I think this might have been covered before, but the logistics of flogging through search trying to find the right combo of words…………….sorry, cant do it.
Anyway. Middle of summer here, but I am getting plans for a few house extensions and garage/barn type work. Normally I do a lot of inside stuff.
I wanted to get a jump on the rain gear now while it is cheaper and so I have it handy. ( thinking for once, see )
What do you guys use and what DONT you like?
One of my major irritations with any rain gear is that in order to be able to get at the tools on your belt, it has to be worn outside the raincoat. All your tools get wet, the pouches go stiff etc.
Try and wear the thing underneath and ya cant get anything.
I have an oilskin vest that I like. No good in any sort of real rain, but handy in drizzle and it keeps the wind off your back.
A woolly hat keeps the balding noggin happy and I never bothered with leggings etc. Just wear shorts anyhow. When your boots fill up from all the water running down your leg……probably time to go home.
I hate things that make a fella sweat. PVC is abhorrent. Oilskin I like. Wool is fine for quite a while till it gets soaked.
Up till now I just wear a few layers, go till I get wet to the skin then go home.
Everything, 100% of it, depends on how you look at it.
DW
Replies
you might consider the rain gear sold for golfers
bobl Volo, non valeo
Baloney detecter
Frog Toggs
tell me more ...
I was gonna ask if anyone had a set of Froggs Toggs.
saw than a coupla years back at an "outdoor" trade show ...
probably shoulda snapped them up then.
So U like them?
recently took the kid down to the new W. Va Cabela's store ... they sell them in the catalog but I cound't fight the Sat afternoon crowds enough to find them in the store.
Jeff
Buck Construction
Artistry in Carpentry
Pgh, PA
I like them so far. They were recommended by a forklift driver.What I like most is that you can seriously roll them up into a bag smaller than your lunch. That little bundle weighs as much as one sandwich. Goes with you anywhere. It keeps you dry, unlike a lot of this high tech stuff.It's sort of pricey, ($65-79) since I don't think it would hold up for a large amount of jobsite abuse but it breathes so you don't sweat under it. It makes it kind of fun to be out in a good rain. I wear it fishing and hunting. I've had mine for say a year and half or so and it is starting to get fuzzy looking but still keeps me dry. Fairly amazing stuff.
I just had to do a search on those toggs.So they make raingear out of tyvek now, 'eh ?Don't know that I would ever have thought of that.They say that not only is it expensive, it tears if you look at it crooked.
The person you offend today, may have been your best friend tomorrow
AJ,
I have had my "Line 7" for 20 years. It is bullet proof & made in your country......
On a hill by the harbour
I know you like DIY...
; )
Filson's makes the hat I have, and others, and some wet weather gear, that they call tin cloth.
Essentially, they use exactly the same thing that I use to finish a butcher block.
1/2 beeswax, and 1/2 mineral oil.
Melt it together, and paint it on until the cloth is soaked.
My hat becomes a helmet in cold weather. The wax stiffens it up almost solid.
You can regulate the stiffness, and/or the waterproofness of the cloth by changing the mixture of oil and wax.
Pretty soon, I am going to remove the leather band from this hat, and wash the hat in the sink. Then I'll reapply protection with my own mixture. I'll let you know how it goes. I have no idea how soon I will do it, though. Could be a month, could be a year.
Hey, it's all still "pretty soon" when you get older, isn't it ?
LOL
The person you offend today, may have been your best friend tomorrow
Just a thought but as part of researching another project I started looking into traditional marine, salt water as opposed to leatherneck, methods and techniques. Traditional methods of keeping manila ropes, and damned near everything else on a seagoing vessel, was what was termed 'Tar'. Actually it isn't the same as the black petroleum kind. This is 'Pine Tar'or 'Stockholm tar' Source process and history:
http://www.maritime.org/conf/conf-kaye-tar.htmSupplier:
http://www.auson.se/menu,233,1771,205,page,205.htmlVarious grades from clear thin oil to quite thick, clear to dark brown. This stuff has been used for hundreds of years. One account from a crew working on a hundred year old sailing ship with plow steel rigging that had been wormed and served in manila that was soaked in 'tar' said the iron was bright and untouched by rust. And this after a century of salt spray. I also read that this stuff was used almost exclusively on the 'oilskins' that made up the foul weather gear of the a few hundred years ago.
Yes. Very good stuff.And skanky rank smelling, too. Not something I want to wear all day.Where would you even find something like that anymore ?
The person you offend today, may have been your best friend tomorrow
Try:
woodenboatLook for:"Port Townsend Pine Tar, quart" they claim it has a "manly smell" At $22 it is a bit pricey but some of that goes to the wooden boat foundation. To promote traditional techniques.That page featuring the Auson pine products has a 'contact' feature. Perhaps they could find a supplier of their products in your area for a reasonable price.These folks have it ata little better price. But they don't brag about the 'manly smell', perhaps a good thing:
jamestowndistributorsAn equestrian version. Not sure what that means for color or consistency. I assume it means this it the thick and dark stuff:
dblrsupply
Thanks guys.
A few years ago I remember reading a very interesting post from someone who was describing his recipe for waterproofing canvas and raincoats.
I believe it was along the same lines as Lukas, but would still like to re-read that.
