Golite Tumalo Pant (photo by Golite)

Decisions, decisions….

After getting soaked from the knees down last summer while bushwhacking in the Pepperbox Wilderness of the Adirondacks and again this spring hiking out of Trout Pond in the Catskills, I knew I had to start shopping for a new pair of rain pants.

I put this off since last summer because I knew how much of an ordeal making the decision on a new pair of rain pants was going to be. I dreaded giving up my wonderfully lightweight and gorgeously colored Golite Reed rain pants, which were no longer on the market. These rain pants weigh only 6 ounces but have proven to be quite durable over many years of bushwhacking.

The most important feature of my Reed rain pants is their color. These pants are a lovely shade of tan. This is highly unusual for rain pants these days since outdoor gear manufactures appear to be obsessed with the color black. Tan is a superior color choice over black given it being cooler in the sun and less attractive to blood-sucking insects.

So when I started my research I developed a list of criteria for my new rain pants. They had to be lightweight (9 ounces or less, hopefully much less), durable (since they would be used while bushwhacking), light in color (NOT black!), breathable (for those warmer and humid days) and with few frills (such as ankle zips, which undoubtedly reduces their rain preventive abilities). The chance I would find a pair of rain pants that met all those criteria would be unlikely so I would have to make some….compromises.

The first pants I looked at were the Integral Designs eVent rain pants. My eVent Shortie Gaiters have proven to be lightweight, fairly durable and incredibly breathable so a pair of rain pants made of the same material could be just what I was looking for in rain pants. Unfortunately, these eVent pants weigh about 10 ounces and therefore failed the lightweight test. Also they come in dark colors only and have zippered ankles.

For a review of the Integral Designs eVent rain pants see here.

Since their weight exceeded my initial criteria, they were available in only dark colors and have been discontinued by Integral Designs (although they are still for sale) I decided to continue searching.

The Golite website was my next destination. They were no longer producing the Reed pants but there was a worthy successor in the Tumalo Pertex® 2.5-Layer Storm Pants (they could not come up with a shorter name?). These pants are 100% nylon with a Pertex® Shield DS waterproof/breathable membrane. They are Golite’s lightest pair of rain pants weighing in at about 6 oz. Unfortunately they come in a single color, and you guessed it, black. They have few a few bells and whistles such as the right thigh pocket with waterproof zipper and the calf zips with Velcro® storm flaps. They have an MSRP of $100.

To see reviews of the Golite Tumalo Pertex® 2.5-Layer Storm Pants see here and here.

Marmot Precip Pant (photo by Marmot)

Although the weight was perfect and the reliability of the manufacturer is outstanding but the color was big strike against them. Also, the calf zips would undoubtedly make them easier to get on and off when rainfall was imminent thus cutting down on their rain prevention ability. So I decided to keep looking.

The Marmot Precip pants were the next pair I took a look at since a co-worker had recently bought a pair and was fully satisfied with them. I owned a black pair of Precips for several years prior to my Reed rain pants so I had some experience with them. I replaced them after they developed several rips (one from catching on a downed spruce limb and the other from wear and tear along the seam). They had elasticized ankle cuffs, which I never liked because the cuff tended to slide up the gaiters I wore underneath.

One significant advantage of the current Precip pants was they were offered in colors other than black. In addition to black, they come in gray (gargoyle) and dark brown (tamarack). Lighter colors would be better but at least they were not black.

The Precip comes in two different varieties: one with full-length side zippers and another with only calf-length zippers. I was interested only in the calf-length zippered variety since the ones with full-length zippers weighed too much.

Gone were the elasticized cuffs but the pants had such unnecessary frills as two side and one back pockets. Pinning down the weight on these pants remained elusive but after much searching on the Internet I was able to narrow it down between 7 and 9 oz. On the plus side these were the lowest priced rain pants with a MSRP of only $75.

Marmot Essence Pant (photo by Marmot)

While on the Marmot website, another pair of rain pants caught my eye. The Marmot Essence was super lightweight due to the 12 Denier Marmot MemBrain® 2.5 waterproof/breathable fabric. They are micro-stitched and 100% seam-taped so as to provide maximum waterproof protection. Marmot claims they weigh in at 5 oz (although elsewhere I found them listed at 6 oz), made of 100% ripstop nylon and retail for about $125. Unfortunately they too come only in the color black.

Since I was planning on journeying back into the Pepperbox Wilderness to participating in the Audubon Society’s Birdathon in just over a week, I needed a new pair of rain pants that would keep me dry. With the clock running down I would have to make a decision soon and the choice was either the Marmot Essence or the Golite Tumalo.

Which one would I buy?

Stay turned for a review of my purchase later this week.

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