Posted: 5/16/2026 3:44:45 PM EDT
[Last Edit: barrysuperhawk][Edited]
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Here I am shooting a pistol match and it's been pissing rain on us all damn day. I need better rain gear, I'm not even going to tell y'all how I've been attempting to deal with it so far. So what are your suggestions for "stand out in a fucking hurricane if I need to" rain gear? I want raingear that would make Noah think twice about having to build an ark. |
You got gun law problems, I feel bad for you son. I got 99 problems but a ban ain't one. -Sylvan
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Heavy and durable: https://www.stormlinegear.com/ https://grundens.com/ PVC is very good but doesn't breath. Also very good: https://vikingwear.com/ Lightweight and durable: Kuiu Yukon |
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What kind of match? What’s everyone else at the match doing? Specifically, are they allowed to wear a coat or poncho that covers their pistol when they’re not on the clock? Are you trying to keep race gear dry? A 3day pack or just a fanny pack or are you pushing a range cart? Are you standing the whole match? Or is this a berserker style practical match where you crawl through mud? |
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All great questions. This particular match is the single stack classic in Illinois, and we actually have little roofs on most every stage to huddle under, but that doesn't help us when we're shooting or working as an RO or pasting targets what have you. I was very prepared for bugs and heat, LOL the weather forecast didn't say it was going to rain until it started raining and then it got real serious real quick when a 30% chance became 100% reality. Anyway up to this point I have more or less made do with an umbrella on a cart or hanging off the back of my truck and clothing that dries very quickly. The problem is that that's good for getting caught in a quick storm but it sucks for all day rain. As far as the kind of match I shoot, I shoot three gun, USPSA, the nrl/prs games and basically pretty much anything except cowboy. |
You got gun law problems, I feel bad for you son. I got 99 problems but a ban ain't one. -Sylvan
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OR Foray or Headwall rain jackets with TorsoFlo venting. Full length two way side zip vents from arm pit to hem for access to gunbelt or backpack waist belt. Pick your price point and durability need. Pick a set of rain pants Glue some velcro dots on to hold flap open when you're on the line. I keep an older OR rain jacket in my shooting bag for the chance of rain. Has some chaffing of the membrane at the hood/shoulder folds, but it still prevents me from getting soaked after 10-15 years of being scrunched up in storage. Well worth the $10-$15 per year of its life span. |
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When I was shooting PRS and 3gun (no concealment requirement like IDPA) I would just protect my scope lenses and ammo as best I could and let the rest of my gear get wet. I had a fairly high dollar gortex shell (pants and jacket) that would keep me completely dry and used it in rain/snow/hail/etc with layers underneath for insulation as appropriate. At the time frog toggs were cheap and practically disposable alternative where you could trash them if they got super muddy. They ripped often though. The problems I had with the gortex shell were on the occasions I had to go prone. I remember one match in Missouri where it was pouring and the firing position was under about 6” of water. Laying in half a foot of water trying to shoot off a bipod at tiny targets in the trees several hundred yards away was memorable. There’s basically no staying dry for that. (At least I was running a suppressor. The dudes using brakes were hosed) Also, the gortex pants don’t have belt loops and so I tried switching from my normal cr speed Velcro inner/outer belt setup to a battle belt worn over the shell. That worked well as long as I didn’t have to run much. Any stages that involved say, a 50+ yard sprint would cause the shell and battlebelt to slide down to my knees and I’d wind up using one and a half hands to hold the belt up while running. Super awkward. Ultimately the answer is suspenders. lol Also, heavy duty gallon sized zip loc bags. If it’s a match where conveyances are allowed then just throwing a rain cover or trash bag over your cart and keeping everything in there is a good solution. Switch from a ball cap to wide brimmed hat to keep the rain off your eye pro obviously. Hoods built into jackets work when you’re static but tend to flop everywhere in the wind when running. Obviously in places that require muzzle up rifle carry, you’ll want something to keep rain out of the barrel. Make sure whatever you use is something you don’t mind shooting because people get to the line and forget to remove stuff all the time. A hole in a ziploc bag won’t cause a miss. If you weren’t expecting rain and need an improvised solution for optics, take a ziploc bag and rubber band out of your admin pouch to protect lenses. If carrying muzzle down, cut a plastic water bottle in half and put it on the ocular. I don’t have a good solution for pistol optics. |
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The best rain gear I’ve tried/used/own is Columbia’s OutDry Extreme. Unlike even the top GoreTex versions, the OutDry Extreme material doesn’t need a DWR treatment. The outer face fabric is inherently waterproof. Anyone who’s actually hiked/been out in sustained rain has learned that the DWR wears out/eventually fails. When this happens with a standard 3-layer waterproof breathable material, the outer face fabric ‘wets out’ and gets soaked (same thing happens if you don’t periodically ‘reapply/refresh’ the DWR coating). The OutDry Extreme material didn’t wet-out under hours of rain (you’re still going to feel kind of clammy, because breathable material doesn’t really breathe under 100%RH, but the outer face of the OutDry Extreme looks and feels like those vinyl/rubber rain slickers of the 70s/80s, but does breathe under less than heavy downpours). I have two of their rain jackets. Their first ever OutDry Extreme rain jacket (still works great, and it’s over a decade old), and a newer version with numerous vents (breathes better even in a heavy downpour). The OG stays folded up in my DD, as my emergency rain jacket if I ever need to do something like change a tire in a downpour. Paired with Columbia’s waterproof breathable baseball cap, it’s great for keeping the rain off me (put on the cap and pull the hood of the jacket over the cap. The bill keeps the water off my face and out of my eyes, and the waterproof cap also doesn’t seem to soak through, but DOES need a DWR). The good thing about this combo, is that you can cinch the adjustable hood down, and the cap’s bill acts like a stop, so the hood doesn’t try to cover your eyes, but cinching the hood snug stops it flopping OR flapping off in strong wind or if you’re running. |