>>2287017That's great anon! Thanks for the pic. Must be odd with the place pretty devoid of tourists and another lockdown. Are people still going out and being social? I know it's useless to speculate but what do locals and yourself think about the likelihood of reopening to the gaijin hordes?
Protect the essentials, which are your insulation - down will collapse when wet, and you want a dry set of clothes ready that won't evaporate and super-chill you in cold conditions. Cold and dry like your pic is easy, you rarely get wet unless you're a lazy fook with stripping layers, but cold humid conditions like mist, and cold rain are actually dangerous and where most people get hypothermic without the right layers.
Free winter cold rain tip:
For humid cold rain I like the following:
Thin merino base: dries slowly so won't instantly chill me from evaporation. This is partly what people mean when they say wool is "warm when wet" (soaking wool will still conduct heat away from you like any other wet fabric).
Then a layer of synth fleece while I'm active, as it can handle sweat and dampness. Accept that, in cold humidity, you will get wet.
Then an impermeable rain shell with good mechanical venting. Weirdly, there are only 3 decent raincoat options in this category: frogg toggs (cheap and not durable or well made); Columbia outdry (cheap, durable but some terrible designs such as no pit zips jackets as they hold the patent on their amazing fabric); and Goretex shakedry (the hiking standard one).
Everything else covers the membrane with a nylon outer layer which eventually soaks out, stopping the membrane from functioning (so sweat condenses inside just like a plastic raincoat), and now you're wearing a cold, sweaty bag with a soaked outer layer of nylon conducting and evaporating heat from your body.
if you were going to invest in gear, the biggest difference to /out/ happiness is in comfy clothing that can handle cold wet and moisture, not a waterproof pack.
