tough rain jackets for student trips

[Paul bayne]

Hello BPL community,

I am looking for recommendations for a tough rain jacket for middle school to high school age students for short backcountry trips. I really like the ones from Lightheart gear. Wondering what else is out there that is similar. I don’t want WP/B, just something tough and waterproof.

[Luke Schmidt]

My experience is kids get wetter in rain than adults. They fail to use hoods, don’t zip their jacket up etc.

So I think a perfect rain suit is less important than have something to keep some of the rain off. The second part of the strategy would be a fleece jacket under the raincoat. That keeps them from getting chilled when the inevitably get soggy.

If you have a budget for nice gear Helly Hanson and Grundens both make fully water proof non breathable gear. I haven’t tried them personally. They are heavy but tougher. If you want cheaper you might find rubber suits at Thrift stores. They aren’t as rugged but I have a few for loaners.

[stenslat .]

I’ve led a lot of youth trips over the years, mostly in Colorado, and my #1 rule is that they must bring a cheap plastic adult rain poncho.  Before leaving I make everyone show me their raincoat, and if they pull out a fancy gore-tex jacket I give them an EVA poncho out of my bin full of them.  On the trail they can throw this over themselves and their backpack.

[Brad W]

I would go with the heavier almost rubber rain ponchos. They are cheap and readily available.

[Diane “Piper” Soini]

I would go with ponchos too. They are cheaper and they cover the pack. And they work well.

[Alan W]

+1 durable econo ponchos

I provided these for my own teenage daughters many years ago for once per summer one week youth group trips in Colorado mountains with rappelling and summiting a 14er. Young and frugal and good enough.

Yes, getting teens to don  properly and timely any rain gear is a challenge.  One June, we got snowed out at brush line on Mt Sherman not long after sunrise.  During descent, one girl wanted to take an airplane back to camp. She didn’t like the hood on her jacket messing with her (wet) hair and of course wet clothes under the jacket.  Hypothermia onset. Dry clothes, hot fluids and a shared sleeping bag back in camp turned that around.

Getting teens to wear sufficient SPF is similarly a challenge.  Another year, I twice handed my own SPF 50 to a red headed male at rest breaks on a pristine summit day, but I did not follow through to see him actually apply.  It turns out he disliked the massive blisters, ER trip, and black silver ointment on his whole face even more than he disliked the feel and look of the sunblock. I still grieve over being distracted and not observing his refusal to apply before he laid it back on my pack unused.

[Zero Flight]

+1 cheap poncho.

Same boat as @stenslat but in the BWCA and Ozarks instead.  I tell them they’re welcome to bring whatever rain gear they like/use at home.  I then give everyone a pocket poncho when we get to the trailhead.

It’s inevitable they’ll get wet so instead I focus on what I can semi-make them keep dry.  I make sure each is using a pack liner before they leave the parking lot on the way to the trailhead.  That way, though they’ll be wet, they’ll at least have dry sleeping.

[Jerry Adams]

frog toggs are cheap, fairly waterproof and breathable, probably not tough though

[David Thomas]

I just Grunden’s $99 fully waterproof rain jacket for the first time 2 months ago and like (for some things).  It’s basic and lacks pit zips, so is better in less-active pursuits, but the waterproofing and the outer nylon fabric both seem quite substantial.  I’ve gotten 20 years out of other Grundens outerwear (bibs) used for fishing and they’re still in great shape.

About refusal / desire to not wear a parka hood – I don’t like too, either.  I much prefer a Seattle Sombrero with its wide brim to keep rain off my face and mostly out of my collar.  Or an umbrella if the rain is vertical.

[Alan W]

Another thing about teens and rain is that they are not good about loading a pack to keep everything important dry, no matter what — until they have at least 1 experience with wet camp clothes or wet bag/quilt.

So, its back to durable econo parkas to reduce the number of wetted out pack loads.

With a solid rain, there will still be some fails if the group is more than 3 or 4.

If it’s just a couple of teens, less worries.

It’s a learning curve adventure, not perfection the first time.

[Jerry Adams]

I went on a backpack with teens

They used a pump water filter and somehow pumped too much pressure in the water bag and it split open

How is it possible to do that??? :)

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