Looking for rain pant suggestions

[littlefish]

I’m looking for a set of rain pants to wear during PRS matches. For a rain jacket I am using an Outdoor Research Foray Gore-Tex jacket (I get a good discount on OR products through Leo Adventures) and I do like it a lot for the amount of use it gets and how I use it. I’m looking for pants to wear this season. Weight and packability is not a concern.

On the high end of things I’m looking at the First Lite Omen Stormshelter pants. Other options I’m looking at are the Kuiu Katana Storm Shell pants. I’ve seen the Stone Glacier M7 talked about in high regards but I think it’s fleece lined and will be too warm. I will be using this at matches between April and October and I have plenty of mid layers I can add underneath if I need warmth at either end of the season. On the lower end of the spectrum I’m looking at the OR Foray Gore-Tex pants to match my jacket which I can get for significantly cheaper than any of the other above options.

Needs:
- Solid color (my hunting rain gear is from Sitka. I love Sitka stuff but they don’t do solids).
- Ability to dump heat somehow with either hip vents or side zips.

Wants:
- Pockets. Most of the above have some pockets but I believe the OR option does not have any.
- Belt loops. I run magazines and my Kestrel on my belt during matches. Without the loops I could still keep a belt on my hips but the loops would be nice. Only the FL pair has belt loops though.

Does anyone have any insight into any of the options I listed above? Is there anything else I should be thinking of?

 

[roosiebull]

The kutana is extremely good rain gear, I prefer the Yukon, but the kutana is great gear. I’m a durability first guy with rain gear, where I live is very hard on it, and almost nothing holds up at all.

The omen is the only rain gear I haven’t tried that I was interested in, but I’m tired of 800$ experiments, I’ve had enough of them, and will probably stick with what I know works

I don’t know how important durability is for your needs, my suggestion is based on prioritizing it

 

[littlefish]

The kutana is extremely good rain gear, I prefer the Yukon, but the kutana is great gear. I’m a durability first guy with rain gear, where I live is very hard on it, and almost nothing holds up at all.

The omen is the only rain gear I haven’t tried that I was interested in, but I’m tired of 800$ experiments, I’ve had enough of them, and will probably stick with what I know works

I don’t know how important durability is for your needs, my suggestion is based on prioritizing it

Thanks. It’s definitely more important than not. The primary reason for the purchase is PRS, but it will also be used for everything but hunting. So any scouting, camping, etc in the rain. I’ve got a lot of Kuiu stuff too and I’m happy with everything from them. I’ve been pretty disappointed with both pieces of FL I’ve bought.


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[littlefish]

Looking at options from @ForlohFamily , as they participate in LEO Adventures. Been trying to call them with a question and nobody is answering the phone. I'd like to try their stuff as it looks good, but I'm tired of companies that I can't get ahold of anyone when there's an issue. So lately before buying anything I call just to see what their process is like. If I can't get anyone to answer questions before I've spent my money, I don't have high hopes of getting an answer to a potential issue down the road.

 

[TaperPin]

I used to have a pair of gortex pants of fairly tough construction that had full length zips down both legs, like putting on Carhartt bibs so they were comfortable in mixed conditions and really easy to put on. At that time I was buying a lot of NorthFace and other backpacking brands, so they were probably Patagonia or NorthFace. Similar to these:

 

[Venom One]

I think Kuiu rain gear is tough to beat. Too bad you missed their sale recently. I have the Yukon (non-TR version) and am very happy with it. Besides being very good at it's primary job (keeping you dry), I LOVE all the pockets. For short hunts, I'll stuff the pockets with essential gear and leave my backpack in the truck. Not hauling a soaked backpack around is pretty nice.

I also really appreciate Kuiu's easy returns - it's nearly Amazon easy.

As for Forloh, when they never answered my question on pg 5 of this thread, it told me everything I needed to know. https://rokslide.com/forums/threads/forloh.206340/page-5

 

[DakotaBPNW]

The kutana is extremely good rain gear, I prefer the Yukon, but the kutana is great gear. I’m a durability first guy with rain gear, where I live is very hard on it, and almost nothing holds up at all.

The omen is the only rain gear I haven’t tried that I was interested in, but I’m tired of 800$ experiments, I’ve had enough of them, and will probably stick with what I know works

I don’t know how important durability is for your needs, my suggestion is based on prioritizing it

Just as a data point, the Omen’s have been bulletproof for me. They definitely give the Yukons a run for their money and the built in knee pads are great.

 

[MikeDeltaFoxtrot]

I have two sets of Kuiu Yukon rain gear, and it is hard to beat.

 

[roosiebull]

Just as a data point, the Omen’s have been bulletproof for me. They definitely give the Yukons a run for their money and the built in knee pads are great.

That’s good to hear. Their previous rain gear was better than most, but not as durable as Yukon/kutana… I was hoping the omen closed the gap

 

[Dirtyjimmy85]

I was dead set on FL rain gear until I read a lot of reviews about durability and being prone to ripping on their lightweight stuff. I ended going with the Kutana pants and so far, I love them.

