Rain gear recommendation?

[Backlasher]

Last weekend's crappy weather revealed some leaks in my rain gear. Do you have a recommendation?

[Paul Schlagel]

There's been another post to check below, "Good Rain Gear" that already has some of my ramblings about rain gear. Since you've framed the question differently, I have a somewhat different answer.

The absolute best rain jacket, without a doubt, is made by Simms. I've probably gone through a dozed rain jackets over the years and all have dissappointed me (Cabela's, Hodgeman, Columbia, to name a few). One jacket has been awesome and it's the Simms Classic Guide Jacket. I've had it for many, many years. I've fished about a zillion hours in that jacket and it's never let me down. It is bone dry. Period. And after a zillion hours, it's holding up really well. There isn't a single loose stitch. I love that jacket. However, I checked their website and can give you the bad new: the price is $299. That's a lot of dough for a jacket.

I also have a Cabelas Guidewear jacket that is extra big for me. I use that jacket at the end of the season when I need a bigger jacket with enough room for a lot of clothes. I only had it one season but it kept me dry and I like it quite a bit so far.

For rainwear that works pretty well and won't kill your wallet, I'd probably recommend the Gander Mountain TechH2O. I haven't used it, but I have a few friends who use that raingear and so far they haven't had problems. The other post I mentioned has more discussion about the TechH2O.

Believe it or not, Simms has even more expensive jackets. Their G3 Guide Jacket is $399 and the G4 Pro Guide Jacket is $449. I'd be afraid to go outside with a jacket that spendy!

Troublesome rainwear is a real pain in the butt. Good luck.

[Paul Schlagel]

I forgot to mention that Simms doesn't make bibs, which totally blows. Most of what they make is marketed toward flyfishermen, and they assume that they're wearing waders. No musky fisherman I know wears waders, except one, so it really sucks that Simms doesn't make bibs. So, my previous reply only keeps your top half dry and warm. For the bottom half I wear Cabela's Guidewear bibs. So far so good, but I only have one season on them so far. Also try the Gander Tech H2O, as in the previous post.

[Backlasher]

$449 for a rain jacket? That's crazy!

[Paul Schlagel]

I remembered another suggestion. The Bass Pro 100 mph Gore Tex rainwear is supposed to be good. I haven't used it but I've had a number of clients that were wearing it and they swore by it.

[Jim]

Many brands (Cabelas, Scheels, Gander, Stearns) have "Water-Proof, Breathable" material and are lower cost than Gore-Tex. Does anyone here know if there's a difference between them, other than a big brand name and extra cost? Is there anything special about Gore-Tex?

[Paul Schlagel]

I think Gore Tex is the only way to go. Without a test facility similar to what Consumer Reports would use I can't speak with actual test results, only my personal history. Over the years I've had waterproof, breathable gear from Columbia (Omni-Tech), Hodgeman (?), Cabelas (DriLite), and probably others I'm forgetting. All leaked within a couple seasons of use. The products I've had with real Gore Tex all performed well. Maybe Gore Tex is better. Maybe it's because Gore Tex is used on higher-end products that may have better design and better workmanship. I feel better buying Gore Tex after being disappointed by the others. My $0.02.

[Paul Schlagel]

With the down-pour rains and wet condition this past week, I fielded a few questions about rain gear. This is a topic that seems to come up over and over again, so I thought I'd bump this post back to the top rather than compose a new one. Nothing has changed - I still LOVE my Simms jacket and my Cabelas Guidewear bibs are still bone dry too. Cabelas Guidewear is still recommended and the Gander H2O is still my recommendation in the lower price range. I strongly recommend a Simms jacket for anyone who can withstand the sticker shock. If Simms ever made bibs I'd buy a pair in a heartbeat. They'd probably be $300-400 just for the bibs, but I'd be the first in line to get a pair.

[Jim]

OK, either these reviews are starting to influence my thinking, or I'm tired of getting wet, or both. I'm finally giving up on my rain coat and getting a new one. I'm even thinking of biting the bullet and trying the Simms. There doesn't seem to be anyone that carries Simms gear and I'm not spending that much money by ordering on-line without looking it over and trying it on. Where can I find Simms products?

