Rain-pants – WPB vs Silnylon

[Geoff Caplan]

Hi

My ancient non-breathable rain pants are reaching end of life. I’m a neanderthal who has never tried  breathable rain pants and and am wondering if switching to a WPB fabric is worth the increased fragility, maintenance and expense.

Most previous threads on rain-pants seem to be assuming the value of WPB fabrics as a given. But I’m wondering it that is really justified. In my experience the legs sweat less than the torso, and with the upper shell shedding water downwards, the pants are likely to wet out even faster than the jacket.

With non-breathables I do get significant condensation, but it seems to be concentrated on the outer shell while my walking trousers only get a bit damp. There’s no risk of water penetrating from the outside, and the pants are long lasting and maintenance free.

Looking at previous threads, many people are splashing out on products like the Montbell Versalite at $140. My alternative would be to buy a couple of yards of RSBTR’s  excellent MTN 6.6 Sil and run up something myself – much cheaper and tougher, and roughly the same weight.

I’m tempted to stay with the low-tech approach, but am open to arguments that I’m missing out on greater comfort and safety.

(I walk in a wide range of conditions, and am looking for something versatile).

[Geoff Caplan]

Bump. No one has any advice on this?

[Jerry Adams]

I wear breathable nylon pants.  No need to be waterproof because the fabric runs directly down to the ground so water just flows along the fabric.

This is probably not mainstream opinion, but something to consider

[Geoff Caplan]

Jerry

Are you mostly walking below the treeline? I can see your suggestion working in moderate wind.

I’m usually walking in exposed hill country, and the rain is often being wind-driven at 50 mph and up. My feeling is that unproofed nylon might get overwhelmed. Being soaked in a strong wind isn’t much fun. And presumably it doesn’t block the wind as well as a proofed silnylon?

But it’s not something I’ve actually tried. In your experience, would your suggestion work with wind-driven rain?

[Jerry Adams]

In my older years I try to avoid the worst weather, however I do encounter wind and rain sometimes.

Maybe it’s worth trying yourself to see what works best.

Another thing you could try would be base layer pants, and then breathable nylon pants on the outside.  The combination of the two layers would provide some water resistance.  Sort of like paramo clothing.

[John S.]

I agree with silnylon rain gear. Many others do too. They are just being shy about speaking up…lol

[Geoff Caplan]

John

Thanks for that.

I’d checked a number of rain pants threads, and all the discussion was about WPB solutions. There was no mention of sil, so was wondering if I was missing out on something…

[Paul S.]

If the Silnylon pants work for you then I’d stick with them.  If there’s an REI nearby you could pick up a pair of rain pants to see for yourself how they perform.  Since very few have tried Silnylon pants you won’t find much comparison data.

Nylon pants only work well in light rain and warmer weather.  Once they wet out and cling to your legs it’s a giant heat sink.

[Edward John M]

Unlike tops and torso protection I do well with Goretex pants.

I say Goretex because I have never used any of the alternative WPB fabrics.

Perhaps it is because my legs do not sweat much at all until I get really hot.

But when wearing for an extended period of time such as 8 hours of skiing I really appreciate my lighter pairs but my favourite sets are those that have full length zippers so I can put them on without taking off my boots and those do tend to be heavier as well as heavier duty fabrics

[Mike V]

I moved away from WPB pants to silnylon a few years back. My experience has been the amount of sweat build up using silnylon rain pants is pretty manageable, and similar to what I experienced in WPB pants. The benefit of silnylon pants is lighter weight and not having to worry about maintaining DWR.

[Jeff McWilliams]

I don’t know how you guys do it.  I’ve experienced “swamp butt” hiking in a cheap pair of Sierra Designs rain pants back in 2008 and that was pretty miserable.

These days I use a rain kilt whenever possible, and save my Marmot Precip, Full Zip pants for ice climbing and mountaineering.

 

 

[Ben C]

I like a cuben rain kilt quite a bit in moderate conditions.  If it gets really cool and rainy, I’ll carry WPB pants.  If you are going through a lot of brush, the WPB pants can wet out pretty fast and you might as well be non-breathable.  If you’re not in a lot of brush, the WPB pants work fine for me.

[Anonymous]

I’m with Jeff M. on this one. When it’s raining, it’s high humidity and it’s easy to over heat as your sweat does not evaporate efficiently.

My solution is a systems approach. I use a pair of very breathable, somewhat short shorts and sewed velcro to them.  Then I made a corresponding pair of pant legs out of EPIC.  You don’t need highly waterproof fabric for pants, highly water resistant is usually enough (provided you’re not walking through brush and the like), especially if you’re wearing fishnet or high void grid fleece below them. It’s the angle of the fandangle and all.

Anyways, I have a WPB poncho that goes over the shorts part. Allows my crotch area to stay cooler and drier than either full WP or WPB pants. Rain skirts/kilts work similarly, but obviously don’t provide as much protection for the lower legs.

[Dave Heiss]

I use an inexpensive pair of Tyvek pants for lower body rain protection. Above average waterproofness, somewhat breathable, surprisingly rugged, and if anything tears a little duct tape fixes it. Here in the Pacific NW, when the undergrowth that crowds the sides of many trails gets wet it can really soak your legs when walking through it. Tyvek pants will shed that water nicely, and last you a year, or two, or three, depending on the frequency of use.

[Eric Blumensaadt]

I use either GTX Paclite rain pants or eVent rain pants, both being WPB, of course.

Since I avoid kneeling or sitting when wearing them I have no problem with water being pushed through the membranes as I so with pack straps and hip belts with the parkas. For this reason I prefer them to my ancient but still useable vinyl pants.

 

[Opogobalus]

Geoff I’m wondering the same. Although I’ve never been a rain pants user I’m moving to the UK (where you are I think?) where they’re almost the default over rain skirts. I’ll likely still use a skirt in the right conditions.

What did you decide in the end?

[Author]

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