 

[littlefish]

I think Kuiu rain gear is tough to beat. Too bad you missed their sale recently. I have the Yukon (non-TR version) and am very happy with it. Besides being very good at it's primary job (keeping you dry), I LOVE all the pockets. For short hunts, I'll stuff the pockets with essential gear and leave my backpack in the truck. Not hauling a soaked backpack around is pretty nice.

I also really appreciate Kuiu's easy returns - it's nearly Amazon easy.

As for Forloh, when they never answered my question on pg 5 of this thread, it told me everything I needed to know. https://rokslide.com/forums/threads/forloh.206340/page-5

I did see that. I'm most heavily invested in Sitka gear for my primary hunting setup as I'm an eastern treestand whitetail guy, but I also have a lot of Kuiu gear as well. I want to give Forloh a shot, but I won't even bother with a company that isn't available to answer questions. Been burned too many times across industries to play ball with a company that can't be reached.

Just as a data point, the Omen’s have been bulletproof for me. They definitely give the Yukons a run for their money and the built in knee pads are great.

That's good to know. They're definitely the most expensive of the options I'm looking at, and I'm not a huge fan of the two pieces of gear I've tried from them in the past but they really do look great.

I have two sets of Kuiu Yukon rain gear, and it is hard to beat.

I don't doubt that. Everything I have from Kuiu has been rock solid, and their customer service is fantastic. Made in America or not, I would prefer to deal with a company where a real person answers the phone who can actually help me out and Kuiu has done that for me in the past.

 

[madcalfe]

kuiu yukons would probably be best bet if you're planning on using for general use. if you're wanting to go to higher end pants.

 

[Desk Jockey]

My $0.02

• I shredded a gen 1 set of FL rain gear with fairly light use. probably would not them try again.
• For huniting and backpacking, I have Sitka , kuiu and OR in various weights. All are fine.
• i tore the knee out of my OR foray pants playing gun games (three gun with a kneeling stage).

For rougher use, and to get pockets and belt loops, I might look to some .mil options, like crye, Vertx and arcteryx. some of that gucci gear is us made and priced for agencies but it holds up. another option is something like ecwcs pants - belt loops, pockets and cordura knees. Truspec makes coyote, green and black and they are under $100. I have a set of higher end ecwcs pants in multcam that is +10 years old and they are bombproof. I wear them for muddy tacticool shoots and storm clean up and they will probably outlast me.

 

[Dmoua]

Kuiu Yukon is tough to beat. I’ve had my original ones since 2016 and they are just now starting to fall apart. Only downfall with them was there are no belt loops. Not sure if the new ones have them but I will need something else with belt loops for prs matches for my extra mag and kestrel as well.

 

[littlefish]

My $0.02

• I shredded a gen 1 set of FL rain gear with fairly light use. probably would not them try again.
• For huniting and backpacking, I have Sitka , kuiu and OR in various weights. All are fine.
• i tore the knee out of my OR foray pants playing gun games (three gun with a kneeling stage).

For rougher use, and to get pockets and belt loops, I might look to some .mil options, like crye, Vertx and arcteryx. some of that gucci gear is us made and priced for agencies but it holds up. another option is something like ecwcs pants - belt loops, pockets and cordura knees. Truspec makes coyote, green and black and they are under $100. I have a set of higher end ecwcs pants in multcam that is +10 years old and they are bombproof. I wear them for muddy tacticool shoots and storm clean up and they will probably outlast me.

Oh wow I had actually forgotten about Vertx. I looked at their offering and it might actually be perfect for what I’m looking for.

 

[ForlohFamily]

Looking at options from @ForlohFamily , as they participate in LEO Adventures. Been trying to call them with a question and nobody is answering the phone. I'd like to try their stuff as it looks good, but I'm tired of companies that I can't get ahold of anyone when there's an issue. So lately before buying anything I call just to see what their process is like. If I can't get anyone to answer questions before I've spent my money, I don't have high hopes of getting an answer to a potential issue down the road.

Many apologies on the missed calls and we are working to get all voicemails answered this week while we are at SCI and GAOS this week and next. Please feel free to email our customer support team and someone will email you back within 24 hours. Thanks for supporting made in America gear.

 

[yfarm]

New ECWCS pants on ebay. Have a pr o black full zip wb pants from campmor also extremely durable

 

[littlefish]

Kuiu Yukon is tough to beat. I’ve had my original ones since 2016 and they are just now starting to fall apart. Only downfall with them was there are no belt loops. Not sure if the new ones have them but I will need something else with belt loops for prs matches for my extra mag and kestrel as well.

Looks like the new ones still don’t. From what I’ve looked at so far the only rain pants with belt loops and pockets are the Omens and the Vertx option.

Many apologies on the missed calls and we are working to get all voicemails answered this week while we are at SCI and GAOS this week and next. Please feel free to email our customer support team and someone will email you back within 24 hours. Thanks for supporting made in America gear.

Thank you for getting back to me and a seeing my questions I do very much appreciate it.