work quality rain gear

I work outside for about 5 hours a night all year. I've been having a lot of trouble finding rain gear that actually holds up. I tried stearns jackets from walmart and other basic stuff and it only lasts for a few nights. I was also looking into gore-tex but its not really work quality and VERY expensive for jackets. Someone also suggested me a Barbour jacket but they are 400 dollars and up. I was looking at cabelas and they make a waterproof fleece for 50 bucks that I want to try. From what I've used a heavy cotton or cordura jacket seems to be the most durable but its tough to find waterproof stuff under 300 dollars made from that. I've used the cheap polyester hooded sweatshirts at work and they hold up pretty good so I'm wondering if this waterproof fleece is the way to go for rain gear? Being outside that long I'm probly gonna get wet no matter what. I'm also going to get the gore-tex cap by carharrt since its only 15 bucks. Hopefully it will help keep the rain off my head and it will be cheap to replace when it wears out. anyone else have suggestions?

Check your local chandlery for light weight foul weather gear. Nothing I've found beats a good waterproofed Sou'Weaster style hat for keeping the rain off your head and directing it out past your neck onto your back and shoulders.

- Don

what kind of work are you doing?

save your money on buying "cheap" stuff over and over trying to find something that works... DO buy that quality $300+ jacket.

if you get one with heavy cordura construction, it'll last; goto a camping store and find a backcountry/rock/ice climbing model. there's a reason they cost that, they last, and are generally backed by various guarantees.

EMS and REI carry good stuff.

then again, i know someone that would wear a trash bag with hole cut for his head on rain nights. free bags, they work well enough :>

Boat stores and chandleries are excellent sources of foul weather gear. People who make their living on boats learn what foul weather is and what it takes to stay warm and somewhat dry. You might also try Gempler's, a farm supply outfit, www.gemplers.com. They have a pretty full range in the catalog, from cheap to quality. I can't vouch for any of Gempler's suits personally, but I did get my So'wester hat from them and it's a good hat for the money, less than $20. I've been happy with the coated nylon suit I got at Cabela's for about $100, but I doubt it would last more than a month if I was working in it all day, every day. I've heard Grundens makes good suits, but as they don't have tall sizes, I haven't tried them personally. Filson makes oiled cotton canvas jackets like the Barbour one you mentioned. I've heard they're unbelievably durable, but on the other hand you can't throw them in the washing machine or dry clean them. I'm not sure I want clothing that would acquire quite that much "character"

If you spend some money and get a good suit made by a company that will stand behind it, you should get years of wear, not just days.
Whether it's rain suits, boots, or flashlights, quality costs. But a quality item will generally outlast all the cheap items that could be bought for the same money, and you only have to go to the store once!

I have the impression that "Barbour" gear is much over-rated: I really wouldn't bother with it.

mrchri5,
what kind of work and conditions exactly are you preparing for ? If you check out "Doug Ritters Equipped to Survive" site, he's usually full of good advice and reviews.

When I recently looked over a few extreme-gear shops, I was amazed at the range of "New Fabrics" available. The textiles industry is moving real fast.
Early Gore-Tex stuff wasn't quite as good as it should have been, but now there are plenty of excellent modern "Miracle Fibers" with particular qualities and claims.
F'rinstance, I've always found "Thinsulate" to be good stuff, but there are many other choices like that now.

Jahn

I would recommend looking in to "foul weather gear" for boaters. Try http://www.westmarine.com They sell a pretty good basic line-up.

I work at a ups ramp netting and strapping down cargo. My jackets get caught on metal equipment and wooden boxes. For the winter I have a arctic carhartt jacket. For cool weather I have some cheapie work coat made of cordura and every year people that havent seen it think I have a new coat. Rain gear is the only place I have trouble. It doesn't rain often but when it does I want to be ready. I ended up buying the waterproof fleece from cabelas and gore-tex carhartt cap. I will only wear it when it rains so hopefully it will last a while. I've had a 90% polyester fleece hooded coat for several years that I wear quite often and no rips or holes yet. I noticed carhartt has a cordura gortex jacket for 250. I wish there was a store around here so I could check one out. I bet it would last a very long time. I've just had bad luck with all the nylon gear except for cordura. Most gortex jackets i think are some nylon blend and nothing near cordura quality. I have some rip stop nylon pants that I need to patch up. They have lasted longer than other stuff i tried but not much. My order is suspose to be here by next friday. In the summer time I just wear a tshirt and dont really mind getting wet. but when it gets down into the 50's that rain is really cold.