looking for durable/packable/QUIET rain
Moose
Hello I'm looking for recommendations on a set of good, durable, packable and most importantly Quiet rain gear for a upcoming newfoundland moose trip. Thanks in advance
Not to be a smart ass but everyone is! Sitka is what I use, none are perfect, Sitka is good, light, breathable and packable. A little on the loud side and expensive.
"Quiet" rain gear that actually works is a bit of an Oxymoron especially when talking Newfoundland. Anything "quiet" will hold water and eventually saturate.
I've found some of the "Best of all Worlds" rain gear is KUIU Chugach NX, Sitka Dewpoint and First Lite Stormtight. Not "silent" but quiet enough when it is raining. With that said, the "best" rain gear for Ak and Newfoundland is plastic, not packable and warm...BUT it will keep you dry. Helly Hanson is also a great alternative for the extremes.
Stay away from anything with a "quiet" outer shell. You WILL get wet and it never dries out.
Troy,if you find the perfect raingear let us all know. If you want truly quiet raingear look at Rivers West. It will keep you dry and is quiet as fleece. In Newfoundland, you will get rained on. Rivers West gets wet and heavy after a good rain but you will still stay pretty dry. If you are in a cabin hunt, you can dry it near the stove overnight but it gets wet and heavy every day. I agree with Kota-Man about his recommendations. I am prone to the First Lite Stormtight. It is not totally silent but is quite suitable. I used mine in Alaska and stayed dry. It stops the wind as well. I don't know what size you wear but I just posted a First Lite Jacket and Pants on the classifieds of this site. The only reason I am selling it is because of a lot of weight loss and I will surely replace it with another set of First Lite. Helly Hansen is also great stuff but I get as wet inside as I do outside because it does not breath at all. I have tried an awful lot of brands over the years but the First Lite is my choice. Good luck. You will enjoy Newfoundland.
Cabelas MT050 packable.
HOWEVER, you have to also get KIWI camp dry (the one with the blue lid) in the shoe department of Wal-Mart. The outer material is quiet but as stated will soak up water. So you have to treat it with the KIWI. I did 2 coats and it seems to have worked well. Says it won't hurt Goretex.
Wow thank you for all the detailed replies. I appreciate it. It's been very eye opening
What about any of the stuff that is quiet that gets water logged and heavy, but then treat that fabric with the "Never Wet" stuff??? Then you would have your quiet fabric, water proof fabric and a water barrier.
Troy,
Just another idea, we found the SLIP System to be indispensable in Southeast AK, They allowed us to stay dry using our "regular old" rain gear.
A great windbreak as well! And of course, an instant stalking decoy, or quick blind.
I still have a few of the Moose Decoy covers. A Bowsiter discount applies as well.
Best of Luck, Jeff
KUIU Chugach NX
i will opt for dry over quiet and there will always be that trade-off. if i am wet and quiet i am miserable and maybe not even staying in the woods.
if i am dry and a bit noisy (at least not fleece silent) i am at least still in the woods with a chance to make it happen or waiting to be comfortable when the weather breaks.
the reason nobody has found the perfect quite and stay dry solution is because it does not exist.
Rivers West is great in a treestand, very quiet but like stated above you will need to dry it at night. I like KUIU Yukon pants with Chugach jacket. If it is wet at all, which it will be in Newfoundland wear the pants all the time and put on the jacket when it is actually raining.
The Yukon jacket gets quieter as I use it, softened up a good deal since it was new. Quieter than the chugash, but heavier as well.
Not "quiet" like fleece or anything, but quieter than most. Quiet enough that in the conditions I use it (cold winds as well) noise isn't huge deal. It's one of my favorite pieces of gear.
Rivers west is as quiet a raingear as you can own, good as an outer shell and good raingear as well.... but as stated, day to day the outside needs to dry at night. Packed the lighter weight LAW for several years on western hunts. Good double duty gear, I could drop a dedicated rain jacket from my pack. Now the Yukon is my double duty gear as I can drop the soft shell jacket.
No problems with the original sets of KUIU rain gear. Always dry. I looked at the First Light this weekend and it is really built heavier with a 4 way stretch material and if I were gonna go all in that is what I would buy. It is heavier than KUIU but all of us have a choice in what works for you. When choosing rain gear at this price I would hope it last's and it breathes well too.
Wing Supply has an amazing rainwear sale today.....
Sitka Downpour is my choice for Newfoundland! Have a great hunt! C
Charlie...How does the Downpour do over extended periods of rain? Does it dry fast? My favorite rain gear all time is the original Sitka Downpour. If I'm not mistaken the newer stuff has the raised fleece exterior?
I use Sitka Downpour as well.
However, when I'm hiking around a lot, my pack has Cabelas Space Rain gear. Its the lightest raingear around and won't break the bank to buy it. It keeps rain out, ventilates well and is both packable (small) and light weight. The only thing it isn't is durable. But if you don't force your way through prickly stuff and act accordingly, it will be fine.
So, if I'm hunting from a camp or vehicle, I use the Sitka. If backpacking a bunch, its the Space Raingear.
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