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#210640 - 10/31/10 03:07 AM Re: Garbage bag saves women from cold [Re: Oware]
Glock-A-Roo Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 04/16/03
Posts: 1076
Quote:
You spend all day in the rain, or worse, crashing wet brush, you are going to get soaked to the bone in breathable gear. Doesn't matter how good.

In the snow, non-breathable gear bites.

Neither is the answer alone.


Here's the thing though: who's going to carry 2 jackets on a given excursion? I'm sure as heck not. In the conditions in which GoreTex will leave you soaked, a nonbreathable garment will leave you just as soaked. But in other conditions the GoreTex works great while the nonbreathable item... still leaves you soaked. I say the GoreTex (or whatever WP/B) is vastly more versatile for the weight and volume it costs me.

Quote:
WARNING: Several climbers have blamed the waterproof/breathable fabrics for their close calls. They claim that no version of it can take the punishment of a storm on the walls.


You have to take into account that this essay was written in the early to mid 1980's. I know, because it was in the Yosemite guidebook I had in 1988. WP/B technology has advanced by leaps and bounds since then; see Doug's notable info on GoreTex survival suits. However, it is true that YOSAR might still fine you if you get rescued in a storm using down sleeping bags.

Here are a couple of personal data points that are not statistically significant:

- I have been using a Lowe Alpine WP/B anorak (13 oz in size XL) for about 8 years in conditions ranging from 3-day nonstop downpours to subfreezing windstorms. Through it all it has never leaked. Even when the outer nylon fabric soaked through, I did not get the "trash bag effect" and was only mildly steamy inside. In those conditions it dries in minutes when worn near the fire.

- Over the same time period I've been using a pair of Marmot PreCip pants (8 oz in size XL) in the same conditions as the Lowe anorak with similar results.

Miracle garments or blind luck on my part? I dunno, they just work.

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#210673 - 10/31/10 08:46 PM Re: Garbage bag saves women from cold [Re: ireckon]
Leigh_Ratcliffe Offline
Veteran

Registered: 03/31/06
Posts: 1355
Loc: United Kingdom.
Originally Posted By: ireckon
If it's pouring rain and I plan to go walking in it, then I will prefer a non-breathable poncho over a $500 Goretex jacket if I must choose.

There's a common notion of always using Goretex because "hey it's expensive so it must be the best for all wet conditions". Based on my experience, I don't find that notion to be true.


I carry both. Poncho and Gore-Tex Jacket/trousers.
Goretex for most conditions and the poncho to put over the top of it for torrential rain coditions.

One bit of kit that is not to be sneered at is the very cheap and basic emergency plastic poncho.

When TSHTF happens, they keep you drasticly dryer. They are also good for shelter building and water collection.
_________________________
I don't do dumb & helpless.

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#210681 - 11/01/10 12:50 AM Re: Garbage bag saves women from cold [Re: Leigh_Ratcliffe]
hikermor Offline
Geezer in Chief
Geezer

Registered: 08/26/06
Posts: 7705
Loc: southern Cal
I almost hesitate to bring this up, but a garbage bag, with slits for head and arms, has served me very well on several occasions to ward off pouring rain.
_________________________
Geezer in Chief

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#210683 - 11/01/10 12:57 AM Re: Garbage bag saves women from cold [Re: hikermor]
Richlacal Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 02/11/10
Posts: 778
Loc: Los Angeles, CA
I agree with hikermor,They make Great Poncho's in a Pinch!

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#210721 - 11/02/10 12:06 AM Re: Garbage bag saves women from cold [Re: Leigh_Ratcliffe]
JohnN Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 10/10/01
Posts: 966
Loc: Seattle, WA
Originally Posted By: Leigh_Ratcliffe
Originally Posted By: ireckon
If it's pouring rain and I plan to go walking in it, then I will prefer a non-breathable poncho over a $500 Goretex jacket if I must choose.

There's a common notion of always using Goretex because "hey it's expensive so it must be the best for all wet conditions". Based on my experience, I don't find that notion to be true.


I carry both. Poncho and Gore-Tex Jacket/trousers.
Goretex for most conditions and the poncho to put over the top of it for torrential rain coditions.

One bit of kit that is not to be sneered at is the very cheap and basic emergency plastic poncho.

When TSHTF happens, they keep you drasticly dryer. They are also good for shelter building and water collection.


Bingo! Light weight plastic poncho supplements the Gore-Tex well. Better yet, the poncho allows airflow to help you from building up perspiration. And, as noted, the garbage bag over can pinch hit for the poncho, although not as well.

Also, a cut open garbage bag makes a decent improvised pack
cover.

But don't forget the poly-pro base layers and the fire. Did I mention, don't forget the fire?

-john

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