Rain Gear Recs – best bang for the buck?

[Are S]

I'm going to be doing the Lost Coast Trail (Mattole to Shelter Cove) in late October. It seems there is a good chance it could rain for the entire trip, that time of the year. All I have right now, since selling my ID Silponcho and Marmot Precip jacket a while back, is a set of Driducks Ultralite. They're fine for Sierra summers, but I don't really want to do the Lost Coast in late fall with them (not to mention the pants are pretty fragile, even for infrequent use).

So, I don't really know what the options are for rain gear these days, and I'm hoping BPL can help me out.

Right now, I'm strongly considering picking up a Golite poncho tarp. The price is very appealing, it's available immediately, I have experience with ponchos, and I would be willing to put up with disadvantages for this trip if I can't find a better option in jacket+pants. Plus I could use it as additional shared dry space for cooking/eating dinner with my companion if we had to deal with sustained rain. **Side note, I'm also considering a Gatewood Cape, but seeing as my shelter is a Duomid, the cape seems sort of redundant for the weight (11oz vs. 7oz for Golite).

I probably don't want to spend more than $200-$250 for the set. The lower the cost the better as long as the gear is reliable in waterproofing, reasonably light, reasonably breathable, reasonably durable and unrestrictive (often like to get off trail), and is available for immediate purchase. As the title says, I guess I'm looking for the best bang for the buck.

Thanks in advance for any recs and advice you folks may have.

[Stephen Murphy]

Everything will stay dry

[Are S]

Ah yes, the Packa. I've heard good things about it; I'll look into it, thanks!

[Author]

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