Rain gear

[camino-david]

Hi all - so many of us that are hididen away in the far reaches of NSW, and many of you are multi-camino walkers. This is a great forum.
I start for the first time on Sept 9 from St Jean, with the aim of Santiago and to Finisterre and back to Santiago. Due to a sudden change of plan, I now have an extra 10 days, and will finish early November - I can imagine many of you saying "What time luxury".
I live on the Central Coast about 100kms north of Sydney and would welcome a meeting with any past or intending Caminoers. I am well over 70, and my motto is 'Age is irrevelant unless you are a piece of Cheese'! I have been to a few meetings of the informal Aussie group of the Saint James Confraternity in Sydney led by Sandra Collier, and they are friendly and helpful'.
I am having trouble in choosing wet weather gear. I have a waterproof jacket and am reluctant to buy more such as a Gortex longer jacket and Gortex trousers due to cost. Would the jacket I have, which is good quality and mid thigh length be sufficient, which would mean wearing shorts in rain. My legs do not feel the cold. An alternative could be a poncho, but would that be any advantage to my jacket. I have a waterproof cover for my Backpack, and plenty of waterproof stuffsacs. My pack is a Berghous 38 litre Airflow, in which I intend to carry max 8 kgs, including water, and a camera weighing 1kg.
I am well into training, with 6 hour bush walks.
Any advice would be gratefullu appreciated
Camino-David (no photo available)

 

[sharon w]

Hi Camino-David,
There will probably not be a great deal of rain during the time you are walking. However, I do think you will need a good rain jacket. If you wear shorts they will usually dry fairly quickly. We have walked 2 caminos at this time of year with hardly any rain. Last year when we arrived in Santiago in October, after having had only one day when it had rained on the rest of the camino, we had about 4 days of constant rain.
Enjoy your practise walks
Sharon

 

[gittiharre]

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

 

[CaroleH]

Hello David and all,
As Gitti says, the Altus raincoat is the goods. Go to the long, long stream of the Forum on rainwear, especially Altus, and read what everyone says.... includes pics . . . .

equipment-questions/topic3183-150.html

Last camino we bought Altus in Madrid and used them on the Madrid Camino for the one full day of heavy rain. They worked well and we thoroughly recommend them. Weight is an issue for me, with the Altus heavier than my previous, but useless poncho . . . oh well, will leave behind something else.... Our feet did get wet without gaiters so I suggest they are a good idea (I also use my gaiters on my hands for sun protection . . . multi tasking!)
We bought our Altus in Madrid and paid 40E. Think we may have been conned, as the price, I hear, should be 28-35E. :roll:
Buen camino. Carole

 

[colinPeter]

Hi David,
When we walked April-May 2009 we only needed our wet weather gear for a few days.
Our options were rain pants, waterproof Marmott jacket & an extremely light Ultra-Sil Tarp-Poncho (Sea to Summit - quite expensive). Three items might seem excessive but the combination worked good at that time. On the day down from O Cebreiro it was cold & rain non stop & so wore all three.
Rain pants also work well in rain with keeping boots & socks dry. The Tarp-Poncho is OK when you get the wretched thing on, when windy two people still struggle to get both fitted out in time for a sudden shower. Also if it rains all day the tarp like sleeve (great for ventilation) means you need to wear a waterproof jacket underneath in cold weather (now not so great for ventilation).

So next time out we are going to use the Altus Raincoat. Having read the reports and seen them on the trail they seem a good option. My only concern is wet socks but we will make & take light waterproof gaiters.

If you decide to go with the Altus Raincoat barrabes.com has terrible postage costs. I found that http://www.peregrinoteca.com (Rain coat 30 Euros) has much cheaper postage to Australia. You just have navigate the Spanish site (Google Translate) & you can use Visa etc or Paypal.

Buen Camino
Col

 

[sharon w]

Does anyone know if you can buy the Altus raincoat in Australia?
Sharon

 

[CaroleH]

Sharon. . . . re Altus being sold in Aust.?? .... not that I know of, but could be worth phoning or emailing a few of the trekking shops in Sydney. I'll phone "Trek and Travel", York St., Syd., and ask if it's possible for them to import Altus.

Col . . . . when we have our "get together" I'll bring our Altus for you to try. Carole

 

[CaroleH]

I visited a number of the outdoors shops on Kent Street (not York, sorry) Sydney and Altus was not available. It seems unavailable in Australia, and would be brilliant if someone would start importing and selling it. Any ideas?

Price of 'Postage" from Barrabes.com is crazy . . . 51 Euro...... so better to buy in Spain.

 

[colinPeter]

Peregrinoteca sell Altus raincoats for 29.90 Euros.
Express shipping 17.23 Euros (for 2).
Arrived in Australia in six days.

http://www.peregrinoteca.com

Col

 

[CaroleH]

Great news Colin, that makes a lot more sense and makes Altus affordable buying online. Plus 6 days is brilliant.

