best rain coat

[Bikingmomof3]

When I ordered mine, I ordered the small and the medium, returned the small. Hind sight is 20/20. Now I wish I had kept the small. Do not get me worng, I love the medium, but it is a tad looser than I wold prefer.

[Velobambina]

The week I rode three days in mist, drizzle and/or dense fog. After reading Nanci's excellent review, I finally broke down and bought the Showers Pass jacket. I don't mind getting a little wet when it's warm outside, but when it's 40 degrees, forget it!

The reminds me, on my Christmas ride (it drizzled the entire time), my feet got soaking wet. Thanks to smartwool socks and a chemical toe warmer in each shoe, my feet stayed warm! Couldn't believe it.

[mimitabby]

well, it didn't rain today, but it was between 34-40 degrees for our entire ride. I wore my beautiful new raincoat today. It came right on time, it was waiting for me at the motel lobby when i arrived. I LOVE LOVE the color.
Except for not having the nice big pockets like my last raincoat (which was not waterproof), i love it!

[Bikingmomof3]

Mimi,
I am glad your coat arrived and you love it.

[divingbiker]

Have any of you taken a steam iron to your Showers Pass jacket after washing it? The directions say you're supposed to do that so it retains its water repellency. I washed mine once and didn't iron it and it seemed to repel water fine, but I washed it again today and am wondering if I'm being dumb by not ironing it. I REALLY hate to iron, so my inclination is to take my chances, but the jacket is so expensive I'd hate for it to not be useful in the rain.

[mimitabby]

I got my size medium Showers Pass yesterday and got to try it out today, expecting rain and it's below 40 degrees.

I LOVE IT! And So far, it has prevented the rain from falling. Neat trick.

If you have slightly wide shoulders, I suggest you get at least the medium.

[DebW]

Have any of you taken a steam iron to your Showers Pass jacket after washing it? The directions say you're supposed to do that so it retains its water repellency. I washed mine once and didn't iron it and it seemed to repel water fine, but I washed it again today and am wondering if I'm being dumb by not ironing it. I REALLY hate to iron, so my inclination is to take my chances, but the jacket is so expensive I'd hate for it to not be useful in the rain.

The theory is that ironing or running it through a dryer will refresh the DWR (durable water repellent) status of the fabric. I haven't done this to any of my raingear, so I'm only passing along theory. If your jacket wets out (ie. the outer surface becomes saturated) or you see that water is not being shed but soaking in, then you need to renew the DWR because a jacket will not breathe properly (pass vapor through) with liquid on the outside of the fabric.

[mimitabby]

The theory is that ironing or running it through a dryer will refresh the DWR (durable water repellent) status of the fabric. I haven't done this to any of my raingear, so I'm only passing along theory. If your jacket wets out (ie. the outer surface becomes saturated) or you see that water is not being shed but soaking in, then you need to renew the DWR because a jacket will not breathe properly (pass vapor through) with liquid on the outside of the fabric.

So Deb, are you saying I could have ironed my old raincoat and it would have revived, or is this just true for this particular brand?