Rainwear Central Rainwear Forum

Haven't been around for a while, nice to see the forum is still active. So, a fun story:

DW and I had some free time in SF earlier this year and got a little adventurous: full latex, riding boots (her) and hip waders (me) with fleece pullovers and kleppers half-buttoned, and rain hats tucked away in our packs. Went to a sort of touristy area, got quite a few looks -- especially my hip boots. The afternoon started fairly nice and even some sun. I have to say I felt a little uncomfortable at times getting the "what's up with THAT" looks.

The payoff: the trusty smartphone weather radar app told us what was coming.

Decent springtime day took about 10 minutes to get dark, cold, windy, sheets of rain and a sharp little hailstorm. We pulled on our sou'westers, buttoned up, put on our gloves and watched a lot of T-shirt wearing people run very fast and get very wet.

Maybe it's a case of schadenfreude, but that was a nice feeling -- head to toe rubber raingear, pounded by a spring squall and totally prepared/protected. Is it just us, or does anyone else LOVE that feeling? I snapped that sou'wester in place at just the right time....buckets of rain falling a minute later. Long, leisurely walk home...it quit raining, cleared up a bit, then opened up again before we got home.

We've worked up the courage to do sort of the same thing a few times at gatherings with friends...on a roof deck, at the outdoor seats at a bar, or whatever. The weather turns, and we "just happen" to have full raingear handy. Not sure if they know what's up with us (nobody else we know owns vintage klepper raincoats or Grunden sou'westers), but I'm surprised that the reaction is more like "wish we had brought raincoats' than any ribbing...with just a couple of exceptions.

Just spent some time on the east coast, by the way. The storms here are something else entirely...I'll write up a couple of recent stormy-weather sessions if anyone is interested.

Love that feeling, especially if someone makes fun of my rain gear before the heavens open; then i get that smug feeling of "who's laughing now?"

yes please would love to hear about your stormy weather sessions.

I as well love that being prepared feeling.
Trying to instill that into my son and daughter as they both are the first to whine when the weather turns south.
Alas the youth of today I think would rather just get wet then be caught in any type of protective rain gear.

Some time ago I bit the bullet(as a rainwear fetishist I have always been inhibited at public equipment demonstrations)
and wore my "Marlboro Man" slicker w/ southwester and zip front rubber short boots. The bus driver designated me "the
Gorton Fisherman." The experiment was a success: the boots received favorable comment, the ladies at the bank got a kick
out of "he's got the hat," and the pastor of the church which I lurk around admitted envy--he'd like one too for outdoor
service. (I am intriguing to get him a Grunden's long blue one--one for me too.)
A little later I wore one of my special finds--a black, elegantly sleek British government item, Broad Arrow and all! I wore
my black Grunden's Southwester, etc. I got a smirk from a teenage punk in the bus station, but an interested glance from a
young lady at the mall.
I will have to do it some more. Bah! People nowadays are such wimps! Why, in MY day...

I'm always prepared, I keep raingear in my truck when the weather report indicates a good chance of rain. I always have rubber boots, sou'ester and raincoat and pants ready to go for a walk in a downpour if I'm lucky enough. Even with my girlfriend, I always say "Bring the raingear so it won't rain" then if it does, we get to be together in our gear for all to see...Love it!!!

And then there are days like today....got decked out to walk the dog. It absolutely poured 10 miles north of the city, nothing here. I'm an optimist, though, so I'm staying in my latex for more bad weather predicted this afternoon.