Best Rain Protection for YOU? 🙄 Kilt vs Pants!

The lightest available rain protection for your legs is a KILT, but it comes with a few downsides and for some people it might be a real dealbreaker. For me, I see mainly benefits using a KILT for three season hiking... but let’s compare for you to be able to decide what the best alternative is for YOU!
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THERMARCELL mosquito protection
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ZPACKS Kilt
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Yanyodo Kilt
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BERGHOUS PACTLITE TROUSERS
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[@tianikane3312]

We use zpacks kilt with gaiters that go over boot and up under the kilt. Have the air, and also the protection from rain. Also for heavy weather that is cold, we combine the goretex pants with the kilt and gaiters. Keeps us warm and dry in the important parts. Kilt is also useful for small tarp over front door of tent, tied off to a tree. Stops rain getting in vestibule and allows us to have vestibule open keeping condensation down. We tend to layer our wet weather gear, even on the top. Wet warm weather, zpacks dyneema cape over us and the pack. If cold, goretex jacket, pack and then the cape. Double layer, keeps us warm and dry and also the pack stays dry. Umbrella also if not windy, means we have a dry head and air around the face head and neck. We'd rather take more gear and stay dry. If weather starts to clear up, we can remove layers one by one as needed, allowing each layer to dry out properly as we are walking. Also, dyneema cape is great for keeping items in tent from getting damp in heavy weather during the night, good over sleeping bag. Some people zip up kilt or cape and pull it over sleeping bag from the bottom so sleeping bag does not get wet up against end of tent during night. For their price which is expensive, kilt and cape are lightweight and versatile. Good addition to camp gear and protection from wind also. Having spent over 50 years camping, dyneema is a delightful product, and allows us oldies to extend our camping out time into old age. It gets harder to carry a heavy pack when the age sets in...

[@roberthammenrudh]

Thanks for sharing your experience 🙏🏻 sound like you have it all dialed in! 🙂

[@robehickmann]

This skirt / kilt only limits your stride length as it's almost a parallel tube, and its easy to solve that with a more full skirt. An ankle length half-circle skirt made of a waterproof fabric would address the downsides you noted, although fuller skirts are more 'flighty' in high winds.

[@alexmcneily]

As a multi-decade canoe backwoods camper, I remember a garment called a cagoule. Basically a knee length waterproof anorak. I had one and it was great for flatwater paddling and camping in the rain. But I've migrated to a rain coat with pit zips. I much prefer to walk the dog in the rain with a full length raincoat. I really like the idea of a separate garment. I think if you slit open a contractor trash bag and thread a drawstring through the drawstring channels, then you would have something that would do in a pinch for rain, and a sit-upon ground cloth. After seeing this, I did a thorough web search and find a couple of interesting products - even some that have strategically placed snaps so you can fashion knee length pant legs to address wind, and sitting on the wet ground. If I can find a pattern, I might make one.

[@nedanother9382]

wait what!? you skipped right over the part where you walk your dog in the rain. Mine won't even go poop in the rain. They'll hold it till I push them out the door. Stupid Boxers

[@tullochgorum6323]

Another huge con in some scenarios is the poor performance of a kilt in high winds. If you walk in exposed terrain with the risk of freezing driven rain, this could become dangerous. Fine in the woods. On the tops - not so much. An alternative is rain pants cut off just below the knee. Compared to full length rain pants they are far easier to get on and off. Worn loose at the bottom, you get great ventilation and you can cinch down the hem with a drawcord if it gets too cold and windy. This is what I use, with old-style knee breeches. In summer wearing shorts, breeches or fast-drying pants, just let your lower-legs get wet. In winter, your lower legs can be protected by gaiters.

[@WayfaringInTheWild]

Good list of pros and cons! I’ve considered kilts from time to time, but for me it always falls short on the warm/cold weather reason. The rain pants actually works as an extra layer of insulation for me. On top of the rain protection of course. I would probably need to carry an extra layer clothing then, which would offset the lower weight. But then I mainly hike in the mountains. Just a side note; I believe Zpacks is pronounced “zeepacks”.

[@roberthammenrudh]

Ah well yeah it might 😄 try to remember that for future episodes. And yep, sure the wet/cold combination is no good for a Kilt. But regarding insulation I feel a kilt is sufficient also for that many times…as long it’s not too much wind off course!

[@canadafree2087]

I went winter camping in January and lived in non-breathable rain pants with fleece pants under them. Sweating was never an issue and I kept warm with just those two layers.

