Hi David, the right kind of raingear is something I have struggled with and after four 800 km walks, where I encountered a total of about 8 days of rain in total I have now had experience with short gortex jacket, long gortex jacket ( knee lenght), ex army raincape/groundheet and ordinary raincape. None were really great, I got wet under the capes in heavy rain and they were a nuisance in the wind, but comfortable when it was hot and wet. I got wet from sweat under the gortex jackets,yuk. When it rained really heavily, the gortex knee lenght thing felt cold, the raincover on the pack did not work properly and rain ran down my back between pack and my body. I had shorts on and the rain poured down my legs and into my shoes, which gradually filled up with water.
I have now, thanks to this forum bought an
Altus from Barrabes by mailorder, it cost around 26 Euros, the courier cost was huge to NZ, so I had it sent to family in Europe and they posted it to me.
The
Altus is the definitive solution I believe, I have tested it out. It is a coat, calf lenght, looks like a trenchcoat and has a flap at the back which when unbottened bulges out to cover you pack. It has a hood and can be worn arms in, when it rains heavily and is cold and windy, or warms out, just like a cape, great when it is hot and there is a bit of rain. Because it is longish it shields your feet from rain as well, so you don't have rain running down your legs and into your shoes. I can't be bothered with gaiters. Hope this helps, regards, Gitti