How much??...to stay dry

boomerangben said:
Oh and get a nice bright colour. I have been involved in too many searches for missing walkers where the description has been. “……and wearing a dark green jacket and black trousers….” Not saying you will go missing but no one should be allowed to produce dull colours for leisure walking imho of course
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I support that view. An injured ranger used to show video from helicoptor of him lying by boulder and virtually invisible in pale blue on snowy scree. Lucky to be found lucky to be alive.

My DIL poo pooed red expensive water proof and she nearly got hypothermia on Great Gable in the rain. Met mountain rescue wearing bright red mountain equipment jackets on way down, asking us if we had spotted lost walkers in poor vis conditions. (I believe they found them before death.) DIL bought £300 bright red ME jacket in ambleside next day
 
My brother had one of the ex Navy goretex jackets and he referred to it as 'the submarine'. It can probably be assumed that the Navy know a bit about keeping dry in bad weather.
The cheap price just means that you've already paid the balance in your tax bill...
 
To my mind, if you go hiking a lot, then it is worth buying a good Goretex jacket designed for the job. Using jackets repurposed from another use is always going to be a compromise. It is worth paying the £100 for a decent Berghaus to keep warm and avoid excess weight.
My late Dad used to say that you soon forget the purchase price, but have to live with the product thereafter
 
Take a look at Betacraft clothing - Originally from NZ and for farmers, I recently bought a parka and a pair of bib over trousers. The parka, aside from having a peaked hood, has neoprene cuffs so no more water trickling down your arms. It's wind proof and seems very waterproof - I had to hose the over trousers down as they were minging from from hauling old buoys & rope - no leaking. They also go in the washing machine. The material also seems very tough and tear resistant.

Not cheap (but probably cheaper than branded sailing gear) but worth a look in your nearest agricultural stockist.
 
penberth3 said:
That "jacket" is so short, which seems to be the fashion, to stay dry you will need buy trousers as well.
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It has been the 'fashion' in the mountaineer world for decades. jackets are short and worn with salopettes.

Personally, I much prefer this style as you don't clump about in a heavy coat when all you need is a jacket 80% of the time. That 20% you just add your salopettes.
 
No one seems to have mentioned the importance of the 1st and 2nd layers to wick moisture away from the skin without those you can just end up stewing even in a Gortex or other breathable outer.
 
Gore Tex Pro, is absolutely fantastic stuff. Breathes incredibly well. It's just a completely different experience of walking on a wet day, you stay dry. As someone else said wash it, like once every 10 uses. I don't wear it for everyday, i have an alpkit jacket for knockabout.
 
IanCC said:
Gore Tex Pro, is absolutely fantastic stuff. Breathes incredibly well. It's just a completely different experience of walking on a wet day, you stay dry. As someone else said wash it, like once every 10 uses. I don't wear it for everyday, i have an alpkit jacket for knockabout.
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I fully agree and it's my "goto" fabric for walking, cycling, skiing. But I find goretex (all variants) less convincing when you are not physically active. Fine for active racing but cheaper, less breathable options work well for me when keeping watch in cold, wet conditions.
 
fisherman said:
So, fed up with being a bit damp when out hiking. I could buy genuine Goretex, said to be waterproof, at over £200 for the jacket. Guy Cotten £200 a set these days, not good for hiking. Looking at various items claimed to be waterproof, but then you find they are only 10000mm or 15000 mm and you need 20000 mmminimum. The average £50 jacket is probably 3000-5000mm which is barely showerproof. Goretex says it is 28000mm. how much do you expect to pay to stay dry in something you can be mobile in?

(5000 mm is of course the height of the watercolumn the material will support unleakingly. No, I didn't know that until recently)
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After years of wearing sailing trousers that quickly develop leaks I now use waterproof workmens over trousers . These

They seem pretty tough but if they last a year that will still be economic.
 
I don’t mind the camo look at paid last year £5 for army surplus new in bag gortex jacket, no hood but more hard wearing that my £300 walking jacket
 
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