Bushwalk Australia

I am looking at replacing my One Planet Cat & Dog rain jacket, it has defiantly seen better days!

I am looking at replacing it with a Mont Temptest or Macpac Copland mainly for bushwalking in Tasmania.

Does anyone have any personal experiences they can share regarding these rainjackets. What there preference would be and why?

Or does anybody have a better recommendation, what is it and why?

Cheers.

There's some good reading in this Rain Jackets topic.
Doing a search for "goretex" reveals a fair bit too.
Also there's "hydronaut".
Hope that helps.

I'd go the Mont one personally. Paddy Pallin also make a nice long coat in the Neovista. For something a bit lighter and a great bargain they have a Large size Paclite jacket going for $200 http://www.paddypallin.com.au/default.aspx?page=78&product=798&Group=24 Shame I probably want an XL

Not sure about jackets, but in our group of around 4-8 walkers, we all but 1 have mont wet weather pants. the other guy recently decided he did need a pair of overpants and bought some, he went MACPAC.

He has had them around 2-3 months, we have all had the monts for well over 1 and some of us 2-3 years. And yup, you got it, the MACPAC ones ripped on my fellow walker just this weekend gone! Much much newer pants, same price as the Mont.....


reasonably dissapointing I would say!

ILUVSWTAS wrote:He has had them around 2-3 months, we have all had the monts for well over 1 and some of us 2-3 years. And yup, you got it, the MACPAC ones ripped on my fellow walker just this weekend gone! Much much newer pants, same price as the Mont.....

reasonably dissapointing I would say!

That was me. But it's worth noting the Macpac pants are Reflex Pro material. I've had them longer than ILSWT thinks, I got them late Nov 2009. I also think the RRP is about $100 more than the Monts of the same non-mountaineering type.

I am pretty confident of repairing them with some Seam Grip or something, but the tear was quite dissapointing as it was a very light brush against a rock and they opened up like a burst sausage. Compared to my MDs GoreTex XCR jacket, which has been through some horrendous treatment, the pants are no where near as durable, and showed a wear mark near the knee from a stick as well.

They are pretty nice to wear, fit me well, and breath well, just not especially durable.

Oll.

Oh *&%$#! it's been that long has it?? Hmm time flies when your bagging peaks....

Oh crud I didnt know they cost MORE than the Monts!! that is a worry!! I've has mine nearly 2 year now, and they have had some very very harsh treatment over that time, and no signs or wearing through yet!!

My wife brought me a Paddy Pallin Vista goretex jacket back in 93. Best jacket I've had. It is now a lttle old and I replaced it with a Mont Tempest, which has a robust, well made feel about it. Not a bad price either. The new Vista did not appeal to me any more. It had velcro closure over the main zip and was overpriced.

ollster wrote:

ILUVSWTAS wrote:He has had them around 2-3 months, we have all had the monts for well over 1 and some of us 2-3 years. And yup, you got it, the MACPAC ones ripped on my fellow walker just this weekend gone! Much much newer pants, same price as the Mont.....

reasonably dissapointing I would say!

That was me. But it's worth noting the Macpac pants are Reflex Pro material. I've had them longer than ILSWT thinks, I got them late Nov 2009. I also think the RRP is about $100 more than the Monts of the same non-mountaineering type.

I am pretty confident of repairing them with some Seam Grip or something, but the tear was quite dissapointing as it was a very light brush against a rock and they opened up like a burst sausage. Compared to my MDs GoreTex XCR jacket, which has been through some horrendous treatment, the pants are no where near as durable, and showed a wear mark near the knee from a stick as well.

They are pretty nice to wear, fit me well, and breath well, just not especially durable.

Oll.

Hi there,

Probably getting a little off thread here, but I thought I'd ask the question - are the pants you're comparing (Mont and Macpac) both the same lightweight material? If yes, fair enough to make the comparison but if not, then it's not a fair comparison - you're really comparing apples with oranges. The heavier weight goretex will always stand up to more punishment than the lighter weight fabrics like Reflex Pro. I was very glad at the weekend that I had my One Planet 3 layer Goretex rain pants rather than my lightweight Montane Entrant DT rain pants. The heavier weight goretex pants handled the unexpected rock scrambling (due to a changed route) no problem, I don't think I would have been as lucky with the Montane pants and was glad I didn't take them.

Cheers,

JB

Thanks for everyone's comments!

I was originally going for the PP Vista however they stopped making it about 8 weeks ago (shame!) and they now have a cheaper version which I didn't like.

I reckon its the Temptest I will go with.

Cheers again!

Jellybean wrote:Probably getting a little off thread here, but I thought I'd ask the question - are the pants you're comparing (Mont and Macpac) both the same lightweight material? If yes, fair enough to make the comparison but if not, then it's not a fair comparison - you're really comparing apples with oranges. The heavier weight goretex will always stand up to more punishment than the lighter weight fabrics like Reflex Pro.

