Colorado hunt-rain gear ?'s
Contributors to this thread:Mule Deer
From: Iowabowhunter
15-May-23
Figured i'd ask here as well, hoping to draw a Colorado archery high country mule deer hunt for this year.
I'll be backpacking in with a buddy, so weight is a concern.
Should I be bringing a rain gear set? I'll have the Kuiu attack pants & Kenai jacket, unsure if i'll pack my puffy jacket.
I plan on sitting behind the glass a ton.
From: JohnMC
15-May-23
100% bring rain gear. It can rain a lot in the high country.
From: Buckdeer
15-May-23
Make sure it's easy to get off and put on as sometimes it happens several times a day
From: midwest
15-May-23
Cabela's Space Rain
From: RickH
15-May-23
Yes, unless you don't mind getting wet and cold. It could even snow on you up there in Sept. There's some cheaper lightweight stuff that would work fine, like Frogg Toggs. Even a lightweight poncho would work if your sitting/glassing.
From: cnelk
15-May-23
I have FroggToggs in my pack. But for the past several years I haven’t even used them.
Maybe it will rain/snow this year
From: Glunt@work
15-May-23
Space Rain top is what I carry. Usually no bottoms unless the forecast looks bad. I usually have a big lawn and leaf trash bag as well. Can be a dry place to sit, pack cover, poncho or clean place to lay meat.
From: joehunter
15-May-23
Space Rain in the pack at all times along with a light weight Core-4-Element puffy. Been caught 1 to many times to let it happen again.
From: fisherick
15-May-23
Same as Joehunter.
From: Pop-r
15-May-23
In 13' it rained or snow/sleeted on me the first 21 days of the season in CO at some point in the day. It's definitely going to rain in the high country in Sept in CO! Many times typically. It can also turn cool enough that IF you're wet you're going to be in a hell of a bind quick!
From: PushCoArcher
15-May-23
Yes bring the rain gear and if you're sleeping on the mountain bring the puffy. Might also consider dry bag options I like to keep my down bag in one if I suspect it'll rain. I have a exo pack they make a dry bag liner for the pack that works great.
From: cnelk
15-May-23
Yep. Anyone that hunted Colorado in 2013 definitely needed rain gear that year.
Roads were washed out and had to make detours to get to my elk spots. And the elk were going crazy
From: Jaquomo
15-May-23
Space Rain and a Core4 puffy top for me, too. High comfort to weight value, especially when those afternoon hailstorms roll in..
From: LUNG$HOT
16-May-23
100% yes. Space rain set here too. Been using it for years now.
From: RonP
16-May-23
another vote for cabela's space rain set. can't beat it for the price, weight, and size.
From: High Country Tracker
30-Jun-23
While you're thinking about rain, don't forget to think about snow. The date that I peg for snow is Sept. 15 but that doesn't mean that it can't snow sooner... it can and it will. I'm always loaded heavy when I'm going into the high country but take as much as you personally can handle. Getting caught in something up there and not ready for it is not good. Just figure Sept. 1... anything can happen at any time.
From: Jaquomo
30-Jun-23
Not unusual to get snow the first week of September in N. CO and WY. In 2020 a big snow storm hit on about the 8th, dumping 16".
I was camped by a trailhead, and three groups of unprepared midwesterners and easterners trudged out, shivering and soaked, hopefully learning a lesson. All the motels within 100 miles were booked, so these poor guys slept in rental cars and front seats of trucks for few days until they could get back in to their camps.
Boy Scout motto - Be prepared. Might be 75 degrees when you leave your truck, could hail or snow that afternoon.
From: Sivart
30-Jun-23
rain gear could literally save your life. never leaves my pack. Kuiu Chugach if you want long term packable rain gear. But don't be without something.
From: Sivart
30-Jun-23
I would also carry a lightweight tarp and some stakes.
From: Charlie Rehor
30-Jun-23
Midwesterners and Easterners. That’s a funny one.
From: Jaquomo
30-Jun-23
The three groups were from PA, WI, and MI. Pretty sure that qualifies as "midwesterners and easterners"! I talked to the guys from WI for a bit while they were shivering in the truck with the heater blasting. They were expecting the weather to stay the same as when they packed in - 70 during the day and upper 30s at night. Not what they got a couple days later....
From: Scoot
30-Jun-23
I don't leave camp without raingear anymore. It's not just a comfort thing- it's a safety thing!
From: Jaquomo
30-Jun-23
Snuffer, that's why I got paid to write.. ;-)
From: Franzen
01-Jul-23
Lou's right. As a Midwesterner, I always expect the weather to be the same as the day I arrived... always.
From: blue spot
01-Jul-23
The guys in Lou's story made it out OK Back in 1991 I was on a crew doing timber stand exams for the national forest along the continental divide from southeast Idaho, through Montana and then ending in the panhandle of Idaho. The company we were working for ended the summer season at the end of the second week of August. Most of us questioned why they quit so early as most of us would have liked to work a few more days before going back to college. The last week they confessed why. The previous year a guy slipped in some snow the last week of August, hit his head and became unconscious and died of hypothermia.
Certainly an unusual outcome from a slip in the snow. But we appreciated the companies concern for their crew of people. We were from all over the country, but mostly the east coast, southeast and deep south.
From: JSW
01-Jul-23
Kuiu Kutana rain gear is the best. Yes, it's expensive but good quality is worth it. I don't go on any hunt without it.
From: butcherboy
01-Jul-23
I’ve used Cabela’s space rain for about 20 years now. I’ve only had to use the pants a few times. I also carry trash bags and an extra emergency poncho. I find a tree to hunker down under most of the time but if you are above tree line that’s not an option usually. Some kind of tarp will work great in this situation. Stretch it between bushes, use trekking poles, even sticks you find laying on the ground. I prefer this method and wearing my rain jacket underneath the tarp. I wear the pants if moving slow in a steady drizzle or in wet grass. Some day I’ll invest in more long term heavy duty rain gear like Kuiu but spa ice rain has been long term for a while now. Lol
From: Tracker
02-Jul-23
Rain gear and puffy for sure. Last year in WY we got 8" of snow on like 10SEP
From: CBFROMND
06-Jul-23
I have been back and forth on which to get... Cabelas space rain gear or the KUIU Chugach... My brother has the Cabelas and it works very well and is very packable.. I just bit the bullet on the KUIU as it is on sale at the moment...
From: Michael
06-Jul-23
2013 was a doozy. Of all the years I decided to use my Cabelas MT050 rain gear. It got a work out but that stuff holds water like its it’s job. After that I went Cabelas space rain gear and don’t think I have used it once. But it is always with.
My space rain gear and kill kit fit perfectly in a large Kifaru belt pouch on the back of my cargo panel. Compacts down very well.
From: JSW
06-Jul-23
I bought a Kuiu Chugach set about 12 years ago. After 7 years, I was getting wet around my shoulders, probably from the backpack straps. I called to order another set. I thought 7 years was pretty good for hard use. Turns out they were still under warranty. They offered to send me another jacket for free.
I paid the difference and upgraded to the Kutana set. I highly recommend the company and the product. Just the best.
From: Jims
06-Jul-23
Kifaru or Sitka are about the best breathable, lightweight raingear you can buy.
I've also had great luck with Marmot Precip for about $50 for a jacket and $50 for pants sets. I like the Marmot's so much and they are so cheap that I've bought a couple pairs. They aren't camo but that's no big deal for scouting or around camp/truck.
