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Staying Dry Without Getting Soaked
Review of Rainwear
By Steve Mann
Regardless of the type of outdoor recreation you
or your customers gear up for, rain wear finds its way on to any gear list.
From hiking, to mountaineering to backpacking, canyoneering, climbing, or
car camping you're sure to need protection form the elements. Good rainwear
has one main requirement—it's got to be waterproof. From that simple base,
the requirements vary. Do you need breathability? Room for layers underneath?
Going to wear a helmet? Or is economy a consideration? And let's not forget
weight.
Field Test takes a look this month at six suits (all but one offer a combination
of jacket and pant) of rain gear. They fall loosely into two categories: waterproof
and waterproof breathable rain suits. In both categories we looked for light
weight, and have reported both our own weight measurements and the manufacturers'
listed weight (in parentheses) when available. Our weights are a better relative
gauge, as they all came from the same scale. All weights are for Men's size large,
unless otherwise noted.
Waterproof Breathable
Sierra Designs Peak Bagger Jacket and Pant
GoLite Newt Jacket and Reed Pant
Helly Hansen Willis Jacket
Waterproof
Mountain Hardware Grade 5 Jacket and Pant
Helly Hansen Rainlight Essential Jacket and Pant
Kelty Rainfall Jacket and Eddy Pant
Sierra Designs Peak Bagger Jacket and Pant
Weight/Price
Jacket: 15.7 oz (16 oz*) / $189
Pants: 9.8 oz (14 oz*) / $129
The Peak Bagger's 3-layer laminated construction has a heavier feel
than any of the other jackets. This extra fabric gives both jacket
and pant high durability. While adding a little weight, the jacket
still maintains a low 15.7 ounces. The ripstop, "high-tenacity" nylon
held up very well in our tests. The Peak Bagger combination stands
up to rough treatment better than most of the other suits reviewed.
The jacket cut is more form fitting than some of the other jackets,
giving a more stylish, fashionable appearance. But the purpose of
this cut is more functional than fashionable. The Peak Bagger
jacket's cut makes it suitable for pursuits that require more
freedom of movement, such as mountaineering, canyoneering, climbing,
or backpacking. The jacket's tail covers the top of the pant, but
is not as long as some of the others, and so would not interfere with
a harness. The large hood also has room for a helmet.
 The pants are also
designed for more demanding recreation. The
16-inch zips on the pant legs make it easy to get the pants on and
off over boots. If you are hiking or backpacking through intermittent
rain, ease of removal is a big advantage.
As for waterproofness, the Peak Bagger combo stands well. All seams
are fully taped, and zippers are covered with a wide flap. The hood
has a single-hand adjustable draw cord to make it easy to cinch down
the hood in more extreme conditions.
The pants feature an elastic waist and draw cord, one rear zippered
pocket, long leg zips, and no side pockets. The jacket has elastic
cuffs with hook-and-ladder closures for extra adjustability, zippered
hand pockets and a mesh jacket pocket. The jacket packs into a
vertical-zip back pocket. The hood rolls down and stows away in
the neck.
Summary: The Peak Bagger rates high on durability as well
as cost. It also weighs the most. For demanding activities they
are worth the money, but when weight overrides durability, look
to another choice.
www.sierradesigns.com
GoLite Newt Jacket and Reed Pant
Weight/Price
Jacket: 11.5 oz (9.9 oz*) / $170
Pants: 5.5 oz (3.2 oz*) / $110
The GoLite Newt and Reed are the ultimate in lightweight among
waterproof breathable raingear. These pieces seem almost paper-thin,
yet strong for their weight. This construction also makes the GoLite
rainwear the compact to the smallest size, a good feature when
attempting to go ultralight, or make all your gear fit into a smaller
pack. (See the September 2000 Field Test for more on ultralight gear.)
Making weight the primary goal, GoLite opted to exclude other potential
features. For example, there are no zippers on the pant legs, and only
two large hand pockets on the coat. Both jacket and pant offer a loose,
comfortable fit, allowing layer apparel underneath.
For waterproofness, they feature two-layer laminated ripstop nylon.
The front zipper has a flap cover or storm gutter. Snaps keep the flap
down in strong weather. The hood gives ample head and face protection
and has drawstrings to cinch it down. The sleeve cuffs are elastic for
a tight fit. A long cut allows the jacket to cover the pant top even
when under a pack. All seams a fully taped.
 On the pant, the ankles are open for ventilation, and the waist
elasticized with a draw cord.
Summary: The Newt and Reed were test crew favorites, but with one caveat.
With the cut in weight comes a potential reduction in durability.
The Newt/Reed combo is not your best choice for activities where
high abrasion is likely. For example, I wore the Reed pant on an
alpine hike in Utah's Wasatch Mountains. While negotiating an
off-trail route, I had to scramble down a steep rocky, boulder-strewn
slope in the rain. When I arrived back at the car, I discovered I
a small tear in the pant. I highly recommend the Newt/Reed for
on-trail hiking and backpacking, especially ultralight trips, but
have my reservations about climbing, canyoneering, or scrambling
in them.
www.golite.com.
Helly Hansen Willis Jacket
Weight/Price
Jacket: 15.1 oz (14.3 oz*) / $225
The Willis jacket doesn't come with a Willis pant, although Helly Hansen
offers several pants to complement the jacket. At first we had decided
to exclude the jacket, but after wearing it a few times, decided its
performance justified inclusion sans pant.
The Willis jacket straddles the line between the higher durability and
lighter weight, falling between the Sierra Designs Peak Bagger and GoLite
Newt/Reed. Although only about 2 ounces less than the Peak Bagger's weight,
the Willis jacket feels lighter. Not surprisingly, the construction is a
2½-layer laminate (to GoLite's 2 and SD's 3), with high tenacity ripstop nylon.
