Ever take two rain jackets?
 

One for on the bike and one for off the bike?

I try and subscribe to the idea of one tool for multiple purposes. But I've been wondering about bring two rain jackets.

If it were raining all day on a tour, my riding jacket (J & G) would eventually fail and start letting water through. It would be nice to have a more waterproof/less breathable rain jacket to wear in camp or around town or what have you. But packing a second rain jacket just eats up more space. I wonder if it would be worth it?

-Cota

On separate occasions I used a rain jacket plus a poncho or just a rain jacket made for rain such as a Marmot Precip http://marmot.com/products/precip_jacket - both are ok but the precip was good enough by itself if used with a nice warmth layer underneath when it was cool. Of course, it depends where you tour...

How many jackets have you tried? Maybe you need a better one.
From what I've read about J&G jackets, is they are not seam taped, so of course they will leak.

Try one with eVent, REI has some on sale right now. If it leaks, return it per their excellent return policy.

get an event jacket for riding and a poncho for standing in a downpour or multipurpose ground cloth.

i take my assos rain jacket folds up pretty small and it's brilliant,but i also take mt ago jacket that i have about 10 years still works can be worn around town.
yeah it's a good idea i think as we say over here ,to be sure to be sure.

I have a rain jacket for on the bicycle ... and a poncho for off the bicycle.

Patagonia made my favorite touring raincoat over twenty years ago. it has a hood and is calf length and I continue to use it on every tour by bike or kayak. it is completely waterproof. it does not breathe at all but ventilates well to dispel sweat.
I always bring it while testing the latest and greatest new rain gear each year. And I go back to the Patagonia raincoat each time. I only wish that it was made with lighter materials. it weighs 16 ounces.

I've brought two rainjackets, but only for real off season touring - like when I'm touring in November in the Northwest..... where I wanted both a riding raincoat and a camping raincoat.

Same strategy -all day riding raincoat was going to get soaked & I wanted a second raincoat along. Similar to having a totally separate set of dry clothing for winter camping.

Bringing a tarp to hang out under is a crucial key of dealing with wet weather camping.

For summer touring I avoid bringing two waterproof coats. Bringing a windbreaker like the J&G yellowjacket along with a bonifide raincoat is a great idea IMO. I wear a windjacket quite a bit while touring, they are also quite nice for sitting around camp as your nightime 'keep the heat in' shell layer...

This summer I took 2 raincoats, an old, fully vented gortex which I use as a summer showerproof, and a Paramo which is my usual winter commuting jacket. I was expecting conditions from heatwave thunderstorms to cold rain in Norway.
I did um and err about taking the Paramo, its a lot bulkier and heavier than I would like but in cooler conditions, nothing is quite as comfortable and breathable.
For the first half, the Paramo was used as padding around my stove and occasionally as an evening fleece-a-like.
After some really heavy rain the gortex failed and I switched.
The worst conditions I rode was all-day cold rain at 11C for several days. The Paramo was unbeatable, never clammy, kept me warm and dry and could dry off in a tent within the hour.

For tourists taking in a wide range of wet from warm to cold, its hard to find one solution.

I bring a rain jacket (and pants and shoe covers and helmet cover) but I only wear it riding when it's really pouring. I also bring a lightweight windbreaker from Sugoi that's supposed to be pretty water repellant. I get pretty sweaty inside the raingear when riding, but it's better than getting cold and soaked in a downpour. Around camp it's good to have full raingear. My jacket has a zip on hood. I don't wear it riding because it's not comfortable under the helmet and restricts my peripheral vision. Around camp I like a hood. I don't want to have to wear my helmet with the cover, and I want to keep my head dry and keep water from dripping down my back.

I took two rain jackets (both good quality) last year on my tour Hoek of H to Stavanger as I expected it to rain hard - it did - but it was not such a useful excercise - really need to wear the wet one at every opportunity to dry it out

alternative waterproof bottoms I found very useful - one full length and a pair cut into shorts (old pair that had become damaged when I had an incident in Spain) - it is easy and quick to put the shorts on and get them off when the weather is changeable - full length when it is cold and has set in for the day

I really can't figure out why I would bring two. Even if my shower pass touring jacket got wet inside from rain or sweat I would just wipe the inside dry with my pac towel. I could see bringing two if they had lining inside that would remain wet. The shower pass doesn't. So one rain jacket for me. One wind jacket for windy and misty mornings.... The rain jacket only gets worn when pouring rain or really cold mornings to trap body heat. YMMV.