It seldom happend to us more than a few days of rain in a row. So maybe we were always fortunate.
As a matter of fact you carry your rain gear as long in your backpack as it isn't raining. This means it is most of the time useless and burdens your pack with an extra weight.
So all UL-hikers try to minimize their rain gear weight. And yes for sure you may leave your rain pants at home just to save some weight and hope that it will not rain that much. As Andrew Skurka puts it, this is "stupid light".
Others buy super ultralight waterproof and breathable rainpants and rainjackets. Their mayor drawbacks are their short term waterproofness. If you don't keep them clean and don't reimgregnate them after every cleaning they render useless because they won't be waterproof and breathable any more.
Even if you use them brand new, they are breathable as long as you stand there studiying your map. As soon as you start to hike you get wet and sweaty and as a result you will freeze on colder days.
So what else can the dedicated and wholehearted UL-hiker do about it?
The Holistic Hiking Agency uses a combination of raingear which ist abolutely waterproof (till eternity!) and which ist reasonably breathable for hiking in cold and hot weather without overheating and getting clammy. Last but not least: our raingear kit weighs only 327 grams!
If you are honestly interested in how this can be achieved, just read further...
Our kit consists of 5 pieces:
- The Zpacks Cuben Poncho (181 grams)
- The Zpacks Cuben Kilt (59 grams)
- The MLD Cuben Chaps (51 grams)
- A pair of Freeze Bags (18 grams)
- MLD Cuben Dry Bag (18 grams)
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| And there it is: Our raingear kit in comparison with an extremly good read (Paperback) |
The complete kit weighs only 327 grams and is a litte bit larger than a 400 page papernback!
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| Five pieces of gear is all you need in heavy rain. |
The Zpacks Cuben Poncho
There's nothing left here to say about this poncho. We have already done this here.
This poncho does not get soaked by water like silnylon ponchos (so it remains it's weight even when wet) and is extremly breathable due to its great venting options. This poncho works far better than all the breathable jackets on the market.
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| Simple and ultralight: the Zpacks Cuben Poncho |
The Zpacks Cuben Kilt
A skirt or kilt isn't restricted only to female use. If you happen to be a scotsman you already know.
The kilt comes into play when your backpack is larger than a daypack und your poncho moves a little bit up and leaves your legs exposed to the elements. This isn't really a problem in hot summer but can be hazardous in colder weather.
The kilt covers your upper legs including your knees. A drawcord keeps it fixed around your waist. The kilt can be opened by the wond'rous machinations of a waterproof zipper. If the zipper is closed you will find that you can only hike on even ground without too long a stride. Unzipped you can easily climb mountains in your kilt. The zipper provieds excellent ventilation, much better than any breathable rainpant intrusively advertised by the outdoor industry.
The kilt is a multiuse item: you can sit down on it in good weather to save your precious hiking pants from getting stained. Or you can use it to shield off the wind from your sleeping quarters under a tarp and so on.
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| The kilt has a drawcord and a waterproof zipper which is half opend on our picture |
MLD Cuben Chaps
Chaps are simply trousers legs, nothing else. Most people know chaps from watching Westerns on TV. The cowboys in the good old days made use of them.
They come handy for every UL-hiker when the weather gets really nasty. Really nasty means you even want some protection for your lower legs. This won't happen all to often and so it is an ultralight emergency piece of gear. When worn the chaps provide enough rain cover when used with the kilt. The also provide some warmth but you won't get overheated like in commercial rainpants. So the MLD Chaps are the Ultima Thule for hikers in prolonged times of heavy rain. The chaps can be easily attached to your hiking pant's belt, if your pants don't sport a belt, an elastic drawcord is included.
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| The chaps have to be attached to your trouser's belt. There are also attachment loops at the foot end of the chaps to secure them on your shoes. We never have used this feature! |
Freeze Bags
As the ultralight hiker walks in trainers, minimalist shoes or whatsoever there is on the market out now, he usually avoids footwear with Gore-Tex membrane. The reason is that footwear with a membrane must be kept clear from dirt to be waterproof and breathable. Once the footwear leaked you won't get it dry in a reasonable time. To keep your feet dry in non-waterproof shoes just use freeze bags inside your shoes (for some pictures see here). They are really inexpensive and provide some warmth which is what you usually desire for your feet. The freeze bags keep your feet warm and reasonably dry and they are super ultra crazy lightweight. And if you carry a second pair of freeze bags with you - which we would advise you just in case one bag leaks - you can use the second pair as ultralight waterproof and warming mitten.
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| Nothing special, just freeze bags. |
MLD Cuben Dry Bag
the Cuben Dry Bag is not just a pure luxury item. You could just stash your raingear in your backpack's outer mesh pockets and save 18 grams.
But even if you put the above mentioned four pieces of rain gear wet in the Dry Bag it won't wet out your other equipment in your backpack. For convenience you can hang your raingear in that bag on your backpack attached to some compression straps.
And: you can use your raingear packed in your dry bag as a sleeping pillow. Just use your Buff headwear to cover the dry bag and it feels like home. The MLD Drybag really is a multiuse item.
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| MLD Cuben Cry Bag |
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| And here is your pillow: just wrap some Buff headwear around it. |
Our raingear kit works in most conditions, except:
When it is really windy, better to speak stormy. Maybe you would like to wear something that doesn't flap around noisily and feels like a sail on the mast of a little yacht. So if you are planning to hike in treeless arctic country in spring, autumn or winter you better chose a rainjacket.
Cuben's tear resistance is very poor. So if you hike through thick and thorny bushes you better wear some really tough and heavy trousers. Your cuben kilt will be ripped apart. Lightweight rainpants will do only a little bit better.
In all other cases our raingear kit is very versatile, always waterproof and extremly breathable.
Although you look like a alien from outer space in it, it is really practicable and lightweight!
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