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New guy rain gear question???

Braveheart

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Jul 24, 2023
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First of all thanks to everyone who has given me advice here. I am down to 50 days before, I set out on my Elk solo hunting adventure in Montana from Central Missouri. I guess you could say that I am going over everything in my head and trying to plan now for any problems that pop up while I am hunting. Especially being that this is my first hunt for Elk in a new place far from home and now that I am retired, I seem to have alot of free time.

I of course as a tree stand hunter did not have much of a rain gear suit other than a poncho. If it raining then I hunt in a blind here.

I have had to order about three different sets of rain gear to find one that will fit and allow some movement without sweating to death. I ended up with a cabelas rain suit for about $200 with jacket and pants. I notice that the pants and jacket are very thin. The fold into some nice little pouches that you can carry in your back pack.
I guess that I am concerned about the durability of the suit. It seems like it could tear easily and end up being worthless. It does seem to be well made, but not very puncture resistant.

I notice that others spend $450 on a gortex style rain jacket and pants. I have looked at a set and can not bring myself to spend that much on a rain suit. It may not rain!! I guess if it is a durable gortex jacket it could be worn as a windbreaker or snowy conditions and you would get a lot more use out of it than a super thin jacket waded up in a back pack. I could bring myself to spend more if I knew what kind of rain gear most people use to chase elk.

A friend of mine bought a $350 gortex rain jacket and told me he wore it every single day hunting elk. He said he would never take a thin set because of the hiking and climbing one does hunting elk.

So what style do you guys wear and how often does and elk hunter actually wear a rain suit??
 
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Well I can say I used it this year when I was hunting pronghorn. With as much weather as WY had this year, it’s a no brainer. It’s also very good for wind blockage.

I use First Lite, got the track suit on sale. I’d buy it again if I needed. Rain gear is so underrated. I think my kit was $450 total.
 
In 50 days it will probably be nice or snowing, not raining, so not as critical on high quality rain gear. Most of MT isn’t terribly brushy so thin gear should work for one hunt. It’s not SE AK. I would worry more about warm gear than rain gear for MT rifle season. Gaiters can help a lot too with keeping boots dry and not beating up pants.

I buy high end rain gear but expect many seasons out of it including trips to AK and the OR coast.
 
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He said he would never take a thin set because of the hiking and climbing one does hunting elk.
That's exactly WHY I take a thin (lightweight) rain set. Take it from one flatlander to another...All the hiking and climbing is more likely to get to you than rain.

If your cabelas set is lightweight, waterproof, windproof and breathable it'll likely work fine....probably used most as a layer to keep wind off you anyway.

Take some tenacious tape w you, if you get a tear in rain gear repair it...or use 100mph tape you need to.

Make sure you've got good, waterproof and comfortable boots that are broken in well before you drive west..blisters will stop your hunt. A few pieces of KT tape should also be in your pack and apply it as soon as you feel a hot spot starting...

Good luck w your hunt!

If you get hooked on mountain hunting you'll find yourself quickly down the rabbit hole of tinkering with and upgrading your gear in continuous fashion...
 
Light weight and packable for hunt like that. If you were hunting in SE Alaska like BZN said, then yeah, spend more $ on a heavier set of raingear. Otherwise it's just in case anyway.
 
A rain suit is pointless for me. I prefer to use a SnugPak poncho for my western hunts. It keeps me and my pack dry and allows for the most airflow. Works very well for me.
 
I don't know where you're hunting in MT but Rain during elk season is not normally needed.
SNOW gear maybe. This stuff blocks the wind, and you can pack it in your pocket.
 
What part of MT are you heading to? I hunt northwestern Montana and I often do end up needing rain gear for at least a day or couple days during the season. And yeah, depending on the forecast for the current day, I might put it in my pack in case it starts raining.

I’m a chick, but I have the Cabela’s brand (specifically the She brand) raincoat and pants and they’ve held up well so far. I hike up and down the mountains, through brush, over deadfall blah blah and so far it’s still working well. I think I’ve had it two seasons; year before last it rained a ton during hunting season so I wore them a bunch. I wouldn’t say mine is thin though, and it’s the ones that have the soft brushed outer material, so might not be the same kinda stuff you got. Regardless I think you should be able to find something that will work for less than $400.
 
i am going to the Clancy, MT area near Helena unit 335.

Yes thats exactly what I got mtrose the

Cabela's Space Rain Full-Zip Jacket with 4MOST DRY-PLUS and same for pants​

How long have you had it and does it leak???
 
I’ve had mine (the women’s version anyway, but I assume it should be comparable?) I think for two hunting seasons. The first hunting season I wore it a ton because it was a really wet season. I haven’t had any leaks and last year we had a day where we were out in rain that turned to slushy snow for twelve plus hours packing an elk out, and I was still dry underneath my jacket and pants at the end (well aside from being sweaty, but certainly not from it leaking). I also made sure to keep my phone zipped into my jacket pocket that day because it was so wet out and it stayed dry as well. We were slipping and sliding around on that pack out and I know I fell a hand full of times, so I wasn’t babying it at all.

You mentioned yours feeling thin though and I don’t recall mine feeling thin to me, it seems a decent thickness and sturdy (I have it packed away so I can’t go look, but it never crossed my mind it felt thin or flimsy, so that’s the only thing that makes me wonder if the material of yours is different). I just kind if assume they’d make the men’s of similar toughness but who knows.

You’re probably more likely to have wind and cold over that way. My sister lives in Helena and loves to give me a hard time about living in the banana belt of MT, so I do tend to see more rain during hunting season than you’ll probably see over there. I’m sure someone else would know better than I do what kind of weather you might see. Although of course who knows this far out.
 
I think most people don't understand you have to take care of rain gear. Wash it, and respray a dwr treatment on it. Especially if it's appearing to get waterlogged. It's really easy to take care of, but most people don't and then blame it on the rain gear.

It's similar to a pair of leather boots. You need to wax them occasionally to keep the water resistance up.
 
I’m bringing along Cabelas / BassPro Bone-Dry parka this year. I’ve worn it in the past for deer hunting. No wind, no water!
 
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