caots that get saturated on teh outside the fastest will stop breathing altogether.... so check reviews on aspects like how good the DWR is.... make sure the reivew has been conducted in the rain and not just in cold weather as some overseas reviews are done

http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-ge ... Axiom.html

http://www.backpacker.com/article/15866

http://www.backpacker.com/gear-guide-20 ... gear/16596

http://www.outdoorgearlab.com/Hardshell ... ws/ratings

http://www.outdoorgearlab.com/Rain-Jack ... ws/ratings

[forest]

Heaps of info here
viewtopic.php?f=15&t=8941

Don't be put off by mens jackets on your wife. Depending on her build/bust etc. My wife just takes one of my shells normally if I can con her to come along (Not often) They fit long on her and hang off her a little but the hoods work fine, she's dry and the longer arms are soon sorted with adjustable cuffs. I wear a Large mens and shes would be lucky to fit a small female jacket)

Personally I have a eVent Montane Air and a Arc'teryx Theta SL. Both good for there own reasons. The Theta SL is a great coat but they are not cheap (I got mine online cheap a few years ago) I find the eVent jacket more breathable than Goretex IMO. Some of the 2.5 and 3 layer in house WPB fabrics are getting very good now.
Most people will probably recommened what they have used personally and either give it a thumbs up or down.

The UK is a good source of mid weight rain gear. You get to deduct the VAT too which is about 17-20%. I find the online price off the store about what I can land one here for (After you deduct the VAT and add the postage back on) If your buying 2 jackets the postage element seems a little less too. Most UK stores are happy to post over here no worries.
RAB and Montane make some great, not too expensive jackets.

If your prepared to do plenty of searching and buy online, use a re-poster etc you will find a good jacket at a good price. There were a heap of us off here that grabbed the Air jackets for $150 down from $450. Same when I got the Theta SL, I paid $250 posted from the US.

Plenty of google fun and adventure ahead of you. That's half the challenge but if your buying 2 coats I'd do the keyboard work and grab the savings for sure.

These guys are good in th UK. I have purchased from them before and postage times are fast. (I'm a fan of the Bergen pants too and a sharp price to boot !!)
http://www.towerridge.co.uk/index.php?m ... &cPath=7_8
Or
http://www.ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk/ ... d=440&s=15

I agree with Wayno on the really SUL rain shells. Good for in the pack when no rain is forcast and you shouldn't need it on. But there are better options in a shell if you do actually require it in anger !!

[sthughes]

From my usage of waterproofs over the past 12 months or so:

Jackets:
Brilliant: Montane Air (but keep it away from the dryer! My first one de-laminated, second looking good so far)
Okay: Kathmandu Gore Tex Active shell (Light, breathable, poor hood for cold conditions, elastic in hood has come apart)
Okay: O2 Rainwear "Original Hooded" - super breathable, super cheap, super fragile, ineffective storm flap and poor hood.
Okay: Kathmandu 3 layer NGX - Poor breathability, tough, fairly cheap
Rubbish: Macpac Hollyford - poor breathability, poor DWR, heavy, now falling apart after minimal wear, expensive.

Pants:
Okay: Mountain Designs Cascade Gore Tex: Mid breathability, tough, cut not that good for walking, no pockets/fly etc.
Great & Crap: Mont Tempest - Breathable, good cut and features, tore of first walk, stitching coming apart on second, zip stuck on third.
Dunno: O2 Rainwear "Original Pant" - So fragile they didn't last long enough to test.

[wayno]

if you're shopping online and you can wait, hold out for sales, theres always one somewhere
backcountry and altrec both have sales on at the moment and bivouac.co.nz

[DaveB]

Montane Venture if you want a good waterproof lighter jacket that packs down small,event fabric,shorter length-I bought 2 online from the UK cheaper than I could find here,so it's worth looking.My wife also wears a men's jacket,she prefers the looser cut.

[Ent]

Hi

Sthughes you make me laugh so hard I almost fell of my chair. Brutal honesty

The good
Paddy Pallin Vista Pro-shell Goretex, be sad when it dies but looking after three years like new.
Paddy Pallin Pants Performance shell Goretex, bit short but looking reasonable after three years.
Montane Air made from eVent. Proof that eVent can work well plus Montane can get some hood designs right but it does not like packs or dryers by the sound of it.
RAB mid weight Alpine pants in eVent. Great cut and length for the tall man and look a reasonable comprise on weigh to wear. Again eVent can work.

The indifferent
Wilderness Wear jackets. One of the many "breathable" fabrics that sort of work but reasonable cut and design.
Montane Venture made from eVent. Tailored by a person familiar only with a set square and has the second or maybe third worse hood design. But does sort of work. PS (mine is the older design)
Mountain Design Photon Pants. Maybe ugly but tend to forget to use them.
Kathmandu Goretex Pac-lite. Not designed as a walking jacket and Kathmandu did not lie about this. Has the worse hood ever.

