Lightweight rain gear recommendations

DriDucks are ~12 oz for jacket and pants. Cheap @ ~$16.

DriDucks are cheap,but not very durable.

DriDucks Ultralight 2 come as a jacket and pants set with a total weight of around 14 ozs. They are quite fragile – not for brushbashing – though a small amount and some duct tape are ok. They do not last long – though you can considerably extend their life by always keeping them in a plastic bag when in your pack so that they do not get "worn" by your other items and the quality control has not been great – always do a quality check before you need to – zip, seam welding.
On the other hand they are very cheap (~$20) and very light (~14ozs), totally waterproof and quite breathable.
The cuffs of both jacket and pants are elastic so you can usually slip them on and off over anything else you may be wearing. You are not going to win any fashion shows with these and the size runs big – I would not recommend getting a smaller size because of this though as I think they are deliberately cut large to avoid stressing the material and seems. I've actually taken to getting a size bigger than normal and wear the jacket over my daypack to keep it dry too.

REI's Kimtah is about the least expensive eVent "medium weight" parka I know.

My XL Kimtah weighs 15 oz.

Hi Guys,

I have seen the Dri ducks in Walmart, I suppose for Emergency use they would be good.
I am looking for something a bit more hard wearing.

Hi Eric,

My current jacket is 11oz and so are the trousers, probaly a bit misleading above when I mentioned the 22oz weight.

Cheers all,

Stephen

The Golite Tumalo pants are $50 right now,7oz. and the Kenai Jacket is also $50, 10oz. Also the new Montbell Versalite jacket and pants are really lightweight options

http://www.golite.com/mens/outerwear/waterproof-breathable

Thanks Tommy,

Will check them out.

You could always try some breathable cuben rain gear from Zpacks. The top and bottoms together weigh 7.5 oz.

Wow, that's light.

Any idea how the breathbility compares to other materials.

Cheers,

I address the issue of the ZPacks WPBCF Rain Jacket within my two articles on it:

ZPacks Waterproof Breathable Cuben Fiber Rain Jacket and ZPacks Waterproof Breathable Cuben Fiber Rain Jacket – Update #1.

Thanks John,

I would be all over them except for the colour :-)

Dri Ducks jacket with tyvek pants.

Or go multipurpose and use a poncho tarp. I can't think of a lighter solution.

Hi Eugene,

Thanks for that, I don't think I am ready to go down the Poncho shelter route as I have used Ponchos users ago and they are a pain in strong winds.

Good idea though.

Cheers,

Stephen

Great review John, definitely something I will put spend some time researching, it's nice you also brought up the topic of discoloration of the white material.

Due to where I am living at the moment I only hike every 4-6 weeks so I have not given Sul or Xul much consideration.

Cheers,

Stephen

@Stephen, sure thing. Not aware of anybody else there that has done a detailed review of the zpacks wpbcf rain gear so thought it might be of some interest to you and others.

You might also be interested in an article written by Will Rietveld called Make a Hooded Tyvek Rain Jacket and Chaps for Under $10 that he published via GossamerGear.

the OR Helium is what I use for rainwear (don't wear rain pants), it's a low feature jacket, but the hood design is good and breathes about as well as any waterproof garment I've used- 6.4 oz in size Large

Hi John,

Will look in to that also.

You mentioning the Cuben rain gear made me look at the Z packs Cuben packs also, most of my gear is UL except for my packs (Aarn Mountain magic 55 & ULA Catalyst) and my rain gear.

I could save a nice bit of weight by moving to lighter kit.

Cheers,

Stephen

Hi Mike,

6.4oz is a nice weight.

Cheers,

Stephen

Howdy, my current set up is a Marmot Mica and DIY silnylon chaps. Under 10 oz. total and the chaps are great for wet bush hiking.
To compete the system, I use my visor/ballcap. If rain is certain, I include E-vent shortie gaitors. Adds 2 oz.

stephan

Nice job Stephan,

Any issues with build up of sweat inside the chaps?

Cheers,

Stephen

Stephen,
For hiking in the rain your legs would get wet from side spray or pack drippage long before condensation would become an issue. In light rain, with the baselayer protecting the skin, you get a heat pump effect. I am mainly at altitude (afternoon thundershowers) or on the coast ( morning dew on overgrown trails), but for PNW like conditions I would add yet another layer, the rain kilt. WPB rain pants only work well in cold weather. Umbrellas are great for downpours and shade, but don't work for my hiking conditions.
I tried the Tilley Hat/ Seattle Sombrero route, but again, not for me. Pit-zips are great for breaks in the storm and uphills. I'll be DIY'ing some on my Mica soon. Enjoy.

stephan

Cheers Stephan :-)

Hello Stephen. I see rain chaps were mentioned in another post …… I use ZPacks rain chaps with my Gatewood Cape. This has worked well for me. The cape is also my shelter and pack cover. Wt of the cape/shelter is 13oz and the chaps weigh 1.3oz for the pair. If your rain jacket is long enough maybe the chaps would work for you. I also use an earlier version of the ZPack backpack.
Cheers
LV

I am switching up my system some for when there is not much rain forecast or it is warm outside. I mainly use a trash bag rain skirt and am now just going to use an umbrella along with a windshirt with a good DWR. I could also throw in a tarp/poncho in case I got worried and I would also have a form of shelter. I have a pair of rain pants and a jacket but I just don't end up using them much.