Howdy All,
I've been lurking for awhile, first post. I recently caught the snowshoeing bug. I hike in the Portland OR area. I am taking a hard look at the Cabelas Rainy River Gore-tex parka as my primary outer shell for winter use. This would be day trips and some overnights. I have a bunch of tops for insulation, I am looking for a good shell. I like the combo of price and waterproof/windproof of the Cabela parka. Any thoughts or recomendations?

I would sweat so much with a parka on. Snowshoeing is HARD work.

What ever you buy make sure it has pit-zips.

Softshell is tough enough for winter use, no rain during winter.

Oregon has lots of rain in any season. In the winter we have a good amount of rain snow mixture.

Hey Gene,
For daytrips and overnighters, you could probably get away with anything that keeps the weather out. I'm not familiar with the Cabelas Parka but I tend to stay away from hardshells in the winter just because I overheat. A softshell is the way to go up here (Patagonia Readymix), but at 0*F, we have almost no chance of rain.

I just picked up an REI Shuksan eVENT parka at their "Scratch & Dent" Sale...for $50 if you can believe it. A lot of those eVENT shells had "issues" with the mating of the zipper at the bottom, so were returned in droves. So if you live near an REI and are a member, catch their next Used Gear Sale, get there early, and hit their eVENT stuff. Can't believe the difference between Gore-Tex and eVENT could be so great, but wear it once or twice and you will be convinced. It seems "colder" but my understanding is that since you are not "condensing" your sweat inside the jacket (and releasing the heat inside the jacket in the process) as with Gore-Tex, with eVENT the heat of water vapor leaves via the pores directly. In winter you may have to wear a bit more insulation as a result.

If'n I had the greenbacks I'd get an eVent shell like REI's new one.

BTW, usually you don't need pit zips with eVent.

I have a Cabela's Rainy River PacLite GTX rain suit and, for the money, it's a great deal. High quality and thoughtful design, all at a price nobody else can match for Gore-Tex.

Edited by Danepacker on 01/12/2010 21:34:58 MST.

I really love my Montbell Peak Shell. Lightweight, pit zips, air permeable fabric just like Event.

I have a cabelas Mountain lite paclite jacket. it could be wide open in teh front with all of the zipper. it feels like you're wearing full on alaskan crab fisherman rubbers... if this jacket you mention is anything like the one i own i dont really recommend it.

i'm not knocking all of their stuff, i just think you should know about this one thing.