Which do you prefer. Rain gear top and bottoms with a pack cover or a poncho?

I prefer a poncho. You can get some protection from the rain but also some ventilation. Sometimes if it rains hard I hunker down someplace and just hole up underneath it for awhile. It at least keeps the rain off. I don't think I've ever had any rain gear that kept me actually dry. The pack doesn't sweat so you can keep that dry either way.

The rainsuit seems like a good choice but I always get just as wet in one as I think I'd get outside one and I just can't stand the trapped feeling. They are warmer, though, or at least the water under them is warmer than the rain outside.

The wind gets under a poncho really easy. I've tried the rainsuits when I'm out sailing, and if you're in a situation like that where you know you'll be battling winds they are a better but still pretty miserable solution. Some sections of the AT are pretty exposed. If wind chill is part of the issue a poncho isn't great. Most places I'd still prefer to get by with a poncho.

Gee, I don't see a comfortable solution for this, just makes me remember some miserable hikes. Always nice when the rain stops.

JimmyTH

If it is cold, then a jacket. If it is warm then a poncho or just a pack cover and a good hat. - every part of your body will be wet anyway. As long as its not too cold, several hours in the rain feels good to me. (I'm probably just a weirdo.)

Well then, you may be a weirdo, but you aren't alone in that thinking. I am a weirdo too.

What JPAnderson said. However, I will say I usually have the pack cover even with the poncho. I hang the pack on a tree at night and it's worth the pack cover's weight just to have that extra protection.

In hot weather (just about the whole AT in August), I often hike with ONLY a pack cover. Even a poncho leaves me busting a heavy sweat. On my thru-hike in 1999, a drought year, I hiked from Harper's Ferry to Hanover, NH with no rain gear except a pack cover. I didn't regret it.

Ah, one of the proverbial question. In addition to what JP and Bearpaw said here are a couple of additional thoughts.

Depending on the size of the poncho, it can also serve as a small tarp that can be used for shelter (rain or sun) if needed.

Rain jacket and pants can serve as part of your layering system if there is a threat of cold weather.

You can wear your rain jacket and pants in town while you do your laundry.

I made a small pack cover out of a piece of 24in. x 36in. ripstop nylon (could have used silnylon) with a channel sewn around the edge and cord running through it. I use it for several purposes: pack cover if it looks like rain during the day or at night (I'm a hammock hanger so my pack is hung up in the tree), a gear-hammock that strings up beside my regular hammock if there are things I want to keep close, a mat under my hammock for a place to stand while putting on my boots, a place to lay out my gear when packing so I'm sure I don't miss anything. It is probably the most multipurpose item I use (you can see it on this website www.tothewoods.net).

As Bearpaw said, a lot of it depends on the conditions. You can always bounce the gear ahead to one of your resupply points.

Tango

Personally, I would go with either poncho or raingear depending on your preference, but if you go with a jacket, I would substitute a pack cover for a pack liner. With a pack cover the shoulder pads will still get wet and seep through into the pack. If you have a down bag you will also want to put that in it's own bag. I find a heavy duty garbage bag or giant freezer bag will do if you want to save $$. Double up garbage bags for pack liners. With a pack liner though, you will need to watch that you don't put anything you want to keep dry in the exterior pockets especially the lid pockets, unless they are in a freezer bag.