Hi!
I have been working for Pam Lamont up in Glenwood. Let me tell you about rain. Two weeks straight. No roof. We're dying. Finally got the roof finished with no fatalities two days ago. (Pam has noticeably relaxed!) The roofers just toughed through it and went up there about 3 stories high and managed to get it in through the downpours. Finally we can get some work done inside. Point being....
Everyone up there wears rubber boots, the kind you see in old commercials, the ones the Morton Salt girl wears. Kinda like waders. As to actual raingear we've all been a little lost too. For a jobsite with all the rough edges and protrusions, not to mention the internal exertions we put on our clothes we need something tough.
I also ride a motorcycle and would like something that won't be shredded by the winds at 50mph. I already ruined a set of Columbia uppers and lowers i've had since high school.
I know that for walk around use "Frog Toggs" are supposed to be pretty good and a tad more stylish than most. I do believe that they are enormously overpriced for what they are but they would prolly fit the bill for emergency or casual use. J. Hara Store ( the main outpost in Kurtistown) sells rubberized cotton and nylon stuff in addition to ponchos and Frog Toggs. They are undoubtably hotter and tougher; certainly heavier, most were made in Maine or Canada for ocean fishermen. None could hold up to motorcycle use. I think i may have to shill out the bucks someday for a real riding gear shell.
When i was in J. Hara i think i did find something that could actually work. They sell them over in the spearfishing section. They're called wetsuits. Enjoy the rain.
Hazen