Rain gear recommendation- Colorado Archery

[Jkuhn22]

Looking for recommendations on rain gear. Headed to Colorado in mid to late September for Elk and know that rain is unpredictable, but would like to be prepared. I have hunted in Montana the last few years and never needed rain gear. Only precipitation was a little bit of sleet and snow, but my Sitka Jetstream jacket handled that with no problem. Thanks!

 

[Gseith]

I have been carrying around the the Kuiu Yukon set and think it’s way to much. Never felt I needed anything that heavy but I use because I bought it before I knew. My buddy carries a cheap lightweight cabelas set and stays bone dry for the short rains.

 

[tradTimeRadTime]

I have been carrying around the the Kuiu Yukon set and think it’s way to much. Never felt I needed anything that heavy but I use because I bought it before I knew. My buddy carries a cheap lightweight cabelas set and stays bone dry for the short rains.

I've been bouncing between the budget Cabela's set or going the "buy once cry once" route for my first CO archery hunt as well. I've spent most of my life in cheap frogg toggs so anything would feel like an upgrade to me. I'll be following this thread closely!

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[LostArra]

Ask anyone who hunted Colorado in September 2013 if good rain gear is "worth it".

 

[Deast1988]

I went kuiu chugach

 

[cnelk]

Ask anyone who hunted Colorado in September 2013 if good rain gear is "worth it".

Bingo^^^
I survived 2013 using FroggTogs

 

[Brendan]

2014, 2015, 2016 I really didn't use rain gear all that much. Montana 2017 we got Heat, Smoke, Heavy Rain, and ended up with 1-2' of snow on the ground. 2019 in Wyoming I dealt with wet brush every day of a trip and was never able to really get my legs and feet dried out.

No way I will ever be caught without a good set of rain gear, I can always leave it in the truck.

Kuiu Chugach NX is good all around. Sitka Stormfront is bomber, but louder and heavy. Very intrigued by the Sitka Dewpoint right now.

 

[dsayer]

Folks have recommended some high quality rain gear for you. I offer a different perspective...

1) If it's going to be steady, heavy rain, I'm not going out until it stops. I hunt with either archery or with traditional muzzleloader, neither of which are conducive to hunting in steady rain due to issues of blood trailing and potential for hang/misfires, respectively.

2) With that in mind... Here is what works for me and my style of hunting (5 years in Colorado in Sept plus many nights backpacking in the summer). We are either doing short (2-3 night) bivy hunts or day hunting from a basecamp, but I ALWAYS carry enough gear for a single night bivy. My primary rain gear is a 6 Moon Designs Gatewood Cape, which is also my primary backpacking shelter. If you wear it in heavy rain expect to get wet from your knees down and mid-forearm down, but otherwise I love it and my clothing dries quickly anyway. It covers my pack without the need to carry to a pack cover, which is also nice. If I do get caught in a heavy downpour, I usually just post up and set up the shelter anyway. In those situations, it can be a bit tough to stay dry while setting up the cape as a shelter, so I also carry a "disposable" 1 oz poncho to wear while I'm setting up.

 

[Deerhunter6250]

Marmot precip rain gear works great for me. Reasonable priced and light weight. If its raining hard I stay in the tent or find shelter under a tree.

 

[ncavi8tor]

I've had the Sitka Cloudburst set for 2 years, but haven't needed it yet. The light rain showers I have encountered have been taken care of by the DWR coating on my normal hunting clothes.

NC

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[Jimss]

If you have the cash buy Sitka or kuiu.

If you are on a budget buy brown or green marmot precip. You can get marmots at Sierra trading or elsewhere for around $50 each which is an amazing price for quality rain gear. I have 2 sets of marmots I’ve used and abused in colo Wyoming and Alaska. I prefer camo so usually wear Sitka while hunting and have marmots as backups around camp.

make sure your rain jacket has pit ops or you will get wet from the inside out

 

[5MilesBack]

Ask anyone who hunted Colorado in September 2013 if good rain gear is "worth it".

It wasn't for me. I sweat a lot when I'm elk hunting. Even without rain gear there are times when my clothes are soaked from sweat, and my baseball cap is dripping sweat. Throw on a rain jacket and that makes it even worse. So in 2013 I went without it because I was going to be soaked either way. I would just hang my clothes every night and had an extra set to change into. Not that it mattered, because the next day brought rain most the day as well. But man, those two weeks of rain were some of the best elk hunting I've ever had. The rain certainly wasn't going to keep me out of it.

But that was an abnormal September from my experience. Most years you can find a place to wait out the afternoon rain squalls, or throw on a cheap jacket until they pass. "Generally" those storms don't last long.

 

[Huntnnw]

Im on year 7 of my KUIU chugach and it has been the best rain gear I have ever owned