I am looking at this as a rain/snow/wind shell for PNW snowshoeing-day trips and overnights. Cabelas Rainy River Parka I would go with a size large/long at about 16 ozs. This is about the most affordable Gore-tex paclite shell I can find. Any thoughts or recomendations?
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Deeds can't dream what dreams can do. e.e. cummings
I just wanna say, I own a LOT of goretex and a TNF paclite parka shell and LL Bean packlite pants. I love em all, and perhaps the bean pants with full length waterproof zippers ranks as one of my favorite pieces of gear.
Anyway I have noticed that putting on packlite does not warm you up because it doesn't hold any warm moist heat. Other goretex shells add warmth, don't depend on packlite to be a warming layer. Jim
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These are my own opinions based on wisdom earned through many wrong decisions. Your mileage may vary.
I have a CF gortex bivy, olive green, and thinking about giving it to my sister to make some sort of long 'snowy river' type coat or cape. Might still work over my sleeping bag under a small tarp. Anyhow, at 2 pounds for approx 60"x80" the heavy gortex is 8.6oz per square yard, which seems comparable to the packlite maybe. I like the idea of a light full length coat or cape. It does do the waterpoof/breathable thing fairly well. It would be nice if it could serve as a bivy and a coat or cape.
True about no warmth. Sometimes it is better to go with more wool and fleece and a lighter shell, even is the shell doesn't perform as well. Especially at very cold temperatures where the shell tends to ice up anyways, a light one might be just as good once iced up. Can't always count on that though. Then there is cold rain, windy cold rain, windy cold freezing rain, that sort of thing. As long as you aren't taking it out of your wool/fleece a better performing shell is worth a little extra weight, if it works as it should. So I've learned to like the CF bivy material and wonder about it as a coat or cape.
JAK I think the real test is skiing or snow shoeing in your rain pants for a few hours including some sweating, then put your hand in your pants and feel your underwear and legs. Are they dry? I generally wear patagonia microfleece longunderwear bottoms under my LLBean paclite pants, and they breath well enough that they allways keep me dry and they never "freeze up".
But this thread is about jackets. I have had zipper problems with marmot jackets but they were fixed at no cost. I have never had any failure of any TNF gear including my goretex jacket and pants.
However goretex is a fabric and you wear a garment made of a fabric by someone other than the fabric mfr, so you could get a poor quality goretex jacket, not that I'm saying that about Cabelas. Afterall a million deer hunters can't be completely wrong, can they? Jim
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These are my own opinions based on wisdom earned through many wrong decisions. Your mileage may vary.