Your Waterproof Coat - What To Look For

Why do I carry my waterproof coat no matter what the weather is doing?

Well, who can predict the weather especially on and around mountains.

There is nothing worse than being caught without waterproofs and getting cold and wet on the mountain knowing you have a lengthy walk back to your car or hotel or worse still to your tent where it will be harder to dry out!

So you need a really good waterproof coat to keep you dry. Many are made from gore-tex in one form or another, but look also at Paramo coats especially for winter warmth.

(In sub-zero temperatures you may need a heavier coat and/or more clothing layers underneath depending on your planned level of activity).

There are many well known brands on the market such as Berghaus, Mountain Equipment, Rab and North Face and the final choice is usually decided by the different features each make of coat has.

Here are some of the most important ones:

• The hood – a well designed hood will turn with your head and have a stiff peak wire. It should also be adjustable at the back and at the front on both sides so that you can minimise facial exposure and obtain a good snug fit that cannot blow off. Make sure you fully test it out in the shop.

• A generous front neck flap is a must.

• The coat should have two good sized side pockets as well as a chest map pocket and preferably a fourth chest pocket.

• The length should be enough to cover some of your backside and many hiking coats are now designed to be longer at the back than the front for this reason.

For "summer" hiking consider a light gore-tex or paclite coat. In winter the same coat will be good with your wind block under but in bad conditions a heavier gore-tex coat is advisable. Make sure it has a storm flap over the zip to keep the rain out. Berghaus make a four season gore-tex jacket with under arm venting, plenty of pockets and it is considerably lighter than previous versions.

Colour is optional but a high visibility colour such as red, orange or yellow might one day save your life!

Your hiking coat will not be cheap and it needs to be looked after to perform at its best in the worst of conditions. The golden rules are:

1. When storing it between walks hang it up properly to allow it to "uncrease".

2. At least once a year wash the coat with specially formulated product available from most outdoor shops and centres. Frequent hikers consider twice yearly washing.

3. After washing reproof it using the correct product.

4. Repair any tears using a gore-tex kit.

Some coats have under arm zips to aid cooling and drying whilst you are walking along, otherwise open the front zip and/or sleeve cuffs if you need some ventilation.

On the mountain good performance of your hiking coat is vital so look after it well.

For new coats go shopping online at Gearzone, also try in the US Sierra Trading.




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