Waterproofs for Wayfaring
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Staying Dry on the Path
The British Isles have a reputation for changeable weather. You can experience all four seasons in a day, at any time of year.
For that reason, it is always wise to carry weather protection, as getting soaked and cold is a sure way to spoil your Wayfaring journey.
Many different opinions exist on what is the best way to achieve this. In Ancient Rome, the Emporer Diocletian listed only one import from Britain - our waterproof woollen cloaks, known as Birrus Brittanicus, which cost an average year’s wages!
Thick wool is an effective layer for keeping dry in most showers, and a garment like those made by Bison Bushcraft is surprisingly effective in combination with an umbrella.
Umbrellas
Often neglected, these are the most breathable waterproof layers of all. A mobile roof keeps the rain off you entirely!
Euroschirm in Germany make the most robust trekking umbrellas. Six Moon Designs make an excellent tiny umbrella, as do Montbell (weighing 176g)
Six Moon Designs Silver Shadow Umbrella - 227g - £88
Designed to provide effective UV protection as well as rain.
Euroschirm Handsfree Trekking Umbrella - 366g - £56
With a handsfree attachment system so the umbrella can clip to your backpack straps. It works.
However, for sustained rain you will want stronger protection. Especially if you are walking in windy or colder seasons, or at higher altitudes, where recovery in a nice warm pub, or from reliable sunshine, is not available.
Summer waterproofing is sometimes not worth the trouble. A nice rain shower can be a relief, and the stress of attempting total dryness can far outweigh the actual harm caused by a bit of water. Our ultimate rain jacket is already on us, wrapping our bones. Skin is the best semi-permeable membrane available.
But sustained rain can be less fun, even in summer. One very simple and cheap option is a basic poncho. This will cover your head and body, and also your bag if required. Because these are loose fitting, they do not need to be ‘breathable’ like a modern waterproof jacket. So a poncho can cost and weigh very little, and be a very effective option. They do get flappy in strong wind, so you may want to tie the waist with a piece of cord. And these do not cover your whole arms, so you may suffer from damp wrists, especially if you are carrying a staff and keep one arm outstretched. But for the price, this can handle Summer rain very well. Your legs will be protected to the knee. If you are wearing shorts, this is adequate. But beware of rain running into your shoes!
Basic Waterproof Poncho - 250g - £20
Another option is low-price cagoule-style jackets. These typically suffer from being not breathable, so soak you inside the jacket almost as quickly as rain would outside. If you can, get one with pit-zips. These are zipped openings under the arms that allow massive heat dump, and keep air circulating, which prevents condensation buildup and interior dampness.
Decathlon offer a basic pit-zipped waterproof jacket like this for £20. But it’s quite heavy.
Another option is a jacket that will not pretend to be breathable. Goretex, and co. spend multi-millions per year persuading people that their technology is the only way forward. In fact, it is a plastic bag with tiny holes. The only development is how many holes, how small they are, and how they attach this holed plastic layer to a fabric.
So if you want to save a bucket of money, a non-goretex jacket and trouser setup could be the best option. You will notice the build up of condensation, but Frogg Toggs are loose fitting, which helps a lot. Also, the key with this kind of jacket is what you wear underneath. Be sure it is a material that can handle a little damp - like wool.
Don’t expect to win any fashion prizes wearing this gear - or to enjoy the feeling of the material. But do expect to keep off the worst of heavy rain. Another advantage of FroggToggs is that they do not rely on DWR (a spray on water resistance enhancement), as the material simply blocks water fully. So they are less likely to fail with age than more expensive garments.
Frogg Toggs Jacket and Trousers - 360g (for both!) - £24
Frogg Togs Xtreme Lite Jacket - £48
Slightly more durable and better rated version of the Frogg Togs jacket. Extremely lightweight. Baggy, not breathable, but cheap.
If you want to use something that costs more but promises a better look, and slightly better breathability, a celebrated option is the Marmot Precip jacket. This offers pit-zips for heat-dumping, which helps a lot.
Marmot Precip Mens’ Waterproof Jacket - 300g - £100
Marmot also offer a pair of trousers to go with this. They are a more ‘breathable’ and more durable option than the frogg toggs, but the price and weight also increase. An advantage of these trousers is their side zip, which makes it far easier to don and remove them, without the need to take your shoes off.
