kjmillig

My "decent" set of jacket and pants are officially on my black list right now after riding in a torential rain this morning. They're a supposedly high end Taiwan brand that I bought at a top end outdoors gear shop. They soak up water into the fabric, but dry out quickly when hung. I even treated them with spray silicon but the fabric still soaks water. It rain before the soaked water did not transfer to the interior, but this morning it did, leaving me feeling soggy. Since I'm in Taiwan right now buying a quality jacket and pants from the US will cost me a bunch in shipping. I'l forget going back to the outdoors shop and go see what I can find at the better bike shops in town.

EChing

Rain cape. Almost all the capes out there are similarly cut, whether it's Carradice, Brooks Oxford, etc. I had one from MEC called the Cruise-Aider cycling cape. Definitely prone to wind and billowing, despite its waist strap.
But I discovered the Impac Cycling Cape, which is cut high on the sides. The front is longer than the Cruise-Aider and has a clear "window" to allow for handlebar lights. My experience so far is no billowing whatsoever. I still have all the benefits touted for rain capes: decent rain coverage, excellent ventilation. Below the knee does get wet, but booties will take care of that.
https://www.impaccycle.com/html/0901_cycling_cape.html

fietsbob

Interesting.. would fix a less than dry jacket.. and light up with a HB light.
hood looks big enough for helmet wearing. or just blow back in a gale.

bragi

I'm afraid your criteria are not realistic. Good rain gear is available. Very Inexpensive rain gear is available. However, good, very inexpensive rain gear is not available. My experience has been that good, expensive rain gear is worth the money many times over.

That said, in warmer weather, ANY rain gear is sort of pointless. Better to wear light wool and just get wet.

alhedges

Rain capes and a rain hat are the way to go. I replaced the rain cape I bought in Germany (for under $10) with a J&G rain cape and have been pretty happy with it.

If you want to go for gore-tex or other waterproof breathable fabrics, there are a couple of things to keep in mind.

1. The efficiency of the moisture transporting membrane increases as the temperature difference between the inside and the outside of the fabric increases. Since it's pretty much always body temperature inside the clothing, they work much better when it is 30 out then they do when it is 70 out. (Gore-tex was originally developed for mountaineering, where not only did it tend to be pretty cold, but the lower atmosphere at high altitudes probably helped some, too.)

2. No waterproof breathable membrane can really keep up when you are engaging in strenuous activity. However, pit zips and other means of ventilation do help a lot. (They also help with non-breathable waterproofs, but since those have become the "budget choice," it's hard to find any with good ventilation.).

3. If you give up a little bit of waterproofness, you can get a lot more breathability.

chaadster

There have been lots of excellent insights here, but there are just so many variables such as commute distance, normal riding attire, bike setup, and typical rain weather that it's difficult to make generalizations.

I've had lots of different rain gear over the years, not so much because the pieces wore out, but rather because my needs changed as I moved from college and through different jobs. Sometimes I didn't care about getting a little wet and had short rides, while at other times I had nicer clothes, longer rides, but changing facilities at work. Still at another point in my life I had dress clothes, shorter rides, and didn't want to change at work.

Each situation has it's own best answer in terms of gear, and smart money buys a solution that's best suited to specific needs.

That said, for me nowadays it's a rather pricey Marmot "pack lite" type of parka with a hood to go under the helmet, and REI brand waterproof coated/lined nylon windbreaker type pants along with Totes rubber overshoes and either a waterproof over-glove for winter, or a light glove like Mechanix or Answer BMX just to chase the chill. It all stows easily, dries quickly, and is suited to my 2-3mile journeys in often cold, heavy, Michigan rains.