Thanks on rain gear suggestions

[Sue Brown <sbrown@wamedes.com>]

Thanks to all who wrote to me on their suggestions for rain gear.  I
received a
lot of posts with suggestions but unfortunately I don't have time to answer
each one personally...so please accept my thanks for sending your ideas.

For those of you who are interested, the most appealing and slightly
predominant
suggestion was gore-tex jacket and pants.  The jacket I wore in the rain on
Friday was my ski (actually a snowboard) jacket that does fine in cold,
drizzle, or wet snow but failed miserably in the frank rain.  The jacket I
wore
on Saturday was my *very* old REI gore-tex anorak that has been washed a few
too many times...also still fairly protective in slightly wet stuff but no
longer waterproof in consistent rain.  (Besides losing its' waterproof-ness,
it's also patched with duct tape where it's caught a few too many branches
over
the years.  But heck, I looked like a *real* rider...totally muddy, water
literally running off of my helmet cover, and my jacket held together with
duct
tape! <bg>)  I've also regularly worn my lightweight (also very old)
Driza-Bone
non-waxed, but originally waterproof, riding coat.  I like this one but it
loses its' "waterproof"ness after a few washings and it's a bright teal so it
really looks bad when it gets filthy...consequently, it has been washed
quite a
few times.  They only way it repels water after a washing now is to spray it
with a whole can of the waterproofing stuff you put on tents.  Pretty noxious
but if you let it air out for a couple of weeks, it's wearable.  It's also
missing a leg strap and has some torn seams so it's not as functional as it
once was.

Since the rain is scheduled to reappear (or, perhaps, never go away ;-)) on a
regular basis during the Washington winter, I decided to go today and get some
decent waterproof clothing.  I bought another REI Gore-tex anorak, very
similar
to the one I've owned for years (which I really liked for different activities
while it was still performing as advertised. ;-))  It has covered zippers on
the sides that go all the way up to the arms...altho I usually only unzipped a
little bit on each side so that the jacket spread out when I was in the
saddle.  It also has nice pockets, easily adjustable cuffs, and a big hood
that
will fit over a helmet.  It's a lightweight jacket which is perfect for me
since I don't get easily cold, (but *do* get easily too warm) especially while
exercising (raised in northern Minnesota and of good Scandanavian blood geared
for the tundra <g>) -- and I've also learned (spending 30 years between
Minnesota and Montana) to layer, layer, layer!  I already own long
underwear of
both the polypropylene and silk varieties plus countless pairs of polypro
socks
and glove liners...so the most inside layer will keep the moisture away from
me.  Now, it just has to be cold enough for me to put the long underwear
on...I
still forget that 30 miles away from me could be a fair amount colder than
where I am (which is 2 blocks from the Puget Sound which you *think* would be
cold but I'm in a weird rain shadow and tend to be slightly warmer and
drier.) 
I had my polypro long underwear on under my polarfleece before my ride on
Saturday...then the sun came out at home, weather felt warm so I took it off. 
Two miles north of us it was raining and colder.  Go figure! 

I also invested in a pair of Gore-tex pants that you put over your original
pants during heavy rain.  They zip on the lateral seam from the ankle to the
knee so you can put them on easily over wet boots.  The ones that zipped all
the way up to the waist were $100 more so I decided I could live with the
partial zip.

As far as the gloves are concerned, from the comments I received, I'm probably
not going to do much better than what I've got.  I'm going to check into the
ones advertised in Sportack, but they may have the same problem as the
neoprene
SSGs that I already own...your hands may still get wet but they won't be
cold. 

Thanks again for all of the suggestions!  I sure appreciate everybody's help.

Sue


sbrown@wamedes.com
Tyee Farm
Marysville, Wa.


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