Best ACTUALLY waterproof gear?

[tdhanses]

HAHA! and I paid for mine! The Jacket anyways, rainpants are pointless IMO.

Haha, my rain pants get way more use then my jacket, freaking dew or wet after the rain in waist high crap sucks.

 

[Ryan Avery]

My legs are getting wet either way. I rather have something that drys fast than hiking in rain pants with ball soup. But then again I swear a lot.

 

[tdhanses]

Haha, Yeah I hunted your backyard once and just say, haven’t been back

 

[Montana Slim]

Arcteryx is about the best breathable rain gear you can get in my experience, but be ready to pay through the nose for it.. i no longer own any, and have gone cheap(ish), but I also don't spend much time in coastal AK anymore either. No gore-tex stays dry that long if it's truly WET out - then you need to switch to Hellys or waders or something...
That being said - a "bomber", 3-layer gore-tex mountaineering type shell is worth its weight in gold on the rare occasions you actually need it.

 

[Where's Bruce?]

Sitka Thunderhead, warm, silent, tough and absolutely dry.

 

[Jimss]

If I'm just sitting in camp or a boat HH works great! Just make sure your jackets have pitzips! If active I use Sitka or Marmot Precip. I've used HH bibs on bottoms with my skivvies hiking through devil's club jungle in Alaska. The thicker HH material protected against thorns plus alders that were totally soaked with water. Once to timberline I switched over to Sitka raingear.

 

[Rokwiia]

Arcteryx anything.

 

[Ryan Avery]

Sitka Thunderhead, warm, silent, tough and absolutely dry.

A word of caution about the Thunderhead rain gear. Once the DWR wears off the brushed face holds water like a sink. Don't take it backpack hunting unless you have a good way to dry it out. I got stuck wearing it for three rainy days and it started to leak. But for rain gear its pretty dang quiet.

 

[Jac]

I wear outdoor research rain gear and it works very well. It’s in a green colour not camo but keeps me dry. The pants and jacket i use are the foray model tough stuff and not to heavy

 

[DSY_WA]

I rock the Sitka Cloudburst set! One thing that I've learned is to make sure to help the jacket and pants breathe by unzipping, slightly, while hiking or sitting. One thing I think some people don't realize is that condensation builds up quite a bit when hiking around in your rain gear.

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[Ryan Avery]

Arcteryx rain gear is no better or worse than Sitka's.

 

[Where's Bruce?]

A word of caution about the Thunderhead rain gear. Once the DWR wears off the brushed face holds water like a sink. Don't take it backpack hunting unless you have a good way to dry it out. I got stuck wearing it for three rainy days and it started to leak. But for rain gear its pretty dang quiet.

How did it leak? Did you puncture it or something? Thus far my Thunderheads have slightly "gained weight" in sustained rain but just the brushed material...no penetration inside the jacket or pants. I was told the construction of these pieces made em completely waterproof but your post says different. Were you able to identify the source and cause? This isn't cheap rain gear and it is heavy even when dry. I bought it traditional bow hunting in the NWT but you have me concerned now. How does a rain suit with 3-Layer GORE-TEX® Laminate leak? Did you reactivate the DWR by tossing em in the dryer? I have other Sitka rain gear but only the Thunderheads are quiet enough for archery.

 

[Ryan Avery]

How did it leak? Did you puncture it or something? Thus far my Thunderheads have slightly "gained weight" in sustained rain but just the brushed material...no penetration inside the jacket or pants. I was told the construction of these pieces made em completely waterproof but your post says different. Were you able to identify the source and cause? This isn't cheap raingear and it is heavy even when dry. I bought it traditional bow hunting in the NWT but you have me concerned now. How does a rain suit with 3-Layer GORE-TEX® Laminate leak? Did you reactivate the DWR by tossing em in the dryer? I have other Sitka rain gear but only the thunderheads are quiet enough for archery.

This is just my guess after spending lots of time in rain jackets. The heavy fabric gets saturated with water and after a while, it seeps through the breathable membrane. This rarely happens on day one. It's several days without being able to dry the jacket out. The worst jacket was the FL SEAK and its a 3.5 layer jacket. We had a HARD rain on Kodiak. The next day it was a soft steady downpour about halfway through the day the dam broke, I might as well not even had on a rain jacket. But the Thunderhead Jacket did basically the same thing to me here in North Idaho. The first morning it rained all night, so I walk through wet brush most of the day. The next day it rained all day. I could tell the jacket was taking on water it got heavy, then I was wet. I wore it the next day because its really all I had for a shell and it was wet.

Since then I have stayed away from jackets that have thick feeling face fabrics. The Takur is a 3 layer jacket as well but feels really thin. I have been in some real storms with the Takur and it's been impressive I don't know what they use for DWR but it's awesome. But it's a breathable material as well so I am waiting for the other shoe to drop. I don't want to sound like I am bashing companies they make great gear. But this shit does happen.

Here is a good listen on when rain gear goes bad.

Episode 61: Good Rams and Bad Rain Gear

In this episode, I’m going solo, so bear with me. I recap the sheep hunt I just had and how much fun it was chasing rams around with the bow before I got blown off the mountain. I also talk s…

tundratalkak.com

 

[Squamch]

The only waterproof raingear is made of rubber. Everything else is water resistant.

I hunt coastal BC in what are basically the same as HH green rubber bibs. If its hammering, I wear the same type of jacket. If it's not absolutely pissing, I'll wear a badlands exo jacket, which gets hosed with nikwax spray after every hunt.

Yes, you sweat wearing rubber. Slow down. Wear less layers under it.
I work outside a lot, and play outside. I've done siding 20' from the high tide line, and it rained for 86 days straight that winter. The only waterproof material is rubber. I promise.

 

[Elkslayer67]

As a lifetime Washington resident I will say all breathable rain gear leaks. If you are looking for a brush busting waterproof set of rain gear that you can wage war on blackberry bushes with or cut your years firewood in one of our downpours I would recommend Filson’s tin pants and jacket it has been around since the gold rush days. Still the same and still works.

 

[ArcherAdam]

I like these responses.

I have mt050 or whatever it is from Cabelas. I don't know if it leaks or just does not let moisture escape however I am always soaked when it rains. Granted I am a "sweater" and usually mobile in my hunts. I really think my day to day hunting clothes would do a better job keeping me dry.

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[tt_johnsclist]

I like my thunderhead jacket, best rain jacket I’ve owned yet and I’ve tried many of the “waterfowl hunting” jackets out there. I’ve actually started wearing as a shell on non-rainy days, I find the brushed face adds a little warmth and is very quiet for bow hunting. Initially when I bought it I was concerned about the brushed faced soaking up water and getting that “wet feeling” but I haven’t had much of a problem with it. However, I haven’t used it on any extended trips where I wasn’t able to dry it out daily, so some of the other posters might have some more insight on that.


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[MikeDaily]

I've got 3 layer jackets that kinda sorta keep me dry in rain. I think I'll invest in some rubber/pvc gear and call it a day! Thanks folks!

 

[Fonkie]

PNW is not all created equally. Here on the Olympic Peninsula we had over 30” of rain in January. For this type of wet there is nothing that will keep you dry but rubber & you will be soaked from the inside from sweat with any activity & it can be cumbersome. So get what your comfortable in & can afford then get out there to see what you can endure.

 

[tntrker]

Sitka Cloudburst set for me, no 2nd thoughts about it..