How about going for outdoor activities and exploring the beauty of the world but without taking proper gear? You can’t trust whether it takes minutes to turn from tremendous to terrific rainy weather. Therefore a raincoat or rain jacket must be taken with you while going for any outdoor activity including hiking, fishing, mountain climbing or ice skating. These protective gear will help you to enjoy your journey even during rain. Not just for adults but they are essential for kids too. You’ll easily find a variety of colours available in the market but black raincoat or black rain jacket looks elegant.
What’s The Difference Between Raincoats and Rain Jackets?
There isn’t much difference between raincoats and rain jackets. Both of these almost have the same properties, waterproof, water-resistant, breathable, allowing perspiration to pass through and the same material has been used in manufacturing. Gore-Tex, coated nylon and Tyvek, are some materials that are mostly used.
The only difference is the length size. The raincoats are long till the knees, on the contrary, rain jackets are waist length.
They both have long sleeves and hoods to cover their heads during rain.
What Quality features to look for in the raincoats and rain jackets?
Several raincoats and jackets are available in the market but it’s better to invest your money once in good quality rain gear. There are some features you should consider if you are looking for good quality raincoats or good quality rain jackets.
Do check how these rain gears are constructed?
The raincoats or jackets are composed of waterproof and breathable fabric. Their main purpose is to repel the moisture, keep you dry and escape perspiration (your sweat) so that you feel comfortable. The good quality rainy jackets or coats have 2 to 3 layers:
•An outer layer
These layers are mostly composed of nylon or polyester. They repel the water as they have been protected with a durable water-repellent (DWR) solution and give a good look.
•Coated or laminated membrane
This layer is mostly composed of Teflon or Polyurethane. The purpose of this membrane is to keep the water out and allow the body moisture (sweat) to escape.
•A tri-coat mesh
In the end, the 2-layers are bound with the mesh layer. This helps to increase the fabric’s breathability and protects the laminated membrane.
The 3 layer jacket is durable as compared to 2 layers but a little more expensive than 2 layers.
What is seam taping and its importance?
Seam taping is also called seam sealing. It’s a thin waterproof tape applied with warmth technology to cover the tiny holes which are usually made after sewing the rain jacket or coats. This taping stops the rain gear from leaking and doesn’t allow the water to enter inside.
Though without proper seam sealing, the best quality fabric and even banded jackets start getting wet.
Some other features including
•Hoods
There was a time when people used to carry an umbrella and felt difficulty in hiking or any other activity. But now we have been facilitated with the help of advanced items. You need not use your hands continuously and make them tired.
The hoods are one of the essential features that protect your head and make you feel comfortable.
In some rain jackets or coats, the hoods are attached with the zip files.
•Inside pockets
Inside pockets are essential nowadays to protect our cellphones from rain. You can keep your money and cards in inside pockets too but these pockets are very much needed for mobile phones.
•Vents
Some rain jackets are designed with vents at the back or in the armpits to help you keep your skin dry. It’s for ventilation purposes to get rid of sweat.
Do you need to clean your rain gear?
No doubt raincoats or jackets are only exposed to water and water gets dry but sometimes you feel dry patches on your raincoat or jacket, especially on black rain jackets and coats. First, read the label or care tag, you’ll get to know whether machine wash is allowed or just hand wash.
- If the care tag allows machine washing then close all the zips and buttons and put the cold water with biodegradable detergent and set the machines on a gentle wash to maintain the same quality.
- If you are washing by hand then make a liquid wash and dip the soft sponge and clean with a soft sponge.
Take Away
It’s a fact that the better the quality of rain jackets or coats, the better you can benefit during extreme weather conditions. If you frequently go for outdoor activities then it’s better to choose good quality rain gears. Helly Hansen workwear provides the best qualities of rain jackets and raincoats. It’s worth investing in them because of their great quality.