Posted: 10/28/2008 4:11:39 AM EDT
| I'm looking for an inexpensive rain shell either GoreTex or some other breathable cloth. I have a couple but they're both BDU/Desert and kinda stand out in a flock of sheep. I'm looking for something in a neutral color, something that will blend in with the sheep but also not stand out in an E&E situation. |
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Marmot Precip is pretty good for the money. MSRP is around $100, but you can find them for around $50. See, e.g. LINK ETA Precip is a two layer laminate––the membrane is against whatever is under the rainwear. It's not as durable as a three layer laminate or a two layer laminate with a liner. That's my only complaint . . .
Red Ledge Thunderlight jackets start around $35, and are OK. LINK Bass Pro has real Gore-Tex starting at $100. I think I saw a Bass Pro, Cabelas or LL Bean flyer recently advertising a Gore-Tex rain coat for $79. Frog Toggs are also good for light-duty use (or regular use if you don't mind patches [img='middle']http://www.ar15.com/images/smilies/icon_smile_wink.gif[/img]). I keep a set for "beater raingear". You can repair it with duct tape if you rip it or burn a hole in it. |
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Don't forget your local thrift store, I got lucky and got a more-or-less OD Patagonia shell for $10, and a black Eddie Bauer shell (both Gore-Tex with pit zips and hoods) for about $15 each.
Do some looking around at www.sportsmansguide,com. The Brit Navy shell (no hood and very dark navy blue) is very good, but you will want some sort of wide-brimmed hat. The OD Austrian gore-tex clone of the US M-1965 field jacket is also an attractive alternative, and supposedly has a hood as does the original. Both are very reasonably priced. Solid colors don't quite stimulate the same response amongst the sheeple as camo does, even if such colors are OD or coyote, as long as you wear something normal such as blue jeans or the like. Note that in an emergency, such clothing can be overlaid with a pair of slip-over pants, even black/brown jogging trousers, which take up little room in your "luggage". As for "neutral" colors, the human eye is sensitive to movement, primarily, and color secondarily. Wearing the best camo will be useless if you are detectable by movement. OTOH, if you are E+Eing from an urban environment, as many would be, starting out with some sort of medium to dark grey clothing might make sense. For some reason, the human eye sort of ignores certain shades of grey when there is no movement involved, and if the contrast with the background is not too great. Some middlin' shades of grey also have the ability to take on a "cast" of color from their surroundings. For example, a battleship grey in a canopied forest takes on a greenish hue from the reflected light of overhead leaves. if you are truly in a crisis situation, don't overlook the possibility of applying some OD, black, or darker grey duct tape to your outer clothing. Doing so might break up your silhouette, but will also ID you as someone who bears watching––or worse. During your E+E, you might want to begin with some sort of non-descript greyish clothing, and then donning some lightweight, more comouflaged shell (both upper and lower) as conditions dictate. An example of this would be beginning your E+E in the daylight, and then donning the darker shell once light has gone. Again, light nylon jogging jackets and pants shells from a thrift store are low-cost possibilities. However, forget about finding earth-tones there; for those colors you will have to look to speciality vendors. |