Marmot Precip Eco Waterproof Trousers - full zip - £70
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Another option for keeping legs dry is a Rain Skirt. This is an ultralightweight ‘leg-poncho’, a sil-nylon kilt that you can pop on and remove very quickly. It will not protect your ankles, but with gaiters (or sandals) this is not a problem. For chaps, this may test your sense of masculine propriety, but you can handle it. As with the poncho, this option can be a bit flappy in high wind…
Rain Skirt - 80g - £15
A further option comes from ultralight breathable waterproofs. If you want top quality materials, that weigh almost nothing, you might consider the astonishingly light OMM Halo - weighing about 100g only! It packs to the size of a tennis ball. This will not be very strong, but for emergency breathable rain protection in an ultralight backpack, it may be the right answer for you.
OMM Halo Waterproof jacket - 105g - £112
OMM also offer a pair of trousers of similarly astonishing lightness to go with their Halo jacket.
OMM Halo Men’s Waterproof Trousers - 80g - £72
Other Waterproof Fabrics
Not every waterproof works in the same way. One of my favourite options is a material invented in the 1950s for Churchill’s RAF, to be used as immersion suits for pilots who crashed into the North Sea. They died in minutes in the freezing waters, so a cotton suit was made that provided a much enhanced water protection - called Ventile.
Ventile is made from the world’s longest and finest strands of cotton, in an ultratight Oxford weave. And that’s it. No laminate, no nylon, no tiny holes. It is all natural, and extremely breathable, and very quiet. While almost every plastic garment swooshes and swishes, ventile is used by birdwatchers like Bill Oddy for its relative silence.
It is also totally windproof. But Ventile is not 100% waterproof. It gets wet and the fibres swell, blocking the ingress of further water. So some heritage dampness will get through. Also, ventile gets stiff when wet, so in a storm it can feel like you’re walking in cardboard. And it is much heavier than nylon ultra-thin layers.
If you want a ventile garment that will keep out sustained heavy rain, it has to be double-layered or backed with another fabric. But this can weigh almost 1kg. So ventile is best suited to winter, when you intend to keep your jacket on all day.
But for a 3-season showerproof natural jacket, a single layered Ventile is pretty great (especially if you also carry a poncho for extreme rain).
Hilltrek Braemar Single Ventile Smock - 450g - £195
Some manufactueres of Ventile clothing combine it with other fabrics. Keela use a laminate backing that ‘pumps’ moistire outward. Their heavy winter jacket is famously effective - but also expensive and heavy!
Keela Falkland Ventile Jacket - 1100g - £340
UK manufacturers making Ventile clothing (jackets and trousers) include: Hilltrek - Keela - Country Innovations - and Weather Wise Wear.
Another option in terms of waterproof clothing is offered by a UK brand called Paramo. They are very popular with mountain rescue teams, and focus on pumping water out from the inside, rather than blocking it entirely. They claim to mimic polar bear fur in this.
You can browse the full range of Paramo jackets and trousers here. It is a slightly heavier and warmer style of waterproofing - though not as weighty as Ventile, and much more reliably waterproof imo. The Cascada II trousers are especially good. But Paramo recommend re-proofing your gear before each long journey. This is probably sensivle advice whatever waterproofing you use.
Note - for the full range of Paramo clothing, go directly to their website. The following link is for a men’s jacket size Medium only.
Paramo Cascada Men’s Jacket - M - £200
Gaiters
If you are Wayfaring in particularly boggy conditions, or in long grass with much rain, you might want to protect the overlap between the top of your shoes and the bottom of your trousers. Also, if you are wearing ultralight waterproof trousers, you may want to protect them from abrasion. This is where gaiters come in useful. However, most water proof trousers will cover the ankle of your shoes, so these may not be required.
Also, debris gaiters can be helpful in warmer climates to prevent the ingress of pebbles and debris into your shoe.
Trekmates Glemore Goretex Gaiters - 94g - £21
Low and lightweight, but also nylon and thick, so your feet will get warm in these. But they will hopefully stay dry.
Inov8 All Terrain Debris Gaiter - 36g - £20
Designed for Inov8 shoes, but they work with any - with a socklike upper for comfort, these will keep detritus from your shoes all day in comfort. And some water.
Waterproof gloves
The easiest thing to do with your hands in summer is let them get wet. In Autumn and Spring, a pair of wool gloves should suffice, as long as the rain is not a multi-day event.
But in winter, you really want to keep those hands dry.
In persistent winter rain, you will want either dedicated foul weather gloves, or waterproof shell mittens to cover your base gloves.
Cashmere Fingerless Gloves - Made in Scotland - £30
Not particularly durable, but warm and luxurious.
Unigear Touchscreen running gloves - 50g - £16
Made of stretchy polyester, but warm enough for 3 seasons and fully touch-screen compatible.
Extremities Furnace Pro Gloves - 110g - £35
They look conventional, but are fully windproof and waterproof and insulated.
