Hanging in the rain

[Weldabeast]

I'm interested to hear others experiences with getting caught in rain while up in the tree. This whole season for me so far has mainly just been a struggle with the weather. My last 3 hunts it was off and on drizzle for a large portion of the day with on and off heavy down pour. I got caught in 2 heavy downpours 1 lasting only 30-45 minutes and the other lasting about 2 hours last hunt. I was pretty far back in there on foot so I kinda just wait it out.

Last season I had the frog togg suit and it works good if u put ur saddle on over the top. It doesn't pack down very well.and I didn't like the hood on the jacket. So far this year I tried poncho rain pant combo, then I added a hat and lost the pants. A wide brim rain hat and a poncho can and will keep u and ur pack (vest in my case) dry. U have to wear the poncho sideways so u loss the ability to use the hood (which isn't a bad thing...I don't like having my ears covered) hence the need for the hat. Unbutton the poncho down 1 side and place over ur bridge. Snap the poncho back up so it has incompassed/surrounded the bridge. Tuck the part of the poncho closest to the tree trunk between ur knees and the trunk and u form a little cocoon. Reach up from the inside and hold the poncho closed tight to ur bridge. With my vest or pack on in the seated position in the saddle I was totally dry. When my back got tired/uncomfortable I leaned out and my upper body stayed dry but my lower thigh/ upper knee and down were exposed and rain could fall down into my boots. If I had on hip waders or waterproof gaiters I would have stayed dry while leaning. Wearing rubber hip waders on every hunt is out of the question, Yoder are a little to loud from the limited experience I had with them....I guess I need to research some lightweight gaiters. Hat poncho and gaiters should be about the best options from my experience dealing with getting caught in bad weather.....interested to hear others experiences/thoughts/opinion.

I keep a big contractor trash bag and 2 large ziploc bags in my vest pocket I can put all my gear into if needed

 

[Wyatt_burp]

My 2nd backpack is a packrabbit pack mule with a dry bag to hold my stuff, if its raining I have the rmfirst lite vapor rain gear. I don't hang in torrential downpours, ill set up a small pop up blind and take the xbow, but for rain of any sort I have nothing but good things to say about firstlite.

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[Weldabeast]

My 2nd backpack is a packrabbit pack mule with a dry bag to hold my stuff, if its raining I have the rmfirst lite vapor rain gear. I don't hang in torrential downpours, ill set up a small pop up blind and take the xbow, but for rain of any sort I have nothing but good things to say about firstlite.

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What is that? A jacket pant combo? U put the saddle on over it?

I don't want to hang in the rain either but when u walked half a day to get to a spot way in there I not heading back to the truck just because it raining. If I hear or see it coming I'll try to get down on the ground but sometimes it comes in quick

 

[Wyatt_burp]

What is that? A jacket pant combo?

I don't want to hang in the rain either but when u walked half a day to get to a spot way in there I not heading back to the truck just because it raining. If I hear or see it coming I'll try to get down on the ground but sometimes it comes in quick

Jacket pants combo i am embarrassed about the price, but the pants have side zippers so you can throw em on at height. I also reccomend some paracord tied to your tether carabiner as a drip string. When I camp its in a hammock, and I have drip strings on each side to keep rain from soaking my hammock, as well as a tarp of course.

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[Jbiehn]

Tree umbrella and a small section of rope girth hitched to your tether to help keep water from running down the tether into your bridge.

hunting in light rain is okay but heavy rain sucks.

 

[Red Beard]

Tree umbrella and a small section of rope girth hitched to your tether to help keep water from running down the tether into your bridge.

I'd like to see a picture of this if you get a chance please. Could be a mock up for effect/explanation. Doesn't have to be in an actual downpour

 

[Wyatt_burp]

Tree umbrella and a small section of rope girth hitched to your tether to help keep water from running down the tether into your bridge.

hunting in light rain is okay but heavy rain sucks.

I love my tree umbrella, but I gotta screw it into the tree and thats against the rules on public. But it kept me out all day on my uncles private for many years. HAWK! tree umbrella with gorilla tape over the manufacturer defect holes.

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[Vada]

The coldest I’ve ever been in my life was hunting in the rain. A light rain. In MN and it was a nice 50 degree day. It rained but I had a rain coat. What I didn’t think about is my seat paid, which got pretty wet, which then make the seat of my pants wet.

I had to strip down and change when I got back I thought I was going hypothermic hahaha.

Good times.

 

[boyne bowhunter]

The coldest I’ve ever been in my life was hunting in the rain. A light rain. In MN and it was a nice 50 degree day. It rained but I had a rain coat. What I didn’t think about is my seat paid, which got pretty wet, which then make the seat of my pants wet.

I had to strip down and change when I got back I thought I was going hypothermic hahaha.

Good times.

I had a similar experience this year. I headed out in a steady rain. I almost always pack my outer upper layers in and put them on once settled in the tree. This day was no different. I got 2 stick moves up the tree and a doe appeared. I had to stand there on my stick in my shirtsleeves in the rain until she moved on. One more stick move up the tree . . .another doe appears, 10 more minutes of standing in the rain until she's gone from sight. I finish climbing and set the platform . . .yet another doe . . . By the time I actually got my upper rain gear layers on I was already soaked to the skin. Despite the fact that it was 45F outside it was my coldest sit of the year so far. To top it off, I had my Oplux rappel line with me that day. Getting out of the tree at the end of the hunt felt more like a controlled fall than a normal rappel.

