Hi, I am trying to find a Jacket to pack in the back of my fly vest for the Spring/Summer showers. I am wondering what others use and what they think of them to help me out with some idea's. I have looked at the Berghaus Paclite at £130 and the other end i have looked at the Regatta Packaway for £20. So can you give me some idea's or advice please.

Thanks
Ian

I found a lightweight packable jacket in Aldi year before last for well under £20 - and when it starts to leak I'll start looking for another one.

Every packable jacket I've ever met leaks eventually - a brush with a bramble will finish most.

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Plusnet/Madasafish > Liars to the internet community

i have a guideline JiC (just in case) but i think there discontinued now so youll have a hard time finding one.
They were pretty fair priced and a quite rugged material so shouldnt rip too easily.
Any heavy duty nylon one will do i would think.
Hope you find what your looking for mate

I use the Orvis Clearwater packable jacket:

Waterproof Fishing Coat / Clearwater Packable Jacket -- Orvis UK

Not that cheap (bought mine in the US so was good price, worked out about £50 at the time) but loads of good features, particularly the sealable cuffs and the fly box pockets are very useful.

I use it all year as a waterproof over fleeces etc.

I carry an emergency waterproof in the back of my lightweight vest for those warm/ish days when there might bethe odd rouge shower - the sort of day when I don't want to be weighed down by my wading jacket.

It is simply an extremely cheap green plastic poncho off fleaBay which I have chopped off to "just below chest wader top" level. Never going to in any fashion contests, granted - but it packs so small that I don't notice it, and because it is a poncho, the lack of breathability isn't an issue. It has saved the day on a number of occasions.

Being plastic it is completely waterproof, unlike many cheap nylon jobs, and because the plastic is fairly stout stuff it doesn't cling like wettened nylon does. And obviously if it ever comes to grief, I shan't lose any sleep (£2 a pop).

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strikealight


Dynamite fishing is always effective.

I've had a lowe alpine jacket for three seasons now, keeps me warm and dry, i came across it in tk macs £80, priced them at local outdoor shops and they were double the price, same jacket today in mountaineerig shop in inverness retailed at £245.
Tk mac said it was last years stock and thats how they are so cheap so shop around.

Coincidentally, I have both a Regatta Packaway and a Berghaus Paclite.

For occasional use, I would go for the regatta - waterproof, windproof, breathable (they say), elastic cuffs so no velcro to catch line on, nice olive colour, fairly "rustle free", and only £20. Fits in fly vest pocket no bother and not heavy. Only drawback is hood isn't great but for occasional use, it's fine and I can't see the point in spending more.

Incidentally, I got the Berghaus paclite for £70ish (reduced from £160) from a Berghaus outlet near me - worth shopping around. The Berghaus is lighter with a proper hood, but again, if only using for showers, why pay more.

(I use the Regatta more for fishing if it's too warm for a wading jacket - it's coped with many a heavy shower in Scotland and here in North East.)

Cheers
Don

I carry a cheapo Chinese 100% waterproof nylon jacket and over trousers to match. Both roll up to next to nothing, and work. They are prone to tearing on the old barbed wire but hey, at a fiver each, I buy a new one. My last one is now into it's forth season, I must be getting more careful in my dotage. Beware though you don't want to be wearing this clobber if you are going to walk any distance. You will sweat so much that you might as well stop in the rain.............................birdsnest

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Fear not if I steal from your side, as of yore, from paradise streams to fish Teifi once more.
BN based in Wolverhampton

I found myself wondering around London a few years ago and the heavens opened. Popped in the nearest outdoor shop and picked up a pack away jacket for £15. I can't remember the name but they all have them in a cardboard display stand, all packed up in little bags, about the size of a coffee mug.
I still use it and had it on under my vest this weekend.

I can vouch for the Regata packaway, £30 for trousers and jacket from Whinfields a few years ago and still going strong, light, cheap as chips.....Job done

Rob