Bushwalk Australia

Thought I'd get peoples thoughts on their favourite wet weather clothing / set-ups;
everyone knows the discomfort of even 1 soggy day in the wilds let alone multiple days of drenching rain.
The discomfort felt can make you question your sanity, even when surrounded by the places we all love visiting.

My basic kit for drenching days is something like this:

Icebreaker merino hiker socks
Macpac merino boxers
Board shorts or similar (as they are fairly impervious to wet & dry quickly).
Mountain Hardwear eXtend featherweight top (http://www.trailspace.com/gear/mountain ... ght-zip-t/ - now hard to find as they are an old line but they are very comfortable & seem to dry fairly quickly, great under merino as they are so nice next to the skin)
Mountain Hardwear Windstopper vest (when it gets wet & cold to keep the core warm, they seem to dry quickly too)
Macpac Aspiring jacket (now leaks like a sieve, looking for my next jacket soon)
Mont Austral overpants (great for in the scrub too, resigned to the fact that they will leak after a few days in the scrub)
STS Gore-Tex gaiters (yes, they fall apart ofetn & get replaced often - thanks MD's)
Outdoor Research Lightstorm rain bucket hat (http://www.outdoorresearch.com/site/lig ... ucket.html - love these, have just ordered a second one, great for sunny days too).

What does everyone else find works best for them?
Any tips on super-fast drying gear for that horrible next mornings change?
Tips for drying clothes overnight to alleviate a bit of discomfort in the mornings?
Garbage bags under your shell?
Any tips would help everyone on this site as this is something we all have to deal with sooner or later.

Cheers.
Stu.

Up in FNQ, I used to go walking in the rain in a bikini. Dries really quickly when the rain stops.

*sigh*
It's that time of year. That sort of weather. I'm starting to long for the tropics . . .

Hi

At the moment I use a PP Vista Pro-shell coat and if really wet the PP Gore-tex pants which I believe are mainly Pac-lite but reinforced with one of the tougher Gore-tex fabrics in critical areas. Absolutely brilliant and very happy but weight of both items over 1.5 kilograms so thought I would walk on the light side and now carry a Montane jacket and MD Photon pants but as yet no rain so no comments on that setup's performance.

Actually considering reverting to the good old days of shorts, long sock, and long jacket. The Mont shorts are excellent and found Seal Skin almost knee length socks but sadly no proper length jacket. The PP is ok but since I started walking jackets have got shorter and shorts longer so you get the wicking effect.

Was put onto Montane light weight pants by Nuts that have a DWR coating and all bar the worst conditions they almost replace the need to wet weather pants. Only issue is they are a short leg length of either 32 or 33 in my sizing so gaiters are worn to avoid the school boy look. They are or were on special in Australia so worthwhile checking out. Once worn you will be tempted not to go to another configuration of pants.

I wear Merino as a base layer as that seams to wick well with Gore-tex. For an out layer I wear nylon shirt (MD have a great one but the label has long since become unreadable) and Mont shorts in warm conditions or the Montane pants in colder conditions. Likewise with the base layer, long legs and sleeves for cold conditions and short sleeves and boxer shorts for warmer conditions. What I like about merino is it is warm when wet, does not pong and works well in hotter conditions. The newer lighter weight helps avoid the traditional baggy when wet effect.

Cheers Brett

Brett, great to hear you liked the PP pants as I have just bought a pair of the PP Swift pants with the 3/4 zip on the legs along with the North face Venture jacket at PP. The reason I picked the PP pants was the more robust material at wear points as you mentioned and was wearing work boots when trying them on and noticed how much easier it was puuting them on AND particularly taking them off!

etrangere wrote:Brett, great to hear you liked the PP pants as I have just bought a pair of the PP Swift pants with the 3/4 zip on the legs along with the North face Venture jacket at PP. The reason I picked the PP pants was the more robust material at wear points as you mentioned and was wearing work boots when trying them on and noticed how much easier it was puuting them on AND particularly taking them off!

Great to hear and if my experience is anything to go by you should be happy. I found that the elastic waist strap would fit me well on the beginning of a walk but not so much during the walk due to "weight" loss. I went for the Skil braces as they are designed for a hardlife and found them great but not cheap plus you look like a lost lumber jack. The braces clip onto the pants.

Cheers Brett