Ultralight Raincoat

Rain Jacket – handmade to order

Lightweight rain jackets are pretty hard to come by in New Zealand.  We’ve taken a minimalist approach and asked “what do we really need on a raincoat?”: this means we’ve left off anything that adds weight, such as pockets.

Length:  we all prefer different length raincoats; some prefer a knee-length coat while others prefer a shorter length.  Our raincoats are about mid-thigh length, plus or minus depending on your torso height.

Breathability:  SilNylon is an inherently 100% waterproof fabric, and therefore isn’t breathable.  We have never found this to be an issue, as we’ve found mechanical venting via pit zips to be a far better way of venting excess heat.  Breathability in the rain presents other issues, not least water condensing on the inside once it wets out, and the constant re-coating required to maintain it.

Pit Zips:  optional, but highly recommended!  These make it easy to vent heat.  Our pit zips unzip from both ends, which means the rain coat can be vented from the armpits while remaining zipped further down the torso, or unzipped from the bottom and used as a poncho.

• Pro:  more flexible
• Pro:  can vent to prevent overheating and humidity
• Con:  heavier
• Con:  more pricey

Glued vs Sewed:  When gluing, we use a silicone glue to keep most parts of the coat together.  In our testing we’ve found it to be much stronger and more waterproof than sewing – when pulling it we can’t get the glue to fail.  Sewing is less expensive and may be a fraction lighter, but is not quite as insanely strong as gluing.  We recommend gluing for maximum waterproofness.  Dyneema doesn’t glue – all Dyneema products are sewn.

• Pro – glue:  WAY stronger, more waterproof than sewing
• Con – glue:  more messy – visible glue patches on the garment.  This is purely aesthetic and doesn’t affect waterproofness or weight
• Pro – sewing:  lighter (by a tiny tiny amount), less messy
• Con – sewing:  less waterproof, not as strong as glue

Materials Used

MTN Silnylon 26GSM is the lightest, thinnest fully waterproof fabric on offer.  It’s pretty delicate when used as a raincoat, so we suggest treating it with care.  Weight: 26GSM.

MTN Silnylon 37GSM is a more robust version, and isn’t too much heavier.  It’s so robust that a friend and I were unable to leave any stretch marks when trying to pull it apart!  Weight: 37.3GSM.

Dyneema 17GSM also called Dyneema Composite Fabric, DCF, or Cuben Fibre, is a composite laminate, with the highest tear and tensile strength of all three fabrics.  For its weight, it’s 15 times stronger than steel.  Use this if you are after the absolute lightest raincoat, but be aware that it will wear faster than the Silnylon options.  Weight: 17GSM.

My raincoat is MTN Silnylon 37GSM, comes down to mid-thigh, has pit zips and a hood cinch, and is only 155g.

NOTE 1:  Colours are subject to availability from our suppliers.  If we are unable to provide your preferred colour, we’ll let you know ASAP.

NOTE 2:  There is currently an 8-10 week lead time on all made-to-order products.  If you need yours urgently please contact us and let us know in your order.

Disclaimer:  By using BUFFA Outdoors products, you acknowledge that ultralight gear is inherently more delicate and less durable than conventional heavy equipment.  While we have tested our gear in “average tramper” conditions, regular use and extreme use-cases such as bushbashing and rock sliding will shorten the life of this gear.