[@titti-public5144]

I made my own rain kilt using silpoly and silnylon. Because non-breathable the make me wet around waist because of sweat not escaping, so I'm back to goretex rain pants for rainy days. But I can see me bringing the silnylon kilt if only chance of rain / if not building up sweat...

[@nedanother9382]

Good morning and thank you for the tips. For me, I have a hard time bringing rain pants...weight and such. I have figured that another completely waterproof option for rain is a kilt that is also my tent footprint - good ol tyvek. So much more durable and useful than dyneema. For my Duplex tent I get a wrap thats big enough to get below where your kilt was, wrap 1 1/2 times around me (secured by rolling down the waiste over a tiny bungy) and won't blow up. Bullet proof and you're not out up to $300.00 when you get a hole. As always you'll still be wet with sweat but its a fantastic wind break as well. Best of luck to all. Cheers

[@roberthammenrudh]

Ah that’s a really good idea 👍🏻 thanks 🙂 perfect tip for everyone looking to reduce weight and multiple use is always nice!

[@Oldsparkey]

Good review , a lot of questions and furnished the answers. Here in the south ( USA ) the best item is neither of those but a pair of shorts. Keep your top dry ( umbrella ) , the bottom ( especially lower legs ) will get wet no matter what you do.

[@roberthammenrudh]

Thanks 🙏🏻, and totally do understand, much of what’s needed is based on the weather and if I’m hot climate a pair of shorts sounds perfect 👍🏻 here not so much… we’ll maybe a couple of weeks per years tops but that’s it😂

[@canadafree2087]

It is a leg poncho. lol Z-Pack is a skirt, skirts have a zipper, kilts don't. Kilts allow a greater range of motion. Good videos on the pros and cons.

[@roberthammenrudh]

Thanks… always thought about what the difference was… now I know!! So, I have a kilt…. No no, sorry.. a skirt! 😄 just have to remember what is what! Lol

[@robehickmann]

@@roberthammenrudh Traditional Scottish kilts have pleats on the sides and rear, which gives you more freedom of movement, the pleats allow the circumference of the hem to be larger than the waist (you can lie them out flat as something close to a circle with a hole in the middle, similar to a circle skirt). A 'skirt' is just a covering for the lower body with one segment instead of two, and kilts are a kind of skirt. Personally I'd call what's shown in the video a skirt not a kilt as it doesn't have any pleats, its basically a waterproof 'pencil skirt'. People use the term 'kilt' for male skirts due to the gender stigma around men wearing skirts in modern culture. However, men have been wearing skirts for thousands of years actually, and this kind of terminology argument is really dumb to me.

[@mikemathlete]

I cut and taped a pair of Frogg Toggs rain pants into a kilt recently. Haven’t tried it yet but will this spring. Thanks for the video

[@roberthammenrudh]

Ah ok… why not 😄 will probably work just fine!! And thanks for watching 🙂

[@canadafree2087]

You did the best thing. Make your own out of anything, even a garbage bag, to first see if you like it over rain pants.

[@j3hikes444]

love my Zpacks kilt. used on the AT with shorts with no issues

[@roberthammenrudh]

I’m looking forward using it and hope it performs as good as you say… but I’m sure it will, got a lot of good feedback on it since the video so I’m confident it was a good purchase 🙂👍🏻

[@philsmith2444]

Pants for me, much of my hiking is on trails that are minimally-maintained or not maintained at all and have vegetation that rubs against you. Oftentimes I’ll just wear my rain pants over my underwear, and keep my regular pants in my pack for when I camp. With much of the trails being muddy or 10-15cm deep water I wear over-the-ankle gaiters any time I wear hiking shoes (waterproof), so everything stays nice and dry unless the water gets over my gaiters. I’ve tried wearing the gaiters over the rain pants but it just doesn’t feel right. To keep cooler and ventilate I unzip the side zips 15-25cm depending on wind & rain. Normally I wear 3/4 zip OR Foray pants, they’re a little harder to get on but my full-zip pants aren’t very secure at the waist when I have the top zips pulled down. And speaking of 3/4 zip pants, I find them much better in winter than pants with those tiny 15cm inner thigh vents. Being very warm-blooded, those vents do nothing for me until somewhere south of -25C. My favorite winter pants are a pair of Cabela’s rain pants, real pants with a snap or button waistband, zipper fly, belt & suspender loops, etc. Their biggest drawback is lack of pockets, just 2 front handwarmer pockets. With zippers, though, so I don’t lose my chapstick, phone (when not in my jacket chest pocket), 2nd headlamp, snacks, lighter, etc.