The Willis offers fully taped seams, a helmet-capable adjustable hood,
two large capacity, mesh-lined front zip pockets, and seams positioned
where they won't irritate when wearing a harness or backpack. The hood
zips into a stow pocket on the collar. Unlike the other waterproof
breathables, the Willis also features pit zips, a surprise for such a
light jacket.
Summary: Our testers have worn HH's Willis many times, with no qualms about
its durability, and no complaints about weight or compressibility.
If you don't need ultralight (GoLite) and don't need the highest
durability (SD), the Willis is a great choice
Waterproof
www.hellyhansen.com
Mountain Hardware Grade 5 Jacket and Pant
Weight/Price
Jacket: 12.1 oz (11 oz*) / $105
Pants: 9.2 oz (10 oz*) / $72
Mountain Hardware seems to have found a good balance between durability
and lightweight in their Grade 5 waterproof jacket and pant. The fabric
is Mountain Hardware's Etherlite coated with polyetherurethane. The jacket
weighs only 12.1 ounces, yet has a sturdy feel and ripstop construction.
The jacket also features long pit zips for ventilation, a plus in for such
a lightweight piece.
All seams are taped and the sleeves have adjustable Velcro cuffs.
The jacket zipper sports a flap cover, with hook-and-ladder strips
to secure the flap down and keep the rain out. The hood's draw cord
adjusts with one hand, and accepts most helmets. A brim on the hood
gives shape to the hood and keeps rain off your face. The jacket
chest pockets are partially mesh lined for ventilation. There is
also an inside zip stow pocket.
The jacket and pant compact well, but less than the thinner fabric
of the GoLite gear. The jacket cut is parka style, i.e. a longer tail.
The fit is roomy.
 The pants feature a double Velcro waist closures on the sides for
maximum adjustment, and an elastic waistband with draw cord,
articulated knees, and full-length zips, which offer maximum
flexibility for getting into or out of the pants in bad weather.
A rear zip stow pocket rounds out the pant's feature set.
Matt tested the Grade 5 on California's Mount Whitney. He liked
the suit's packability. He also liked the ability to zip the
pants completely in two. "A very nice feature when your boots
are muddy." The stiff brim on the hood kept drips off the face.
Matt continued, "I liked the pit zips and core vents on the
jacket-not many rain suits have either of those, and very few have
both. These features are very important when you warm up fast like
I do," he noted. "I wore the suit while hiking. It vented quite
well. I took a ½-hour torrential downpour while mountain biking and
didn't get wet at all. I wore the suit as a windbreaker on Mt Whitney.
It worked well and was loose enough to fit over a fleece that I was
using for warmth."
Summary: The Grade 5 suit offers excellent venting and a good
balance of weight and durability. The combination of pit and core zips
is fairly unique among rain suits. The full-length pant zips also rate
highly. The Grade 5 represents high end of the waterproof rain gear
category and are a good value for the money.
www.mountainhardwear.com
Helly Hansen Rainlight Essential Jacket and Pant
Weight/Price
Jacket: 12.4 oz / $40
Pants: 7.5 oz / $30
The Essential's series is solid, no frills waterproof jacket and
pant. You don't get the bells and whistles of the MH Grade 5 gear,
but cost-conscious customers can walk out of the store with a jacket
and pant for less than the cost of the Grade 5 pant alone.
That introduction in no way ignores the good features of this
suit. It offers fully taped seams, a hood, and covered zippers.
This jacket and pant will keep you dry. The hood is not quite
as deep as others, and offers no brim. For those who need to
cover a helmet, this jacket is not a good choice.
The jacket has large flaps with snaps to over the zipper, and
elastic cuffs, which were not real tight. Large snap-closure
flap-covered pockets zip close, but there is no mesh for
ventilating the pockets. The hood's elastic draw cords have no
closure mechanism.
The pants do not have leg zips, but offer double snaps to close
down the opening. They have an elastic waist, but no draw cord,
although we found we didn't need one.
Summary: No surprise. The Essentials suit has the lowest
cost and the most minimal feature set. For occasional hikers,
scouts, or less-demanding conditions the HH suit will keep you
dry.
www.hellyhansen.com
Kelty Rainfall Jacket and Eddy Pant
Weight/Price
Jacket: 11 oz (10.3) / $50
Pants: 9.2 oz (10.5) / $50
The Kelty Rainfall jacket and Eddy pant is a more basic set of rain gear
with a waterproof PU coating. Made of compatible nylon taffeta, it offers
light weight and good waterproofness, as well as good compressibility.
It has many features of the higher-price suits, such as a zippered rear
pants pocket, and elastic waist with draw cord. An extra is the flap-covered
snap-closure cargo pocket on right side of the pant leg. Flaps cover the
leg zips, which extend about 14 inches above the ankle. Other pant features
are a gusseted crotch, articulated knees, and short ankle zipper.
The jacket has a large helmet-capable hood, a one-handed draw cord, elastic
sleeve cuffs and dual storm-guard flaps over the front zipper. All seams
a fully taped. There are two pockets on the jacket, but no mesh. The
hood stows into the collar and self-stuffs. Sleeves are elastic cuffed
and the hem offers an adjustable draw cord.
Our testing found this combo to function well. The only complaint was
in warmer weather and light rain, when low ventilation made for sweaty
hiking.
Summary: Good quality, a full set of features, durable, and low
cost. This is a great suit for less frequent hikers and backpackers,
who can't justify the higher prices of the waterproof breathables or a
high-end suit like Mountain Hardware's Grade 5.
www.kelty.com
All weights in parenthesis are author's actual weights.
Steve Mann is a contributing editor for GearReview.com.
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