I searched, but couldnt come up with a result. If anyone remembers it, or can find it I would be grateful.
Dunno bout a hat that goes rigid in the cold though. I am going to get an Akubra hat for summer. Already have a nice fur felt one I had made, but will get the Akubra for work.
Have an oilskin one for wet weather, but for some odd reason it shrunk enough to be a REALLY tight fit now. Might go looking for a larger replacement.
Didnt think of the Line7 gear. Did a google and found the website, but I would have to reload macromedia flash to see it. I went to some trouble to ge that damn thing OFF my puter, so wont be going down that road. Will hafta go shopping soon I think and look around.
Everything, 100% of it, depends on how you look at it.
DW
Put it on like that, and within 5 minutes it is it's normal self. The outer brim may stay a bit stiff, but so what ?
The person you offend today, may have been your best friend tomorrow
Thank you.You know, the really thick stuff may be just the thing for those with a jeep that has a canvas cover.
The person you offend today, may have been your best friend tomorrow
Mad Dog's frogs toggs gives the idea of tyvek.
Make yer own.
Anyplace that sells camping supplies, and probably any fabric store anywhere, sells seam sealing stuff. Comes in a squeeze tube like silicone sealant. (Don't use silicone.) Get the stuff made for seams in clothing. It's pretty cheap.
Best thing about this idea is that you can use scraps from a job somewhere. And even with the seam sealer, it is cheap enough that you can experiment until you get a good fit that doesn't get in the way of your work.
And if it tears... Cheap repair !
The person you offend today, may have been your best friend tomorrow
Luka,I don't know if it's Tyvek. If it is, it's not the same as housewrap. It isn't crunchy and I don't know how you'd tear it. Gets dirty but I think I can just machine wash it.They make sails out of tyvek too
It looked like extra thick tyvek that had already been washed.It is basically the same thing, but I have no doubt they have processed it differently.For one, they say it is triple layered.No stitch seams, means it is either glued, and/or melted together at the seams.It would be interesting to see what could be done with tyvek. They do already make those tyvek painter suits. maybe put on 3 of those and see if you get the same effect. Those are cheap, compared to frog toggs.You can't grab tyvek somewhere in the middle, and tear it either. But catch it on a splinter or a nail, or a tool, and it could tear easily.The easy tearing came from a backpacker who didn't like them because of that.Your statement about them breathing is what caught my attention. I usually go out with raingear on, and then in an hour or two, I just take it off and work right in the rain. Because I am already as soaked to the skin as if I had been working in the rain, anyway. Sweat !
The person you offend today, may have been your best friend tomorrow
Yeah, it's tyveky but softer and quieter. I have a tyvek suit that originally I thought I would paint in when spraying but the only thing I've used it for is picking pears when the yellow jackets are too thick to risk it without. In about one minute that suit has me soaked with sweat. I don't know how anyone could work in it.
the no-sweat part is what I was looking for ...
I've tried lotsa other stuff ... always sweat to death.
if I'm gonna sweat ... I'll just wear a hat and get rained on.
Jeff Buck Construction
Artistry in Carpentry
Pgh, PA
I didn't know that. I've never worn one.Sweat is THE major issue for me here.I wonder what that suit would be like once it goes through the wash ?Guess I'll have to find one someday, and find out.: )
The person you offend today, may have been your best friend tomorrow
By the way, if you machine wash tyvek, it is not so crunchy afterward, either.:)
The person you offend today, may have been your best friend tomorrow
Just some random thoughts:
The goal is not (necessarily) to stay dry, but to stay warm. Dryness is the traditional path to warmth, but it's not the only one. Wetsuits are wet next to the skin.
I heard of one guy wrapping his feet in plastic bags, pulling on several pairs of thick wool socks, and wrapping more platic bags around the socks before putting his boots on. The platic inside and out kept the wool dry, so it continued to do its insulating thing and his feet stayed toasty warm despite being soaking wet.
I have a light Goretex raincoat that does the job for me. It's big enough that I can wear many or few layers under it, as appropriate to the temperature, and it stays fairly dry on the inside. Vents under the yoke and in the armpits. Might not be durable enough for building. My guess is that Goretex - and equivalents, now that the patent has expired - are quite a lot more vapor permeable than Tyvek, because the human body emits a lot more vapor per unit of surface area than a house.
Alternatively, forget about personal protection. Build a pole barn over the house now while it's dry and work under roof when the rains come.
I agree.
Usually I wear a couple of layers of polar fleece if its going to be a cold wet day. I get wet, but stay warm. However being wet to the skin for hours is less than pleasant.
Different when I was in the bush and moving all the time, crossing rivers etc. No matter what you did then you got soaked anyway.
But for work I am thinking if I got the right rain gear, I can avoid getting soaked with sweat and stay dry enough to keep working.
I dont think I will be using tyvek for a raincoat anytime soon. Personally I dont like the stuff.
The temperatures dont get low enough here to warrant any sort of structure over the job. Mostly frosts in winter, the rain is a little warmer. If it really gets ugly then I wont be working in it anyhow.
Putting your feet in plastic bags works surprisingly well. Done that a couple of times when duck hunting.
Everything, 100% of it, depends on how you look at it.
DW