 

[Alan Pearce]

Thanks Col

Have just placed my order.Freight was 19.99 euro but still a bargain.Thanks again.

Alan

Be brave. Life is joyous.

 

[camino-david]

Hi Carole, Col and Gitti,
Thanks for all the info on the Altus raincoat. It has helped greatly. It is officially called 'Altus Atmospheric Poncho', but sure looks like a raincoat. And it is definitely not a fashion statement. I got prices from Barrabes (28.45 Euro) and Peregrinoteco (29.90 Euro). I am getting mine delivered to UK, with shipping of 8.62 and tax of 5.93 Euros. Colours are red and blue, and sizes small (390 gms) and large (490 gms). After reading the other posts, shipping cost to Australia seems very reasonable compared to the tax + shipping to UK. I found the service from Barrabes exceptionally good, and their ordering procedure online simpler than Peregrinoteco.
Camino-David

 

[gittiharre]

Thanks David, I found Barrabes good too, their shipping costs to NZ were really high though, about 28 Euros or so. Good luck with it. Will you get gaiters too? I haven't yet got any. Apparently Backpacking Light in Melbourne have very lightweight ones.
Cheers, Gitti

 

[camino-david]

Hi Gitti,
Gaiters? No way! I have been walking in Tasmania where there is so much rain that you walk IN the water, all day. At the end of the day, take off the boots and socks, dry as much as possible, and next morning put on the damp boots and walk in the water again. You just get used to it! Gaiters are just extra weight, which I would rather use in taking an extra top layer to keep warm. Surely there are many outdoor shops along the way in the cities where one can buy gear if necessary, but I am only guessing. Does anyone who has done the Camino before have other opinions?
Frankly, for me, the most important thing is to keep the weight of my backpack as least as possible. Camino-David

 

[jl]

Hello David, As someone who has done a lot of bushwalking in both Tassie and NZ and done my fair share of wading through creeks etc, I too wouldn't bother with gaiters (and haven't - on the three times I have walked the Camino). The Camino is nothing like that kind of hiking (mind you it would be VERY chilly putting on wet socks in the weather we are currently experiencing!) - yes it can get wet, but like you, if it did I would (and have) just put up with it. You are not going at a time when you would under normal conditions expect to watch for hypothermia - though in the mountains of course the weather can change at the drop of a hat. By mid Oct Galicia could be getting wet in a normal year I would think, but you are right - there are shops along the way (there is a very good one right on the path in Sarria). I have usually left St Jean (or environs) around the 6th Sept, and have only ever struck a couple of damp days. That time is autumn, and like here, the weather is likely to be the most stable - unlike in the spring. By mid to late Sept. in the mountains I would think you would start to experience reasonable frosts - but the compensation for that is that the days are usually fine and sunny.

As someone who has done extensive walking in the Flinders and Grampians where sometimes it is prudent to wear gaiters for grass seeds, you can ignore that too as there is very little problems along those lines either.

Last year my boots wore out after only 1200 Kms (won't get that brand again!) and I did some temporary measures with gel inserts which got me another couple of hundred Kms where there was a town big enough to have a big sports store where I bought new boots for the rest of the trip. It really isn't a problem along the way finding shops - though you might have to wait a few days till you get to somehwere big enough. Hope that helps, Cheers, Janet

 

[gittiharre]

Hi David, thanks for the gaiter advice, I have not so far bothered with them, but have been very lucky with the weather on my walks. Like you I am obsessed with the weight thing. Cheers, Gitti

 

[hel&scott]

...so much rain that you walk IN the water, all day....

Sounds like tramping in NZ, but never stuck this problem in Spain. We tend to program our walks for northern autumn (Sep/Oct) and while it can rain a bit in Galicia, it's never been to bad.

Later then Oct you may need gumboots or a boat though.

 

[Debinq]

hola everyone ... just found this forum; interesting weather wear discussion which I could relate to having done the C Aragones and the la Plata (from Sanabria) in Sep/Oct 06 - I've noted in other forums that as far as my experience is concerned, the rain in Spain doesn't fall "in/on the plain" but in Galicia! - especially in October, buckets of it all at once- and could also relate to Gitti's story abt getting wet from perspiration under his Gortex jacket - I had the same experience - may as well have not worn my rainprotection (a yachtie's sea spray jacket I borrowed from my brother before I set out) I was as wet on my body and clothes as it was outside! Thankfully I had a great cover for my b/pack! - I eyed the Altus coats I saw with envy; just about everyone I met (French, Spanish, Germans) had one. Am now preparing for the C Mozarabe, from Granada, via Cordoba to Merida; should I get an Altus ? (a rhetorical ?) Then I'll prolly bus it to Portugal from Merida and do the C Portugues from Tui and also the last bit from SdC to Finisterra, as I missed that in 06 due to the Oct downpours that washed out some tracks then - hope to set off in mid March and walk until end April

happy trails

Peter

ps - maybe bump into one or two of you in the Spanish Club at 77 Liverpool St at one of the next mtgs.