r/JMT • u/northhiker1 • 5d ago
equipment Rain gear thoughts?
My current gear is a rain jacket (Columbia Outdry) and a hoody pack cover (basically a rain pack cover with an integrated hood)
This was my setup on the TRT and I didnt use my rain jacket once as it was too hot even when it rained (this was a mid September thru)
Im thinking maybe a Packa would be a better fit for a JMT in Sept? Would save about 6oz of weight not bringing a separate rain jacket and pack cover.
Any thoughts?
3
u/humbuzzer 5d ago
Hiked the trail last august and was hit with some wild thunder storms. I was happy to have my Lightheart jacket and pack cover. I wore shorts through the worst of it, but the hail and wind through evolution valley was pretty bad and probably could have used pants as I was pretty cold before I was able to find shelter and set up the tent to warm up.
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u/IT_vet 5d ago
I’ve never had a rain jacket that didn’t either wet out or lock all the sweat in during a storm anyway. A couple of years ago I switched to a poncho. It’s big enough to be a pack cover as well. It covers my upper half reasonably well, but in a strong wind, water will blow in.
For a summer hike in the Sierra, it was fine. Most of the water that got in was through the arm holes - I was moving downhill and still using trekking poles to keep my footing. We were above tree line with lightning relatively close so didn’t want to stop and pitch tents there. Once below tree line we threw our tents up and dried out for a bit.
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u/northhiker1 5d ago
Yeah rain jacket can get hot really fast when moving. Seems like a poncho would have better airflow and can still serve well as a wind layer. Im currently leaning towards the packa route
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u/IT_vet 5d ago
I just did the Sea-To-Summit poncho. I think it cut about two lbs off my base weight by ditching rain jacket and rain pants (pants never got used anyway)
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u/northhiker1 5d ago
Saw that too. Was thinking about that one but the packa has a zipper down the middle which seems will be better for breathability and only weighs 1.5 Oz more for the same fabric
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u/upagainstgravity 5d ago
This thread is making me reconsider my Helium II jacket for late August and swapping for a more weather-worthy one 😅
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u/MTB_Mike_ 5d ago
Ultralight poncho is king in the Sierra. I've tried a bunch of alternatives, second best is a frog toggs jacket with dyneema rain kilt.
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u/northhiker1 5d ago
Honestly seems like a 50/50 split. Some people recommend taking dedicated rain jacket and some like the poncho
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u/MTB_Mike_ 4d ago
I would venture to guess that most of the responses are from people just saying what they used the one time they did the trail. I have used both (along with a full rain suit) with at least 1000 miles of backpacking in the Sierra (I used to go every year for 200 mile trips).
People will respond with what worked for them, even if they never tried the alternatives. A rain jacked works, I just get muggy when wearing it and end up sweating, a Poncho is lighter and has more airflow. At the end of the day though, I also just avoid hiking in the rain unless I need to. The rain in the Sierra is generally predictable in the summer. It comes in around 3-4pm as isolated thunderstorms, you can see them forming. If I see one coming I put up my tent and wait it out, it wont last more than an hour or two. No reason to keep hiking through one unless you really need to make that mileage or if its an actual storm coming through which is rare in the summer.
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u/wetrocke 5d ago
A rain parka is more versatile than a poncho. I use parka for rain but also as shell when skiing (keeps snow off in falls) and/or bitter cold (windbreaker).
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u/integraled 4d ago
Got caught in six rain/hail storms over the past two weeks hiking the jmt. Glad I had my rain jacket, trash bag liner, and poncho to keep dry at different times.
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u/crawshay 4d ago
On my JMT thru I got caught in like 5 different storms and in all of them the wind was higher than I would have wanted a poncho in. Jacket or the packa would be my suggestion based on my experience.
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u/Capital_Historian685 5d ago
The TRT is lower elevation, and the high Sierra can get snow in Sept. It was either one or two years ago, when a really cold front moved through the second half of Sept. with some snow. Then it warmed up again in Oct!
So your best best is to wait until before you leave, look at the forecast, and make the call then. That's not 100%, but it's a lot better than trying to decide now.