If its not too windy I live by the umbrella and an @always89y's stopper knot on my tether to keep me dry. Hunting in the rain is primarily why I hunt off a short tether and swap out to my rappel line only when I'm ready to get down. Wet rope freezes here in northern Michigan and while you can rappel on a frozen rope, coiling and storing it afterwards is next to impossible.

 

[Kevlar]

I'm running River's West Pioneer jacket and pants with a Badlands Timber pack and a rain cover. I've sat in some pretty heavy down pours and light rain. Over time the Rivers West starts to let the rain the soak thru, but they light weight and don't make much noise, so I'll hunt till I start getting too wet then get down.

Biggest thing I've found is the need to dry out my ropes after a soak like that. Kinda sucks if it's an afternoon hunt and your hunting again the next morning .

 

[Weldabeast]

I hang all ropes and aim a fan at them and let them dry out overnight...u guys wearing the suits are putting the suit on then the saddle over top or the saddle under and suit over top? When I tried the suit over top I got a case of the wet crotch ..to put the saddle on over the suit u gotta climb down...

 

[Bama_Xander]

I use a tree umbrella and it keeps me nice and dry with the help of my water resistant outer layer. It can handle up to a medium shower. High winds and your going to get side drift. Packs up pretty small. Does screw into tree though if that breaks your rules. My public allows things to be screwed in as long as it doesn’t support the weight of the hunter so we can use accessories but no tree steps.

 

[Weldabeast]

I use a tree umbrella and it keeps me nice and dry with the help of my water resistant outer layer. It can handle up to a medium shower. High winds and your going to get side drift. Packs up pretty small. Does screw into tree though if that breaks your rules. My public allows things to be screwed in as long as it doesn’t support the weight of the hunter so we can use accessories but no tree steps. View attachment 40109

Gates open on ur biner

 

[Bama_Xander]

Gates open on ur biner

Man that was quick. Thanks for the catch. I usually am good on that. I probably was distracted in the rain and the extra accessories going up. I went and checked the other photos from that hunt (last November) and I closed it at some point.

 

[raisins]

Man that was quick. Thanks for the catch. I usually am good on that. I probably was distracted in the rain and the extra accessories going up. I went and checked the other photos from that hunt (last November) and I closed it at some point.
View attachment 40110

Is that a Mystery Ranch pack? If so, what's the model name? I couldn't find one with an exterior pocket.

 

[Bama_Xander]

Is that a Mystery Ranch pack? If so, what's the model name? I couldn't find one with an exterior pocket.

Mystery ranch Pop up 28. I love it.

 

[raisins]

If I'm not wearing rain gear in (because it's already raining), I carry jacket and pants from this company as emergency rain gear.

Rain Gear

Rain Gear Designed by a hiker for hikers.

lightheartgear.com

I carry them both in a dry sack stuffed down. If you really worked at it, you can pack the jacket down to about the size of cell phone. It's made for ultralight hikers and very nice for what it is. It is loud, but that is the price you pay for something that is ultralight and packable and totally waterproof. It has saved my hunts a few times. If it's raining hard enough to need to put it on, then the deer won't hear some polyester crinkling 24 feet up.

 

[Weldabeast]

Rain is always a factor here where I live... especially early season. The poncho and hat weight nothing and packs down smaller than all the other stuff I seen. I take rain gear on ever hunt and I just keep trying to slim it down further and further. Normal situations I take advantage of rain and scout. Palmettos eat rain gear. I think that is another advantage to a poncho...not having a bottom it go thru easier.

I suggest for peeps that hunt deep and looking for bare bone way to stay dry to try out a cheap poncho and hat.....u may be able to slim down ur rain gear considerably. I think I've logged easily 5 combined hours of downpours in the saddle wearing various different styles of rain stuff and believe me when I say I'm contemplating my rain gear as I'm sitting there waiting it out pretty much the whole time....

I know I never practice sitting in my saddle in the rain at the house....that's 1 of those things u learn on the fly....

As much as I disliked how noisy the Yoder are I think I give them a shot to finish out rain gear system...the poncho is perfect if u can sit for long periods of time...but my back doesn't allow and I need to be able to lean out and not fill the boots with water...anybody figured out how to quiet them down yet?

 

[Weldabeast]

Man that was quick. Thanks for the catch. I usually am good on that. I probably was distracted in the rain and the extra accessories going up. I went and checked the other photos from that hunt (last November) and I closed it at some point.
View attachment 40110

I've caught mine open too....it a good thing to point it out. Maybe make people think twice when preping for the SH live from the saddle photo shoot....we can call it biner shaming....

 

[ericabbott]

I'm running River's West Pioneer jacket and pants with a Badlands Timber pack and a rain cover. I've sat in some pretty heavy down pours and light rain. Over time the Rivers West starts to let the rain the soak thru, but they light weight and don't make much noise, so I'll hunt till I start getting too wet then get down.

Biggest thing I've found is the need to dry out my ropes after a soak like that. Kinda sucks if it's an afternoon hunt and your hunting again the next morning .

Second on the Rivers West. I’ve sat in some pretty nasty weather and been dry the whole time. I like the idea of some others above of having a dry pack, I’ll have to look into that for the next time.