Build a better raincoat

Zpack a "long" rain jacket?

http://www.zpacks.com/large_image.shtml?accessories/wpb_jacket/challenger_40_l.jpg

Maybe you could just add some fur to the wrists of something like this one :

http://www.columbia.com/womens-splash-a-little-rain-jacket-RL2150.html

Damp, yet warm. Embrace it until technology saves us. Thoughts on an umbrella?

Yeah!

I make my own. Down to a little above knees. Longer than that inhibits leg movement. Two way separating zipper so I can zip it up a little from the bottom. There's an article in MYOG.

Also, fairly loose around for better air flow.

Having a lining on the hood and shoulders helps. Have the outer layer a little bigger around so there's an air space. My 2.5 layer eVent delaminated after a while. A lining will absorb body oil and reduce this.

thru-hiker.com sells Pertex Shield which should make a good jacket

Wouldn't a short rain jacket and a rain skirt work together? Are you tall? Because I am short and I can pull the rain skirt waistband up high so the jacket waistband is over and the skirt is still below the knee for me. I have a ULA rain skirt and a Z-packs jacket.

I don't like pockets on my rain gear so much as openings through which I can get to my regular pockets.

Use side vents that go all the way to the hem like Outdoor Research's TorsoFlo concept. That aids making a longer jacket too.

I think an umbrella would be a disaster in the wind up here. I rarely even use one in town; much of the time if it's raining, it's blowing. I tend to hike in high open country, not forests.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I think I need to learn to sew! You guys are inspiring me. Maybe when it's minus 40 this winter…and I'll incorporate some of your ideas into my design.

On some of the longer jackets folks have suggested here, they look very tight around the hips/legs, built more for walking to and from the car and not for crawling through alders or crossing streams. Maybe they are looser than they look. Kilt is an interesting idea, but one more thing to carry.

I was astonished at the last few jackets I tried on (Patagonia in particular, but also Marmot and MHW) how tight they are around the hips (I have a few extra pounds, but no I'm not that big :) – they seem designed for very tiny-hipped people with humongously long arms. Maybe that's what happens to your body when you do through-hikes – I've never done more than short trips so I don't know. I tried on both men's and women's jackets, but that seems to be the trend – the arms are incredible! And I don't want to have to pull the jacket up to sit down because there's no give in the hem.

I might try this one until I can make something:
http://www.sierradesigns.com/product/womens-pack-trench

Thanks again guys.

Look at this one:

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/myog_mntn_poncho.html#.Va15KfkUO_Q

since it's women's, they make the waist smaller? To look good?

better to be the same diameter from top to bottom. Also a little easier

One thing about separate rain skirt is there isn't as much air flow inside. Where the skirt is against your waist. If it's a coat hanging down, air is free to flow.

But I have an elastic around waist to keep it from flapping in the wind, so it doesn't make that much difference. It's loosly against my waist. If it was a skirt, it would have to be tighter to hold it up.

I would have to wear a kilt though : )

If it's not windy I'll leave coat unzipped, or I'll zip up from the bottom and have only a short section zipped at the top. Better air flow. Not so effective with skirt.

I have modified a driducks/frogg toggs suit by using the legs of the pants to extend the coat's length. Basically I cut strips from the pant legs and sewed them to the bottom of the coat. Then taped the seam (inside part) with tyvek tape. This allowed me to extend the coat's length slightly higher than my knees.

edit: driducks pants have the reputation of being useless as they rip easily at the crotch.