[Paul Schlagel]

Get the Simms Guide Jacket and you won't regret it. I've had mine for years and years and years and it hasn't leaked a drop. Even with a zillion hours of use, my jacket still keeps me bone dry. Mine is hardly showing any signs of wear, even though it's worn 100+ days a year. There are plenty of trips where it rains all day long and I stay perfectly dry, often when clients are complaining about getting soggy. Sometimes worse than rain, running the tiller version of the Ranger 620, I get doused with water on rough boat rides or when driving through the rain. Those long boat rides are more of a soaker than just fishing in rain. If it's raining or rough, clients can turn around and hunker down to stay dry - I can't. When it's rough and we hit a wave at a funny angle, it sometimes feels like someone's throwing 5 gal. buckets of water at me. While driving the tiller, I can't turn to avoid the rain and waves, I have to face straight into it. Still, no matter the conditions, I stay dry. There's only two pictures of me on the website - at the left side of the Home Page, and on the 'About Your Guide' page. In both pictures I'm wearing the Simms Guide Jacket that I rave about so much.

The jacket is expensive, no doubt, but it's an investment that will keep you bone dry for years and years. As I've said before, I'd be the first in line to buy Simms bibs, if they ever made them, even if they cost $350-400 like the jackets.

Simms gear is available at the Fly Angler. Simms primarily designs for and markets to flyfisherman. The Fly Angler if Fridley is connected to Thorne Brothers - how perfect is that?

[Paul Schlagel]

I received another e-mail today asking about raingear. It was about the zillionth question I've fielded over the years concerning raingear. Rather than start typing a reply from scratch, I directed his attention to this thread. I thought I'd give this thread which has been going for over a year a bump back to the top, but it needs a little updating.

Why are there always so many questions about raingear, more than for any other type of gear, even rods and reels? That's a tough question, but I have a few guesses. I think raingear is a piece of gear that disappoints more anglers than anything else. I think everyone is searching for the [non-existant] Holy Grail of outerwear: a raingear outfit that's warm and bone-dry, year after year, at a low, low price. I also think raingear is one of the most under-prioritized peices of gear. I'll never stop being surprised by the number of anglers who spend thousands on a brush pile of rods and reels, thousands on huge chests of musky lures, and a small fortune on a premium fiberglass boat and a nice truck to pull it; yet they'll fish in a $100 rain suit that they probably got at Wal Mart. Anyway, there's always a lot of questions about rain gear and I'm starting to ramble.

OK, so here's the update:

If you read the whole thread you'll see that it started with me raving about my Simms Guide Jacket. I still love that jacket and it's still bone dry. The price I mentioned in that post was low - either I quoted the wrong price in the first place, or the price has gone up. A visit to the Simms website shows that a Guide Jacket now lists for $349.95 and a G3 is listed at $399.95. I now also have a G3 which I wore for awhile at the end of the '09 season and I loved it. There's a different thread to check with my review of the Simms G3 jacket, "Product Review - Simms G3 Guide Jacket".

Another change has been my recommendation of the Gander jacket. In the last year I've had quite a few clients fishing with me on crappy days that bitched about their Gander clothes. For that reason, I have to rescind my recommendation for the Gander H20. I don't want to suggest cutting the corners on a jacket based on my recommendation, only to have them get wet. So, unfortunately, there isn't a low-priced recommendation. I can only suggest spending a lot of money on Cabelas Guidewear or Bass Pro 100MPH, or spending a little more and getting the Simms. I suggest to buy the Simms and never even think of getting wet again.

