Life, Liberty and DIY

Marmot Rain Coat that Actually Works to Stop Rain

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Staying dry while working outside in the spring can be tough. But it doesn’t have to be.

I have gone through several rain coats, and inevitably they either leak or I sweat a lot in each of them.

The Marmot Precip rain jacket has been the best one I have warn. I stay dry, and when I sweat it actually seems to wick out. I can work for a couple of hours in the rain without, well as long as it isn’t too hot, and can stay comfortable.

About the Jacket

The features of the jacket are pretty basic. It has a hood that covers your head, and folds up over a collar you can zip up to your chin. This helps prevent water from leaking down the front of you.

The wrists, and the bottom of the rain jacket have elastic you can tighten up so other parts of the jacket can get a seal as well from running water into it.

The pocket openings are flat agains the rest of the jacket to help stop water from getting in. The pockets interiors are netted so it helps to vent the inside of the jacket as well.

Finally, you can also velcro a flap over the front zipper to help water run over the zipper.

What I Like

There are two features of this jacket that I think are the best.

  1. Zipping up the collar to the top of the neck to keep rain from leaking in from the top. I don’t know why this is the biggest problem I have with leaking jackets.
  2. Pockets that are nets, and not plastic. I like that it vents the jacket, but also doesn’t make my hands sweat when I have them in there.

I like most everything about the jacket, but the above are my 2 favorite.

Cons

You need a hat with this jacket. When you tighten down the hood even a little bit it starts to curl into your eyes. Maybe it is just my height and head, but without a hat it is very annoying.

While you can do manual labor work, make sure it isn’t rigorous work. If you snag something big enough it will probably tear the jacket. I mostly move animals around the property, or drag large limbs from one place to another, or even just check on water flow and saturation of different parts of the property.

Conclusion

Overall, this is a great rain jacket for all of your daily work needs. If it is raining in the spring/fall or summer I grab this jacket almost every time.

I don’t use this if I am running fence, digging holes, or cutting stuff down. Other than that work this is probably one of the best rain coats you can buy.

Pair it with some muck boots, and some good shorts, and I can stay out for hours “working”.

The Only Insulated Leather Work Gloves You’ll Need

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Cold hands are the worst. Especially when you have to get work done.

I have spent years with cold hands while working outside, and it has not been a fun time.

The problem with finding gloves has always been finding a combo glove. The gloves I buy are either the gloves are great insulated gloves, or great leather gloves. Never both.

That is until I found the OZERO Insulated Winter Work Gloves.

About The OZERO Gloves

The leather is actually leather so you get the tough self healing nature. This is what we all expect from leather gloves, but the fake leather does not deliver.

This is going to sound strange, but I really like that the thumb is not joined to the rest of the hand. That is the thumb is not cut out with the fingers.

The manufacturers sewed the whole thumb on separately. To me, this gives it a better more natural feel for your hands.

Also the insulation is “lambswool”. I feel like they keep it together like that because it is synthetic, and not really lambs wool. However, that does not mean it is bad as an insulator. In fact it works quite well.

My Experience

I think the best way to describe how good a product actually is. Is by telling you what it has done.

I use these gloves anytime the weather gets down into the 30’s and I have work to do outside. They are great for as little work as just walking around the property checking fence or for what critters have messed up now.

These gloves are also great for actually doing work too. They are tough enough to pull and fix fence, as well as handle picking up heavy loads for hours on end. That also includes move endless amounts of wood, and tree branches.

The other great thing is while I don’t recommend using them in the rain they do last, and stay warm for a while in the rain. Once you are done using them put them in front of something warm to help dry them out. Don’t put them in the dryer.

Cons

These gloves are great, but there are a couple of things I don’t like.

The main con is they don’t last even longer in the rain. I have debated getting a second pair and experimenting with some waterproofing so I can use them in the rain longer. There have just been times I have had to get stuff done, and been in the rain for too long. While the gloves stay warm’ish. They do get cold when soaked.

Finally, the thing I dislike is they are a little fluffier than I like so I feel like I have big hands. It makes handling smaller things frustrating. I guess that is true for most gloves that are made for warmth.

Conclusion

Overall I plan to use these gloves until they wear out, which might be a while, and then buy another pair. In fact I am tempted to buy a couple more pair just to make sure I have some if they ever stop selling them.

The price is great, and the protection from cold they offer is amazing. I was super skeptical that real leather gloves with synthetic fibers would be good, but these exceeded my expectations.

Carhartt Quilt Lined Duck Shell Coat

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This quilt lined Carhartt coat single handedly changed my views on winter clothing.

I used to think there was no hope staying warm in the winter with clothing alone. I have done a lot of winter camping, and just stuff outside in the winter. However, I was always cold unless I was working, or hiking, or just constantly moving.

I would be warm, sometimes, in a low degree rated sleeping bag. I just never could stay warm.

Why I Got the Coat

To be honest I never really did a lot of research into winter clothing because I had never successfully been warm in winter, and for some reason I just accepted it would never happen.

A couple of years ago we got chickens and I was going to have to go out everyday no matter the weather and do chores. I decided I needed to figure out how to stay warm. Realistically, I wasn’t going to do the chores if I couldn’t be mildly comfortable. That would not be fair to the chickens.

The Coat

I started looking around at fellow farmers, and homesteaders in my area. Also those same people in colder climates. Most of them wore a Carhartt coat, so I figured they have to know something I don’t.

So I set out to buy a Carhartt coat with absolutely no knowledge of what I was doing, and I bought the wrong one.

The company I worked for offered branded Carhartt coats at a discount if you bought 5, it was mostly meant for sales staff.

I rounded up the people, and we bought 5. Only these were jackets not actual coats. I almost swore off Carhartt coats then and there.

However, my wife convinced me to try one last time. We went to atwoods, and I tried on coats. They were much different than the jacket I owned. They were thick, heavy duty, tough, and super warm. I even started sweating in the store.

It was glorious, but I didn’t buy just yet.

The Purchase

I actually, out of curiosity while my wife was looking at the clearance rack, scanned the coat with the amazon app. On amazon for that day I could buy that coat for $30 off, so… I did. Maybe I shouldn’t have, but it was $30 off.

The Coat is Amazing

For the last two years I have used this coat extensively in all kinds of weather. Here are my favorite reasons I like it

Pros

  1. It actually blocks wind, never experienced that in clothing even when they claim it.
  2. Sheds water for a long time before it starts to soak in. Usually plenty of time to finish the task I am on.
  3. Super warm just standing around down into the 30’s, and down into the 10’s if I am working. With a t-shirt or long sleeve t.
  4. Resistant to tears, I don’t know how many times I have nicked this thing against branches, wood, and other things. No tears.

Cons

  1. The hood. The only con I have is the hood, and it really isn’t one. I don’t like hoods as I wear full brim hats, a lot, so the fact it is there I don’t like. However, the coats without them I didn’t like as much so…

If you are on the fence about buying one, definitely do it. It is totally worth the money. I am so on-board with this coat I will buy one full price if I need to once this one wears out. That said I don’t know when/if it will wear out. It still feels, almost, new and is a couple years old.

After this purchase I have put more time an energy into finding good winter clothes instead of assuming they will all be bad. So, if you are in the same boat I was. Don’t give up.