The ugly
Montane 200 jacket. Junk, did I say junk I meant utter, utter, rubbish.
Three Peak pants. Well to their credit they have not died but I want to kill them. They make me wonder what is meant by the term breathable.

The never personally owned but never met a happy long term walker with them
Run, duck weave and dodge but brand known as, well, you guys know. I have seen drenched, cold and miserable walkers to make think that eVent is total junk but I know that is not the case with the Rab pants and Montane Air jacket.

The hype
Goretex versus eVent. Frankly jacket design and customer support plus the DWR coating is more important than choosing one over the other.

The ideal weight
Oh boy. You pay your money and need to decide if grams carried is important or ability to slide down slopes. You do not get to have it both ways. The Rab is probably the best compromise but then I read a report where they lasted one walker a day on the overland track so not sure if I have just been lucky.

Cheers

[wayno]

the weight of rab gear varies a lot they make everything from heavyweight to ultralight weight.

[mattmacman]

I have a Montane Air, love it.

[matagi]

Let me preface this by saying my only experiences previously of wet weather gear are a 1970s goretex rain jacket and my Musto HPX sailing gear.

However, I recently went for a walk with my husband around Dove Lake in weather that ranged from rain and sleet to snow and included wind, wearing a Macpac Prophet XPD (hubby's jacket, in fact). I was wearing a long-sleeved wool t-shirt underneath and was toasty warm and quite dry. So I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it.

And an alternative you might want to consider - on that walk hubby wore his Sea to Summit poncho tarp which covered his pack as well. He had his down vest on underneath to provide warmth, but the poncho certainly kept him very dry, including his legs. That was the only downside of the jacket, my legs got wet from the runoff from the jacket.

[roysta]

Mountain Hardware Kepler, an absolute cracker.
Dry Q Elite (no, it's not eVent), highly breathable AND waterproof.
It's on the heavier side of the equation though at 650g.
Normally 400 US$ but I note backcountry.com have them on sale at the moment for 190 US$.
You would need to use a forwarding company to get them here so your total cost after freight would be around $260.
That would be the best $260 you'd ever spend on a rain jacket.
As already pointed out by others, there are many good jackets around, but don't pull up short of a 2.5 - 3 layer jacket.

[wayno]

the prophet xpd's are a good 800 gm and a very short length, made primarily for mountaineering or people who want to go off track or on overgrown tracks.... , a hot jacket in warm weather.

[Wolfix]

I only have experience with Mountain Designs jackets of late as I work there. I have no vested interest in the company and I gladly support all brands manufacturing high quality products.

I love love love my MD Nimbus Jkt. It is high cut at the front with a deep tail at the back, Gore-Tex Pro Shell so it's light but warm and very tough. Put zips, big pockets well placed to avoid pack straps and a high collar with a great stiff hood. I have used mine hiking, traveling and snowboarding. All around great jacket.

They're on clearance now if Hobart has any for $399.

Next season's redesign is $699 but you shouldn't have to pay full RRP.

[wildbluesea]

Ok, I’m a self-confessed gear junky, especially where jackets are concerned. I got my first Gore-Tex jacket in 1989 from Mountain Designs. It was replaced under warranty due to a leaking seam, and the jacket it was replaced with I still have. Since then I have purchased a new one every few years. I have spoken on this site about my U.S. Military ECWCS jackets. They are great and very cheap, but, admittedly, heavier than most intrepid bushwalkers on this site would like. But my collection has continued to grow, much to my wife’s chagrin.

This year I have purchased three new jackets. And I have to admit that they are the best I have; my favourite designs. So, hopefully for my wife, they will be the last for quite some years.

Firstly, if you want a longer, bushwalking type jacket, I thoroughly recommend the Macpac Resolution Event fabric jacket. Yes, I have two…. They retails for $599 but always wait until the sales. It’s on sale now for $359 on Macpac’s website. Only criticism of this jacket is that there are no pit zips. Although Event is a great breathable jacket, you can’t totally rely on any fabric alone – venting such as pit zips etc. makes all the difference, as does correct layering.

However, my two newest jackets are a Montane Superfly XT Event fabric jacket and the Westcombe Apoc Neoshell fabric jacket. These are shorter, Alpine style jackets that are equally at home at altitude in the snow, or touring the town on a cold day. They are both brilliant looking jackets.
How do they perform, and how do they compare?

The Montane has heaps of pockets, a great fitting hood and is cut longer at the rear to keep your backside warm and dry – no chance of plumber’s crack here when you are bending over, retrieving something from your pack. The Event fabric is thicker than the NeoShell, which may make it a bit tougher for bush-bashing, but probably makes it slightly less breathable – technology aside. The cut is fantastic, making it a great looking jacket to show off on the track….or the pub. My only criticism of this jacket is that instead of pit zips, it has zips to vent at the sides. Don’t know about anyone else, but it’s my underarms that need antiperspirant - not my sides. Anyway, it’s only a small complaint. I purchased mine from the U.K. from OutdoorGB for $362 usd.( Don’t know why paypal charged dollars instead of pounds) Freight was $17. I have just found a Montane website link from Australia that lists the price at $649 AUD! The size was my usual medium, which was true to form. I thoroughly recommend this company – they have some great gear, often discounted, and are great to deal with. I love this jacket.