Mont don't use Goretex.
I have a pair of Mont Hydronaute overpants, which I assume are similar to those ILUVSWTAS is talking about. They're light, with full-length side zips, and cope well enough with careful scrub-bashing through the more open Victorian/NSW scrub. Wouldn't try them off-track in Tassie as I doubt they'd survive, but maybe that's just my innate pessimism.

Yeh i've done alot of scrub bashing in mine. still looking ok.

I have a Mont Hydronaute rain jacket. It has served me very well over the years. The only issue I have with it is it is not very breathable. I'm not sure how the other brands measure up to Mont with breathability, probably not much better I would think.

Or a Mountain Design Stratus?? Has anyone had any experience with these jackets??

I'd probably leave both of these brands alone - at least till Maopac sort out some quality issues. I've got a Mont tempest and hate the thing - wets out suoper quick regardless of how many times its been treated. And ask Norts what he thinks of the Macpac jackets.

Regardless of what you buy keep us all posted as these things are proving to be a contentious issue for most - what with the initial layout and all!

nakedape

..

geoskid wrote:Hey all.
I might be slightly outside of the perameters of the title, but hey i'm no Robison Crusoe there .I use Marmot Precip Jacket and Pants and to me they are fine. Light, can be used as wind shield aswell. Done a little off track too (did a walk with the Strollers when our frontman 'Bulldozer' turned his pants into shorts)and are fine. Won't claim that they will stand up to the use asked by the Tas Southern Confederate (great term Brett . The thing to me is you dont need gear to be as strong as some people think, if you want to just go bushwalking and enjoy the bush and be perfectly safe- of course if you are a gear freakius Maximus, nothing but the best of several brands will do

Ah - deleted for irelevence, but quoted because it was written - I will deal with frustrations eleswhere.

Lake St Clair wrote:Or a Mountain Design Stratus?? Has anyone had any experience with these jackets??

I got one of these back in 1995 and I have now finally retired it It was a great jacket- very tough and withstood a lot of tracked and untracked bushwalking (including a couple of years as an Outdoor Ed instructor). If they are still the same- I recomend (although I am now going more lightweight as most of my ventures are now likely to be on tracks- older and wiser ) Long cut is good over shorts and hood did up nicely when the weather turned nasty. Wore it from TNQ to Vic snowies, NZ, Nepal, Europe.... you get the idea- lots of use in varied climates.
cheers
Lizzy

Bummer on the demise of the Vista. My friend pick one up as it was the best jacket she had found. I love mine. The next best things looks like the MD Stratus. The Vista is a Pro-shell and the MD jacket is a Performance shell which means, or suppose to mean, that the Pro-shell is an updated version designed to breath better and wear as well compared to the Performance shell as well as been lighter. The Pac-lite shell is a lighter material designed more for compact packing and travel than bushwalking though is proving to be quite tough on track and bit of off-track walking. My pants are a mixture of this and Pro-shell or was it Performance shell? Anyway they work great.

As for other fabrics on the market outside Gore-tex not so sure as my experience has not been good with them. Wilderness Wear make a very tough jacket out of Chameleon but not so sure on how well it breaths, not good on me. One person I know loves theirs but me not so sure with mine. Good design and tough though. It is worthwhile re-reading many of the comments as the posters are regular walkers with more than a few serious off track junkies. A good jacket and pants is not cheap so work out what you want it for. If it is off track then go tough like the Performance shell, if more for cruising the OLT then with care most materials will stand the use but as for breathability as mentioned my experience is not good outside Gore-tex.

Cheers Brett

a minor admin edit to his post with related replies removed

I have got a old MD Goretex Stratus, now retired, (but still useable) and a Mont Goretex Tempest (yes, before they were forced to change to Hydronaute). Both the Stratus and the Tempest are 3-layer Taslan nylon and very tough. I do a lot of extended off-track walking so neither jacket has had an easy life. I 're-booted' the Tempest this past January with Nikwax treatments (both Tech Wash and TX Direct) and it performed like a champ on a two week amble to the Denisons & Spires. Even threw in an old pair of One Planet Goretex overpants into the washing machine at the same time. Both performed like new! No wetting out at all. I know the Tempest is a bit heavy, but mine has survived the roughest use, so I trust it. nakedape, is your Tempest a Hydronaute version? My Goretex version is fine and with the recent Nikwax treatment it is 'as new' again. I have a very lightweight 2-layer Berghaus Goretex parka and overpants too, but I just know that they wouldn't stand up to the same treatment that the heavier 3-layer Taslan Goretex shells have survived. I keep them for xc-skiing and easy day rambles.

rucksack