[@roberthammenrudh]

Thanks for sharing your set up and ideas of how to cope with different kind of weather and temperature! 👍🏻🙂 kind of curious about trying gaiters myself but with the kilt and pants…

[@philsmith2444]

@@roberthammenrudh my favorite setup so far is a poncho over rain pants, the poncho is very breathable and covers your pack as well. I just would rather not have a camouflage poncho, but haven’t found one in “normal” colors with the durability of a military one. I may just look for an olive green one someday.

[@z0uLess]

seems like a smart and lightweight option for hiking. my only worry with the kilt for mountaneering is the stride length, and its not many places that sell these so I bet I would have to wait a long time for shipping and I also have to try out several different ones to find the optimal solution for my height and activity. I bet most of the ones for sale are too small and I would like to have a lot of fabric to be able to take long strides. the zipper shown in this video only adds weight and does nothing to adjust stride lengt since this is decided at the hip joint. I suppose its function is to adjust the climate of letting moisture in or out

[@roberthammenrudh]

I totally agree, my Yanyodo rain skirt has much longer stride length and more adjustable in the waist to better fit different sizes. The straps making it stay together and protect you from the rain so if worried about the zipper, try one like the Yanyodo.

[@z0uLess]

@@roberthammenrudh I ordered "Rain Kilt DCF" from Gear Swifts. Going to hike the DNT MassIV in Norway this summer!

[@canadafree2087]

"my only worry with the kilt for mountaneering is the stride length" That is because this is not a kilt. A Kilt wraps, not zippers around you therefore the stride length is as much as you want with a kilt.

[@z0uLess]

@@canadafree2087 I ended up using one from gearswifts (I think its called). It did a decent job through a 12 day 350 km hike because of its lightness, but it did get quite a bit of wear on it. Also, there was one day that it rained all day and I was going downhill this mountain where the rain was literally blowing upward up the hill ... the kilt did not work well that day. I would have been ok if I could use my speed, but I had someone tag along that day and I got really cold from having to slow down.

[@BradyPatterson]

5 years of the 3F rain kilt and I don't even bother with rain pants anymore. I'm a barefoot shoe, or in my case, sandal hiker and so I hike like this all the way down to 1 degree celcius temps. If it's going to be below freezing, I will wear rain pants but even in the most torrential above freezing temperatures the West coast of Canada can deliver, it's shorts, sandals, and rain kilt

[@roberthammenrudh]

That’s hard core hiking 😄👍🏻 don’t you get a lot of small stones and such inside the sandals? Had a friend that tried sandals but he went back do trailrunners pretty quick!

[@BradyPatterson]

@@roberthammenrudh Lol, I don't know if it's hardcore, I think Thru Hikers earn that title better. As for stones, I get around as much as a pair of trail runners without gaitors. I just learned to flick my foot a certain way to get most of them out, I rarely have to stop to remove it. But it probably depends on the type of sandals. I wear Earthrunners which are completely flat on the top and so there's no "cup" or molding for the rocks to get stuck in.

[@davids9549]

I tried a kilt. Once. I wanted to like it, but it was rubbish in wind, got in the way on steep ground, and made me feel silly (I don't care, I'm too old, I'm not wearing a frock/skirt/kilt/whatever even if it's only sheep that see me). Berghaus Paclite overtrousers remain my choice - the first overtrousers I've been able to use without ending up in a Harry Houdini tangle. And I also like having the extra layer of windproof insulation available.

[@roberthammenrudh]

I like you gave it a try and then judged for your self 👍🏻 and can’t all like the same thing 🤷🏼‍♂️😄 the Zpacks DCF will be less of a problem in wind became of the fit and fabric, I hope 🤞🏻 but the Burghaus pants are great, I agree!

[@markoruotsalainen5480]

Kilt works great in summer rain and as wind stopper. But i "never" trust zippers. They will fail sooner or later

[@roberthammenrudh]

Yes I also believe its fine down a bit lower too if only during evening/nights and if there is a chance for the pants to dry. And zippers … yea, thinking about adding straps like the once on the Yanyodo. I will then glue the attachments for the straps, works perfect and is really strong on DCF. We’ll see…

[@jantomaszrogala4230]

Hey Robert, tks for great vid, here are my two cents on the subjects: I have 3F UL gear rain skirt and Zpacks vertice rain pants, weight is almost the same around 90 gr, but after some trials I choose pants, because something you have not mentioned, in warm season they can be not only rain pants but also a wind pants and just pants to keep warmer and this way I don't have to have long pants but only shorts which significantly makes me lighter. so I use my vertice pants also when it's strong wind and in the evenings in the camp when it gets colder to put over my shorts and give me an extra insulation, greetings )

