Rain vest?

Hi Huzefa,

I've never thought of a rain vest, but have made and used rain shirts in the past for cycling. I've taken cheap vinyl non breathable rain jackets and cut the arms off. I cut the arms off half way between the shoulder and the elbow so it ends up looking like a short sleeve shirt. These work really well when it's raining in warmer conditions, say over 50 deg F. The short sleeves give the rain shirt good ventilation. I think this type of rain shirt would not be that great in colder rain though.

The problem with a rain vest though is that your shoulders would get wet and while standing I think rain would get in and probably drip down your sides.

Actually what I had in mind is closer to your short sleeve shirt. basically a sac with two arm holes. I am interested in putting a zipper to close the hole and use it as a bivy top. Wet arms but no wet sholders.

I think sleeveless jacket would be a more appropriate name.

Many folks here hike with just a wool base layer and a windshirt in a cold weather – I think sleeveless jacket could add significant protection.

I had a similar idea, for a hooded vest made out of propore, cut off at the mid section and paired with a wind shirt:

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/xdpy/forum_thread/8544/index.html?skip_to_post=61639#61639

I haven't done any experiments though, it is just an idea.

Golfers have been using rain vests and rainshirts for a few years now. Not the most high tech fabrics or cuts.

Forresters Gore-Tex Pullover

Sun Mountain Rainflex Vest

I've often thought that using a poncho cut-off in a circular pattern so that it ended mid-chest and had bungies going under the arms to hold it down in the wind (ie: Looks like a midevil cowl) would work really well to supplement my windshirt – since my windshirt mostly wets out in the shoulder & upper arm / chest areas.

I'm still looking for a rain jacket that uses water proof fabric for the hood, shoulders, chest, upper back and outer upper arms, but much more breathable windshirt fabric for the underarms, sides, and lower half. I'd also like the hood to be large enough to go over my wide-brimmed sun hat so I get plenty of ventilation through the collar area.

That short sleeved, high collar golfing rainshirt looks promising. Replacing the underarms & the upper half of the sides (pit zip area) from windshirt material would probably be an achievable DIY project for people with novice sowing skills. Pairing it with a wide brimmed rain hat might eliminate the need for a hood since it has such a high collar ???

Ross, wont bore you with laws of evolution but I think it is interesting that people can come up independently with similar ideas in their quest for optimal solution. :)

I dont see the point of wearing windshirt OVER driduck. Windshirt are supposed to be thin and lightest made of momentum, 1.1 ripstop, Quantum wont stand abrasion any significantly better then propore.

What I have in mind is sleeveless bivanorak -the arm holes can be zipped close from inside. And the lenght of bivanorak can be changed depending on the activity.

Christopher, great links. A side link at the one pointed to the short-sleeve version that looks tempting. Wish I knew how much it weighed and how well it performed.

http://www.iznadgolf.com/sunmountaingolfpullover.html

ps – I emailed the manufacturer with a set of questions about this and will post what I learn.

http://www.sunmountain.com/contact_us.php

Huz,
I wouldn't wear the windshirt over the driduck, either. Someone (on the other thread) suggested that, but I think that was mainly to either protect the material (since driduck is very fragile) or for better appearance. I could care less about appearance and I think that the driduck is less likely to get torn if it doesn't include the sleeves (which was part of my reasoning for this approach in the first place).

I will disagree with you, though, about Quantum being as bad for abrasion resistance as propore. I really like propore, but it takes very little to get it to rip. Really light nylon might not be very durable, but I think it is still more durable than that. In other words, for abrasion resistance, Quantum might get a D, but propore gets an F.

Ross, having not used either I cant argue. I have been hearing this from everyone that driduck is very fragile -I can now understand how really fragile it is.