Rain Pants for short legs

The marmot precip, while certainly not the lightest out there, has a short model that is nice. I have the same problem, 29" or so inseam, and these work very well for me. I know Campmor has them, not sure if they are discontinued or not, around $60 I think.

This might be a stretch, but I customized my golite reeds. I found them slightly long so I hemmed them. In doing so I had to remove the zippers in the legs. This was ideal as I didn't really want the weight of the zippers. I sewed the zipper flap closed and shortened the pants. These pants lost .7 ounce in weight and go with me on every trip these days.

Jamie

I’ve heard good things about Specialty Outdoors for modifications and even custom gear. They could shorten your existing rain pants with no loss of functionality, even putting the knees in the right spot.

Penny is great. She did a modification on one of my older packs. Give her a try. She owns Specialty Outdoors.

I have Marmot Precip pants and my inseam is 28. They work fine.

Penny has a good rep, but this is easy for your corner tailor or seamstress. Articulated knees are great for stiff motorcycle gear but not needed here. Deleting the zipper (which I would do) or moving it up should cost very little above their standard price for hemming. I'll assume you are out the door for under $25. If you wish the ankle seams sealed you'll do it yourself, but I wouldn't bother.

$25 versus a 1-hour minimum charge and shipping from a custom backpacking gear specialist…

I've had the same battle, being long-waisted and a short inseam (5'10", XL and 30" inseam).

Short stretch gaiters can be a quick and dirty way to take up the slack.

The military addresses the problem by "blousing" pants bottoms. This is a technique that any hiker can use to keep pants cuffs out of the mud and dirt and keep bugs out too. You can buy "blousing bands" for a few dollars from military supply houses on the web. Bicycle ankle bands would do the trick too. The technique is simple enough– just put some sort of elastic around your lower calf with the hem of your pants held under and let the excess fabric "blouse" over the top. Don't use a tight band and cause circulation problems– slightly snug is good 'nough. Don't go through high stream water with bloused pants– they can trap water and weigh you down. See http://www.ehow.com/how_4894241_use-military-boot-blousers.html

Ditto on the Marmot Precip and Campmor has them on sale for $60, which isn't bad.

Ex Officio has an excellent PDF on hemming pants with side zippers: http://www.exofficio.com/files/convpants_heminstr.pdf. Any alteration shop should be able to do this if you don't sew.

Rain chaps are another way to go and can hemmed to suit– or sew you own for cheap.

I have the same problem and I've had good luck just using a local tailor doing simple alterations. For rain gear I found something off the shelf that works, though. I have had a pair of REI Ultralight Pants in a 30" for years and they are great even though 30's are usually long on me. I think they'd work for you and I like the loose cut, softer, quieter fabric, and waist band better than Precips and other more expensive ones. I've beaten mine to death and they are in great shape. These are one of those products that REI has on sale pretty often too.