[@roberthammenrudh]

Ok, yeah can understand that. I don’t hike in shorts because the weather here isn’t really made for shorts 😄 but understand it can then be a big benefit using the rain pants as pants for the evenings 👍🏻

[@nedanother9382]

I like that idea - rain is the final frontier in my kit. Struggle every time. I'm absolutely unwilling to pay 300.00 per piece for rain gear. Which means my rain pants would be heavier. So my plan this season is not rain pants but wind pants for the reasons you mentioned. And if I need rain protection I can make a very good rain kilt out of the tyvek footprint I'm already taking. We'll see how it goes. I'm hoping that it will not rain or snow again in the sierras till next year - good lord what a winter we've had in Ca. (sorry that sounds weird to EVERYONE else in the country)

[@Tenacity38]

I personally hike in a wool kilt during all season and found the Light Heart Gear's rain kilt is the best. It actually designed similarly to a kilt and allows for unrestricted movement. Everytime it was rained on me it has kept my wool kilt dry.

[@roberthammenrudh]

Looks like a great one, checked it out 👍🏻 a bit similar to my Yanyodo. It says it’s completely waterproof and will not wet out… but can’t seem to find what it’s made of, you know?

[@easternmenace]

@@roberthammenrudh Just checked and on the website it says: Black, steel blue, cranberry and camo are micro ripstop polyester, silicone on outside, and PU on inside. Royal blue fabric is ripstop nylon, silicone out outside, and PU on inside.

[@billb5732]

Rain only occurs during warm weather so, yes, kilt for rain. Sometimes cold wind can be an issue below 0C, so WIND pants make sense for that. (Tall gaiters are another option; more ventilated than pants, but add substantial warmth.) Waterproof rain pants? I haven't wanted them yet. Maybe for around camp?

[@roberthammenrudh]

Yes well, here it can actually rain also in sub temperatures 😄 not nice at all a then pants are for sure the best! Otherwise, a kilt for me any day of the week! Want to try tall gaiters but haven’t found the right ones…. Any to recommend?

[@billb5732]

@@roberthammenrudh I haven't found tall gaiters that I like enough to wear often. Cheap Unigear gaiters seem to be as good as OR Rocky Mountain. Maybe Helium or Montbell? Should be an easy MYOG project. Maybe cut legs off of Tyvek coveralls, Frogg Toggs, or other pants, then add shock cord and/or velcro to hold them above the calves. The under-foot strap seems to be optional. Maybe useful in deep powder, but otherwise just gets in the way.

[@roberthammenrudh]

@@billb5732 yes maybe a DIY project but would have loved me to just buy a pair 😄

[@billb5732]

@@roberthammenrudh They all work, even the cheap ones, so you probably cannot go far wrong. Two things I try to avoid: 1) Waterproof. Some people _require_ that, so YMMV. 2) Non-removeable strap. Most are "heavy" (200-300g) for use with crampons or snowshoes. That's why I suggested MYOG; you could use lighter, more breathable, fabric. If you have never owned any, maybe buy a cheap pair to try? That would give you a pattern, as well. You can cut off the strap if it annoys you. Or buy a cheap pair, take them to a tailor/seamstress, and have a custom pair made of whatever fabric you like.

[@billb5732]

@@roberthammenrudh BTW, Tyvek is great for prototyping. Just cut it; no need to hem the edge. Tape instead of sew. Sticky-back velcro or snaps for closure. It may not be your final material but it is easy to work with while experimenting with your design. Frogg Toggs UL fabric is similarly easy to work with.

[@no1medic]

Gaiters

[@roberthammenrudh]

Extremely good to have if using a kilt yes 🙂👍🏻

[@Andy-Mesa]

Neither. I use rain chaps that are lighter than your kilt, and provide better mobility and heat dissipation.

[@roberthammenrudh]

Please ad a link to your chaps, or a name so we all can take a look! 🙂 have a hard time though it will work with a rain jacket… what about your butt? 🤔

[@Andy-Mesa]

@@roberthammenrudh There is no link. I'm not aware of any company that makes them anymore. The ones I have are the Gossamer Gear Spinn Chaps. My butt is usually covered by my backpack and/or rain jacket/poncho.

[@Kakapo-Tui]

I got wet shoes with rain pants.

[@eddcurry1245]

A Kilt does NOT include pants.

[@roberthammenrudh]

Well here it does… the weather isn’t made for shorts other than a couple of weeks a year so 🤷🏼‍♂️ works fine with pants to.

[@MoeBergOSS]

Excellent video

[@roberthammenrudh]

Thanks 🙏🏻🙂