Next the Apoc. Like the Superfly, the Apoc is a great mountain jacket, but I bet most people that wear them won't be climbing mountains - it's a great looking jacket for wearing everywhere where rain and cold weather are expected. But it's light enough to roll away into a small carry bag or daypack. It is the thinnest, lightest jacket that I own. The NeoShell has a stretch to it that makes it feel like a soft shell, making it the most comfortable outer shell that I own. I really love the style, including the hood, which doesn't come at the expense of a collar - the Apoc has both. Pockets are plentiful, including an internal one, which is an ideal size for your phone. The sleeve pocket, oddly enough, is on the right sleeve, which makes it hard to use for right-handers...come on, we are the majority. I have found that NeoShell lives up to Polartec's claims of being the most breathable fabric currently on the market. I have heard that some people claim that it is so breathable that you can actually feel a small amount of airflow come through into the jacket. I don’t know about that. I’m more inclined to say that because the fabric is so much thinner than virtually any other waterproof fabric, it is the cold you feel coming through the jacket, highlighting the need to layer correctly. But the thinness helps make it the most breathable. I now find this is my go-to jacket for everything. The cut is a bit small. I had to return my first one for a larger size. However the staff at Campsaver in the U.S. were great. Anything over $400 and you get free freight to Australia! Now that’s a first! They are the only company that I have found to discount the Apoc. Only one Apoc left I believe, but they advised they will be getting more in. I got my black one for $431, (free freight) which is fifty bucks off Westcomb’s retail. I liked this jacket so much that I bought a grey one as well. It was a clearance item for $335, so I had to pay $38 for freight as it was under the $400 free freight amount. I think it was an early release version, as the grey fabric was offset with yellow tags and logo, which is a bit odd. The current grey on the Westcomb site is offset with black. But I couldn’t say no at this price. I believe the reason no-one else discounts Westcomb is because under a warranty claim, Westcomb will only replace if you pay the balance to make up to retail. I can’t speak highly enough about this jacket. It’s worth every cent, even at retail. And it’s made in Canada – not China, like the Montane and so many others.

Which jacket looks the best? To my eye, I’d say the Montane Superfly XT wins by a hair. But the stretch and lightness of the Westcomb Apoc jacket etc. will probably appeal more to most avid bushwalkers on this site.

My advice? Get both! Tell the wife she can wear one.

Attachments

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Apoc.png (95.13 KiB) Viewed 13304 times

[wildernesswanderer]

I don't have much experience with rain jackets because I have only ever owned one, a Mountain Designs Gortex one I must have had for about 10 years. Never had a problems with it and can't fault it, all I remember is my wife freaking when I bought it, although I bought her one as well and hers is still going strong too. I can't remember the actual model name but they cost about $500 each back then.

[Adamdat]

Thanks all for the feedback. i have a fair idea of what i will get now. All of your help is much appreciated.

[wayno]

cool. so what will it be?

[Adamdat]

A Montane Air or Superfly xt. still undecided between the two!

[wayno]

cool, if you're getting one jacket i'd go for the heavier one for longer life

[roysta]

You might be interested to know that Mainpeak currently have 40% off both of these jackets.
The Air at $299.40 and the Super Fly XT at $389.40.

[norts]

I have the superfly xt, happy with it so far, wish I had got it for that price

[bailz66]

I got the Superfly from US for around that price

Was very happy with it on my one trip in it so far!

Taking it for a snow trek this weekend

[Adamdat]

Decided to go with the Montane Venture got it 40% off at Mainpeak.
Haven't taken it out for a test as yet but very happy with the feel
and fit. Will report back after a good test. Thanks again everyone
for the help.

[wayno]

good score,, dont think you'll be disappointed with that

[ULWalkingPhil]

Mountain Designs has this jacket on sale. http://www.mountaindesigns.com/online-s ... odID=21260

Light weight. I had a look at one while I was at the Gold Coast recently. Thought it was overpriced at the time, but at the sale price, it don't look to bad. Not what I'm after, I'm chasing something even lighter, but I thought I should mention it.

[wayno]

gore tex active shell is their ultralight fabric.. really made for runners or if you've got a day pack on,,, don't expect it to last with a heavy pack or bush bashing
the most breathable of their shells.

[ULWalkingPhil]

gore tex active shell is their ultralight fabric.. really made for runners or if you've got a day pack on,,, don't expect it to last with a heavy pack or bush bashing
the most breathable of their shells.

and they told me in store it's strong and will withstand backpacks. It don't surprise me.