Light weight, packable rain wear????

[luckie88]

Go with Patagonia or Marmot. They make these Membrane shells that are totally bomber and will pack down to really well and are really light. I know there may be others but I'm really partial to Patagonia's Warranty! But like Marmot's price! So I got both

http://www.patagonia.com/us/product/...?p=83800-0-803

[ScottP]

I have a North Face Venture jacket (they have pants, too) that I got for hiking - lightweight, waterproof (so far), pit zips provide extra ventilation. I think it normally goes for around $115 but I did some shopping around on-line this spring and got one for $59. Fit is pretty true to size; I'm 5'9" and 155 lbs and a medium is fine.

Regards,
Scott

[tailingloop]

I have been using a William Joseph Rain Jacket for several years. Very light. Packs very small. I paid about $60. I bought it for a fishing trip to Australia seven years ago. It has held up well. Breathable but not as breathable as a costly Gore-Tex shell. The current version is around $90.

[BigA]

My experience with breathable rain wear has been that Gore Tex rain wear breathes better than other types of breathable rain wear. I have a Patagonia lightweight rain jacket the really needs the pit zips because the material does not breathe well at all. My heavier weight Cabelas Gore Tex parka is far more comfortable to wear to hotter weather. Cabelas has a lightweight Gore Tex rain jacket on sale. http://www.cabelas.com/product/Home/Mens-Rainwear-Sale|/pc/105625080/c/107468280/Cabelas-GORE-TEX174-PacLite174-Rainy-River8482-Parka-150-Regular/724148.uts?destination=%2Fbrowse.cmd%3FcategoryId% 3D107468280%26WTz_l%3DSBC%253BMMcat104797080%253Bc at104522580&WTz_l=SBC%3BMMcat104797080%3Bcat104522 580%3Bcat107468280

[John_N]

I'm with BigA. Right or wrong, I've always felt that Gore Tex was the superior technology out there, with the PacLite being what you would want in the lighter weight, packable gear. I don't know if it's the exact same one that's on sale or not, but I bought one much like that from Cabelas a couple years back and have been extremely happy with it. As I understand it, Gore Tex controls the manufacturing specifications relative to seams and other pertinent details, regardless of the brand, so it's pretty tough for me to justify spending 2 to 3 times as much for Gore Tex PacLite jackets from Simms or other "name" brands.

[ducksterman]

I've always heard good things about Frogg Toggs and the price is right ....no personal experience though.

[dunfly]

I have a Marmot PreCip jacket and a Frogg Togg jacket. There is no comparison. The Marmot is tough, light and packs down to almost nothing.

The Frogg Togg jacket will keep you dry, but is bulkier and lower quality. If you are going out of the country, I would stay with something more durable

[MarkF]

You guys are GREAT, Thanks so very much for all the input.

[jimsnarocks]

I bought 2 rain ponchos for our trip to New Zealand. I got them at Home Depot for about $4.50 each. Small, packable and a nice light brown color. Because we had them, we never used them. The rain god only cut loose heavy at night and lightly during the day. Jim