Rain Gear for April Showers

SPRING IS HERE! As flowers, ladybugs and birds emerge.... The rain has also increased!

In order to stay dry and enjoy being outdoors, here are some tips to look for in your rain gear.
1. Water PROOF (not water resistant). It often will say this on the tag.
2. How does the rain gear fit? You want it to fit generously. Often rainy days come with wind or cooler weather, so you want to be able to layer the clothing underneath.
3. Make sure the tag mentions a ripstop technology. This makes the jacket less likely to rip when played in.
4. Check the seams of the fabric. Avoid overcast stitching. With this type of stitching, if a thread breaks, the entire seam will come undone.
5. Avoid coil zippers. Coil zippers have a much shorter lifespan than tooth zippers. Coil zippers are known to break easily. If your rain jacket doesn’t zip up.... It is very hard to stay dry.
6. Know your local weather. How hot and humid, or cold and damp is it where you live? You want to make sure you can both breathe in the rain gear AND make sure it's not too heavy. Especially if you live where it is hot and humid while raining.
7. Lastly, look for windproof material, it should also be listed on the tag.
 

During spring time depending where you live... it may be hot, humid and rainy. Or cold, wet and rainy.
 
What to wear under your rain jacket:

Wet, cool and Raining:
LAYER: most important parts are hands, feet, head and waterproof layers (not water resistant).
Base layer: long Johns/long underwear- not cotton. Alpaca, sheep or merino wool are excellent choices if you can.
Mid- layer: warm clothing such as wool or fleece
Top layer- water*proof (not water resistant) rain gear
 

Hot, humid, and raining:
LAYER: Cool layers underneath, with rain proof gear on top. Make sure your rain gear is lightweight.
Socks- make sure they are breathable, and won’t give you blisters. I personally prefer darn tough socks over smartwool and many other brands. They are expensive per sock – but you can send them back as soon as they get holes. They have life long warranty. Buy once- and never buy socks again.
 

HANDS:
Reima and CeLaVi both have very good rain mittens that are fleece lined if you live in cooler areas. If
you live in hot and humid areas, Reima makes some good lightweight durable rain mittens.
 

HEAD:
Don’t forget to keep your head dry. A hood is good but may often get blown off, just like an umbrella. I
find a good solid rain proof hat is a better choice than a hood or umbrella.
 

Brands may you find helpful: (check FB marketplace and second hand stores. Especially now as they are changing seasons into summer clothing)
Reima
CeLaVi (though I love the idea- I haven’t found their recycled rain jacket to be waterproof)
Jan&Jul
Oakiwear
Tuffo
Darn tough
Smart Wool
Helly Hansen
Marmot
REI
XtraTuf
Arctix
Rocky thermal
Under armor base layer
Columbia

More Blog Posts on Seasons HERE.