Quiet Rain Jacket for Elk Hunting

[Dvl_Doc]

Frogg Toggs. Can’t beat the price and for early season/spring gobbler, cut vents in armpits and reinforce with “100 MPH” tape/rubber cement. Add Velcro if you’d like. For the price, basically fully customizable.

 

[406unltd]

Something with a brushed face fabric.

 

[kahunter]

I know this is an old thread, but I was wondering if the same recommendations from a few years ago still hold true? Are there any new options out there that are any better?

I have seen some good reviews for the Pnuma Selkirk stuff, but it is really heavy (42 ounces!) and has more insulation than I am looking for in a waterproof outer hunting layer. Also haven't really seen any reviews on how it handles heavy rainfall...

 

[duece1616]

keep this going, looking for rain gear for september elk hunt.

 

[jtivat]

I know this is an old thread, but I was wondering if the same recommendations from a few years ago still hold true? Are there any new options out there that are any better?

I have seen some good reviews for the Pnuma Selkirk stuff, but it is really heavy (42 ounces!) and has more insulation than I am looking for in a waterproof outer hunting layer. Also haven't really seen any reviews on how it handles heavy rainfall...

I really like my Selkirk very quiet, but it is on the warm side. I have not had it in a down pour but did do a shower test and it passed.

 

[Sharpd53]

Frogg Toggs. Can’t beat the price and for early season/spring gobbler, cut vents in armpits and reinforce with “100 MPH” tape/rubber cement. Add Velcro if you’d like. For the price, basically fully customizable.

These are great inexpensive option. Really like them for Turkey hunting as well

 

[Highvoltage1]

Frog toggs are cheap but they also cost me a day of hunting this fall. Colorado archery, supposed to be a 40% chance of rain, turned into 17 hrs of downpour. I Got soaked with no way to dry anything. It was a backpack hunt. While they might be reasonably priced, if I was going to do any serious hunting I’d look at better options. Lesson learned. Best wishes

 

[kahunter]

“I really like my Selkirk very quiet, but it is on the warm side. I have not had it in a down pour but did do a shower test and it passed.”

Do you feel like it makes a good all around jacket for most any cool to cold hunting conditions?
If it really is “hunting quiet” I can see where you could make up for the weight by having one jacket instead of Softshell, rain gear, fleece, etc…

 

[jtivat]

“I really like my Selkirk very quiet, but it is on the warm side. I have not had it in a down pour but did do a shower test and it passed.”

Do you feel like it makes a good all around jacket for most any cool to cold hunting conditions?
If it really is “hunting quiet” I can see where you could make up for the weight by having one jacket instead of Softshell, rain gear, fleece, etc…

Yes, this will be my goto for cooler to cold. I will say with the soft fleece like outside it holds water and gets heavier. If I was hunting say Alaska and it was going to be raining most the time, I would not pick it.

 

[kahunter]

Cool, that’s good info. I’m mostly hunting in the Midwest, so it’s usually more of a wintry mix of nastiness rather than day long rain storms.
I might give one a try and see how it fits.

 

[Where's Bruce?]

Every time I have hunted elk in the rain it was the weather makin' the noise, not my jacket. I use rain to move quicker and more silently as the ground is soft and not crunchy. People tend to overplay the whole "silent raingear" need. This is especially true in places with monsoonal rain. I've actually run from some of those storms cuz the lightning was crazy with deafening thunder that lasted. Once you've seen flooded woods with small fires everywhere and smoking trees blown apart...the quietness of your raingear is less of an issue.

 

[schwaf]

Frog toggs are cheap but they also cost me a day of hunting this fall. Colorado archery, supposed to be a 40% chance of rain, turned into 17 hrs of downpour. I Got soaked with no way to dry anything. It was a backpack hunt. While they might be reasonably priced, if I was going to do any serious hunting I’d look at better options. Lesson learned. Best wishes

I'm not sure if there's any rain gear that won't soak through if exposed to 17 hours of downpour. DWR and breathable membranes like Goretex all have a limit they will eventually hit. A full rubber suit or otherwise would eventually soak you from inside from lack of breatheability. In that kind of weather, I think getting wet is inevitable even with tarps and shelter. I was probably weathering the same storm you are referring to on my backpack hunt last year. Had top end rain gear and even wore two pairs of gaiters (ankle and knee high), but still got soaked. Walking around super wet brush all day will soak through boots and socks, which will wick its way all the way up to your pants and shirt. I was very thankful that I carried in a saw, burly knife to baton wood, and a fire kit. It was a challenge to find a suitable tree to cut down and process, even in our dead ass woods, but I was able to dry out some clothing moderately well. I was very, very thankful for my separate dry clothing for sleeping.

I've been using North Face futurelight Summit jacket and bib pants. I really like the breathability and soft feel of them, and they are relatively quiet. Breatheability gets top marks from me. I can run around all day with them and not feel like I'm wearing a trash bag sauna. On the other hand, they don't do a lot to block the wind from cutting in and sapping body heat while sitting still.

 

[Trial153]

Sitka thunderhead

 

[Where's Bruce?]

About the Thunderhead...it IS pretty quiet thanks to the brushed exterior however it is also hot & heavy. As a traditional bowhunter shooting wooden arrows now I am always looking for advantages but unless you are venturing into cold and very wet conditions...the Thunderhead isn't ideal. And they have had failures. If your raingear makes you sweat, you're still wet. I wear my Dewpoints most of the time cuz they weigh nothing and well vented but not quiet. But rain isn't quiet either. The choices for mild "misty & drizzly" weather that lasts and seems to make the woods silent represents a real challenge...much moreso than actual downpours.

 

[Trial153]

Your a real piece of work. The guy says he needs wants quite rain gear for stand and day hunts and you come on here and tell him that’s he really doesn’t.

 

[Superdoo]

@Trial153, look at the thread date. I'm pretty sure the OP figured his rain gear out by now...