Any of you who garden or work in the yard, pen, or camp in the woods, lakeshore, or beach—let me tell you the wonders of a two piece rain suit, which you can find in the hunter’s section of Walmart, Cabelo’s, or any such place. I wear a size 14, women’s clothes, and find a Men’s Large does quite nicely for fitting, though bulkily, over anything I’m wearing and with the elastic waist, staying put. It has a side ankle vent so you can get it on and off with heavy footgear; it has protected velcroed pockets, if you’re in a downpour with, say, your cellphone. It has a hood if you want it, and it’s great if you want to stay warm in a high wind, as well as wind-driven rain.
They’re fairly cheap, they come in grey or grey, with pink or blue trim (large is blue), and they are good to wear half of if you need a waterproof coat for a moment, or decide you want to kneel in the mud to take care of a sprinkler head. I have worn mine over full winter gear when shoveling snow, added warmth of non-permeable fabric, plus not getting soaked.
I just came in from cleaning the fish filter, an extensive job, in a 40 degree rain (the new UV lamp has not yet arrived) and am NOT soaked or cold. I wore flipflops with all that insulation, so only my toes are a bit chill.
But if you have never used a rain suit, they are a wonderful thing to have as a recourse.
DH and I have used bicycling rain suits for much the same things. I think the most esoteric use we made of them was several years back when we spent a week crewing on a replica of a tall ship (the H.M.S. Rose, now known as the H.M.S. Surprise, for those who are interested). We were on the last voyage of the fall, up and down Long Island Sound, and ran into some squally weather. Over top of a sweatshirt or two, the rain suits work admirably to keep cold, wet wind out of vital crannies. For traveling, they can be compressed down into a self-contained packet the size of a small fanny pack, with included belt.
they are indeed most useful. add a pair of gore-text boots, and it’s easy to stay dry
We used Gore-tex bicycling suits when we were doing a lot of cross-country bicycle touring (2 wheels, no engine except your legs). The best feature was the zipper under the arms to give you some ventilation.
Definitely one of the better modern inventions….. so nice when you have to cut up trees in wet snow…….also wellies.
I’m picturing the Morton’s salt shaker girl in the rain suit and umbrella. Yes, I’m old enough to remember that. There’s probably Paddington Bear or some such in there too. No idea if young master Christopher Robin is in on it.
Christopher Robin in the flood in Hundred Acre Wood….and yes BlueCatShip-ji, I do remember the Morton’s salt girl….somewhere still have a set of mugs showing her various incarnations.
The poppies are starting to bloom and I had a pair of hummingbirds yesterday shortly after I put out fuchsias and impatiens.
So nice to sit on the deck to drink tea in the early morning. 🙂 😀 😆