Winter waterproofing on the cheap(ish)

I used to be an assistant instructor in a intro to snow camping course where, in reference to gear, we focused on helping students adapt their three-season backpacking kit for the one and two nights trips that encompassed the course.

Is your skills class a mountaineering course that includes ropes, and self arrest,  and an intro to technical climbing. If so you probably want to rent the boots, crampons, and ice axe for one or two nights.

You don’t say in which part of the country the course will be offered. Here in the Sierra Nevada if and when we get snow, it is full of water and the main piece of gear to keep you dry is a piece of closed cell foam to use.   You never want to be kneeling, sitting or lying directly on the snow when setting up camp, cooking, or taking a nap after lunch in the midday sun.

You should be able to use the gear you own if the layers are fit over each other properly.  If your top hardshell does not fit over all the insulation the course leaders recommend, you can put a synthetic puffy layer over your hardshell. Perhaps you could borrow one or get a budget puffy option from Montbell or the Uniqlo store.  I prefer synthetic down when I expect wet snow.

You probably don’t need new base, mid our outer shell layers for the bottom as long as you are moving. And when stopped, you can put the puffy on.

Unless you think your current rain gear is currently worn out, you can try refreshing the DWR with Nikwax or an equivalent product.

2nd hand gear.  You can look for obvious signs of de-lamination in the hardshell (the two or three layers in the hardshell coming apart) or wear on the inside.  Marmot Precip used to be famous for de-lamination but more recent reports say it holds up well.  Folks make fun of Arcteryx and Patagonia but they make excellent but extremely over priced hardshells. If you find one used and it passes physical inspection, it will most likely serve you well.  Outdoor Research (OR) and Montbell also make excellent gear offered at reasonable prices  that appear used in various forums.

Hey Bruce, your experience sounds like exactly the kind of input I’m after!

Thankfully I can rent crampons, axe and helmet for the course. I bought some cheap-ish boots that a few people in the club suggested were good enough for this kind of thing, without being so specialist (i.e. full plastic mountaineering boots) that I couldn’t use them elsewhere. They didn’t have rental boots.

It won’t be a climbing or ropes course. “Snowcraft 1 is for beginners and covers the initial skills required to safely navigate the alpine reaches of the mountain in winter. These include practical lessons in basic cramponing techniques in ice and snow on moderate slopes and self arrest practice.” – so fairly introductory, and is the sort of basic skills I want (I mostly intend to extent my hiking season, don’t currently have ambitions to become a winter climber!)

I should clarify – New Zealand, so the local conditions are probably foreign to you :)

Aye, I think I have enough warm layers (might just add some cheap fleece pants), but my outer layers are very lightweight. 6oz shakedry and similarly thin pertex rainpaints – I’m concerned that they’ll get damaged very quickly, practicing self arrest etc. Maybe I’m overthinking it?

Yes I think self-arrest training (and the glissading that usually accompanies it) will shred pertex gear.

If the weather is sunny, you could take off the pertex hardshell pants but your midlayer would have to be sturdy. Or you could change into a non breathable waterproof pant that cost you less than $40

I personally wear a baselayer and softshell pants for winter outings on snow when I am doing anything aerobic. Wearing more layers just makes things wet and wearing anything waterproof just makes my layers even wetter.  I don’t like to arrive at camp all wet.  I assume your skills class will including making a winter camp??

I often wear a pair of vintage Arcteryx backcountry softshell ski pants.  In the winter skills class we often send people to a local gear exchange to find used gear and or borrow gear from friends. Thick wool trousers would work.

Last year I snagged a pair of Ibex Pro Mountain Pants from the UK company Mountain Equipment for 1/3 off and they worked very well.