As a footnote, I have to mention one of several articles I'm working on. On article is about overlooked gear (I still need a good title) that lists the Top 5 types of gear that is undervalued and overlooked. It probably won't surprise anyone that raingear is the first thing I talk about. The full list is:
1) RAINGEAR
2) Release tools
3) Footwear
4) Terminal tackle (leaders, snaps, line)
5) A long rod - 8'6" or longer

[flathead]

greetings paul,

what exactly were the complaints about the gander mtn. raingear? did the waterproof membrane leak? did it let water in where it shouldn't (ie. around the neck, zippers, etc.)? i've had no problem with my pair that i have had for 4-5 years. but, then, i'm not in them 150 days a year. (now that i said this i know they are going to sping leaks the first time i get rained on this year!) the only complaint i have is that unless they are properly tucked into the zipper flap, the elastic cinch cords for the hood can get wrapped around the reel handle on the retrieve. i've been smacked in the face many times by a retracting elastic cord. ouch!:mad: but that is my own dumb fault.

flathead

ps: perhaps i am just uber lucky as i also have a 9 year old min-kota foot pedal that still works fine.:D (crap! now i'll be buying a new one of those along with some new raingear.)

[Paul Schlagel]

I'm not sure what the source of the failure was. The complaint was "leaky", which I would assume meant a seam leak or leaky membrane, not just a wet neck. I've had raingear that let water in around the neck, but that's a design issue and not a failure of membrane or seam. I used to hear good thinks about the Gander gear, it's just been in the last season or two that I've heard quite a bit of grumbling. It's possible that there's been a change in manufacturing or something. It could be just coincidence that's I've fished with more unhappy people.

You're probably right, now that you've mentioned the awesome perfomance of your raingear and foot pad, they'll both crap out on you this season!

[husskie]

Paul,

Don't know if you or any others have tried this, but I used The North Face snowboarding pants and jacket this fall in cold, wet conditions. They kept me dry, though the jacket is older and held water, it still didn't leak through to my under layers. The pants are around $120 and they were completely waterproof. I know this isn't ideal gear for the summer months but it worked well for me this fall.

John Huss

[Paul Schlagel]

Thanks for the input John. I have a tip for you that might make your old jacket as good as new. Use a product called Revivex. It will make the outer layer of your jacket shed water and you'll be bone dry. A couple years ago I thought my old Simms Guide Jacket wasn't keeping the water out like it used to. I visited the Simms site and found instructions on how to find and repair a leak. I didn't find any. Back to the Simms site again, I learned about ReviveX. It'll make the water bead up on your shell. It's recommended by the W.L. Gore company, so this isn't some crazy Gore Tex treatment like you occasionally see on some of the message boards. Just Google 'ReviveX' and you'll find a ton of info that'll reassure you it's worth a try. The shell of my old Guide Jacket would get soaking wet on the outside but wouldn't leak, just like what you jacket is doing. Even though your jacket isn't leaking, you'll eventually get damp and clammy-feeling because the Gore Tex membrane can't work like it should and release water vapor that builds up near your body. After the ReviveX treatment, water beaded up and ran off my jacket, and I felt as bone dry as I did when it was new. A bottle will only cost you about $15

[husskie]

Thanks for the tip. Which Revivex is the right stuff? I checked it out and there were lots of options.

[Paul Schlagel]

I used the spray. Some of the products need to be run through the dryer after application, which may damage some materials, depending on the construction of your jacket. There are some awesome videos on the Simms website related to product care and repair; one of those videos mentioned to never put Gore Tex waders in a dryer because the neoprene booties will be damaged by the heat. Obviously a rain jacket and waders aren't the same thing, but I'm still leery about putting my jacket in the dryer. The ReviveX products must take some heat to "set" into the fabric. The spay version of ReviveX uses a hair dryer, which is safer to use than the potentially-damaging heat of a dryer. The ReviveX spray is available at the Simms site, and lots of other places. I'll post a link for the video I mentioned. All the product care videos are very helpful. From some of the discussions I've seen on the major forums (MuskieFirst, Musky Hunter, etc.), there seems to be a lot of confusion about proper care of rain gear. Anyway, watch the video and get some spray.


The Simms site didn't let me copy and paste the URL address for the specific video. However, here is the product video part of the site. Find the video titled "Wader Care: Renewing DWR" for the information about the ReviveX. There are also good videos about repairing pinholes, repairing tears, washing, and storage. The good videos start at about the 5th video from the top. Again, all the videos are done with waders, but the same information applies to rain jacket or bibs made with Gore Tex or other waterproof, breatheable membrane. Here's the link:

http://www.simmsfishing.com/site/gallery/gallery_display.html?gallery_id=00006