Rain gear a must have?

[Matt Cashell]

Personally I don't get what is so great about soft shell style jackets like the Kuiu Guide and the Sitka 90% stuff. Its not that warm (puffy coats do better at that) and are worthless for anything more than a few minutes in the rain. I'd opted for the Chugach top/bottom from Kuiu and just run my puffy layer or just my base layer in conjunction with my rain gear to stay comfortable in different temps and exertion levels. Most of the time when hiking I am fine in just the base layer, if I stop ot glass out comes the puffy, if its super cold wear base, puffy, and rain gear.

Maybe I am missing something but I've tried to like soft shell jackets but they simply don't seem to do anything well and ended up just being in my pack taking up space/weight.

Luke, I like softshells because they really breathe. eVent is the only hardshell I know of that actually, noticeably breathes Apparently Kuiu's fabric is similar and there are some other new similar fabrics as well (polartech neoshell, etc.) - but I haven't tried them yet. I can wear my eVent jacket on moderate climbs, and not get clammy. But even eVent doesnt breath anything like a true, non-laminate softshell. My Sitka 90% jacket breathes so well that I don't usually have to take it off for even extended high-exertion climbs, and if I do start to build up a little sweat, it is gone in no time, and I don't have to take off my jacket.

I am sure it depends on how much you sweat, how active your hunts are, the temperatures you are in, how much it rains, and for how long, etc. Probably a little different for everybody.

 

[luke moffat]

I hear ya, everyone is different. But with a merino long sleeve and a merino short sleeve on top of that, if I am hiking hard I am good down to the 40 degrees or so if there isn't much wind. If its colder than that my eVent or Kuiu rain gear works just fine. I'm glad the soft shells work for you, I just found if I needed warmth I wanted more than a simply soft shell offers, if I want to be dry good rain gear is fine. The Sitka 90% stuff left me just as clammy as my eVent and Kuiu rain gear so why haul it along.

Again everyone is different, just throwing it out there for guys to consider if they are looking to cut some space/weight out of there packs.

 

[Matt Cashell]

Again everyone is different, just throwing it out there for guys to consider if they are looking to cut some space/weight out of there packs.

I'm with ya. Maybe this year I will do it two ways. One with a softshell and emergency poncho for insurance. The other way with a truly breathable softshell and sans softshell. I think it would be a good personal experiment.

It does seem kind of silly to take them both.

 

[shanevg]

Hunting primarily in western Washington I find rain gear to be really important! For cost reasons, I use my Arc'teryx shell which I use for skiing/climbing/hunting (even though it is not camo) for the top and I purchased the Chugach pants for the bottom. I figure when it's pouring down rain, I won't worry so much about the camo.

I tend to follow the rule of base layer, puffy, rain gear. It seems to serve me pretty well. I also use the forecast depending on length of time i will be out. Often on a weekend hunt you can plan your weather well enough to get by without your rain gear if it's not needed.

 

[bearguide]

how do the jackets dry out

 

[dreamingbig]

It certainly is for me in Washington state. You don't get 9 days straight very often when you don't have significant rain.