Hats
I’ve written a lot about hats. I won’t rehash it here.
Jackets
Both of these are good rain jackets
Both are good. The Arc’tryx kept me from hyperthermia but it is heavy. The Apollo I got on trail and it works. Could be lighter. I’ve worn both around town. I like the Arc’tryx, it is just too heavy for long hikes.
The Helium wets out quickly. Lousy service. Lightheart Gear works. Wore out eventually. Worked well enough for me that my wife bought one.
Helium gets used as a windbreaker sometimes.
A different model than mine. Protected her from hypothermia. Still wears it around town. Only failure is that it is heavier than other gear.
It is great. My wife loved hers until it wore out. It worked well enough that we bought their rain pants.
The Visp has had great results. It will eventually wear out. It gets great reviews. https://sectionhiker.com/enlightened-equipment-ultralight-visp-jacket-review/ It is often sold out.
Mine came with pit zips.
I confess I will go back to Lightheart Gear when my Visp wears out.
More on jackets/alternatives
I’ve used a “typical” vinyl rain coat. Waterproof. Heavy. Does not breathe.
I really wanted to like ponchos. I tried a number of them. My forearms and hands were wet and cold.
I used https://www.thepacka.com/. Really liked it. Rain cover for your pack, protects your shoulder straps from the rain, breathable and lots of protection. Not what I would use away from the Appalachian Trail or with a Dyneema style pack.
My Packa eventually wore out.
In addition, Frogg Toggs are cheap and fairly light. The jackets are worn on many trails.
Finally there is https://antigravitygear.com/shop/product-category/2-0-antigravitygear-ultralight-rain-jacket-w-pit-zips-copy/. I haven’t used it but it gets good reviews.
Pants/bottoms
I started with a full rain skirt. Worked very well but was heavy. Moved to a rain skirt/kilt + rain gaiters. Worked very well. Breathes well.
Moved to full zip EMS rain pants. They were lighter than kilt + gaiters. They also resist wind, and this brand takes a lot of abuse. They were able to handle heavy rain for hours and days. https://www.ems.com/products/ems-thunderhead-mens-2-5-layer-extreme-waterproof-overpants-059468.
It is great that they are finally for sale again.
With the full zip I could also unzip a lot of the top and let them breathe under the Packa.
I’d put the Packa as perfect for the Appalachian Trail. Not perfect for other trails with more exposed wind. Continuously improved and people wearing them share a sense of community.
For the PCT, Happy6 and I moved to Versalite rain pants. About half the weight but not as tough as EMS and no zipper. We did not need them days on end. With tenacious tape patches they kept going and we we wore them for about 2/3rds of the CDT as well.
https://lightheartgear.com/products/rain-pants is what I’ve moved to since my Versalite pants wore out and got washed once too often. Don’t toss DWR treated pants into the washing machine.
The pants have a bottom zipper. They also have pass through pockets. That is, flaps but they give you access to your pants or shorts pockets instead of having separate pockets for the rain pants. I like them because that means I can quick pull up/on rain pants and still have easy access to whatever was in my pockets.
With the lower zippers it makes then easier to on and off quickly without the weight of full zip pants. https://www.adventurealan.com/product/lightheart-gear-rain-pants/—a review.
Finally, most hiker boxes will have a pair of failed Frogg Toggs bottoms in them at one point or another. The bottoms are no where near as well accepted as the tops.
Statistics
For the Appalachian Trail (from the Trek.co).
Most Popular Rain Gear Models on the AT in 2024
Popularity Rank & Model
1Frogg Toggs Ultra-Lite Rain Suit
Note this says nothing about satisfaction, just the number of people who bought each product.
Highest-Rated PCT Shells (https://www.halfwayanywhere.com/)
This year, the Montbell Versalite(Men’s/Women’s) was the highest-rated rainwear on the Pacific Crest Trail. It’s a 6.4 oz / 182 g jacket made with GORE-TEX WINDSTOPPER fabric. It has pit zips, a pocket hem adjuster, and two hand-warmer pockets placed hiker up to not be in the way of a hipbelt, fanny pack, or harness.
1. Montbell Versalite
Men’s/Women’s
2. Arc’teryx Beta
Men’s/Women’s
3. Enlightened Equipment Visp
Men’s/Women’s
4. LightHeart Gear Rain Jacket
5. Black Diamond StormLine Stretch
Men’s/Women’s
Highest-Rated CDT Shells (https://www.halfwayanywhere.com/).
This year, the Montbell Versalite(Men’s/Women’s) was the highest-rated rainwear on the Continental Divide Trail. It’s a 6.4 oz / 182 g jacket made with GORE-TEX WINDSTOPPER fabric. It has pit zips, a pocket hem adjuster, and two hand-warmer pockets placed hiker up to not be in the way of a hipbelt, fanny pack, or harness.
1. Montbell Versalite
Men’s/Women’s
2. Zpacks Vertice
Men’s/Women’s
3. Enlightened Equipment Visp
Men’s/Women’s
4. Frogg Toggs Ultra-Lite
Men’s/Women’s
5. LightHeart Gear Rain Jacket
I find the satisfaction ranking more relevant than the popularity of the twelve most common rain jackets on the PCT and the CDT.
Comment: I found it interesting that gear that made the “top five” on one trail did not on the other. Montbell, Visp and Lightheart Gear showed up on both the PCT and the CDT top five.
Most hikers start with the Appalachian Trail or the Pacific Crest Trail.
It is common on the Continental Divide Trail for hikers to have hiked both other trails before.
Most rain jackets can also double as a wind shirt. That use just wears them out much faster. When wind breakers often weight 6-7 ounces it made sense to use the same jacket for both tasks.
With 1.7 ounce wind shirts it makes sense to carry a wind shirt and not wear out my rain jacket early.
I’ll have more on gloves and mittens after Christmas.