I'd like to think that I now know a little bit about hiking and about how to manage the different weathers that we all experience. My irritation was about rain, no problems really with the other types of weather. I started in a traditional way, bought an expensive Paramo waterproof jacket (£250 at the time) and a pair of not so expensive waterproof trousers. The coat was OK, but I soon hated the trousers, put them on, take them off, hot and wet in all the wrong places, always disrupting my walking pace and flow!
I tried a poncho, not bad, but I found again difficult to put on and off, when to do it, when not to do it, again each time disruption and lots of messing about. Then I tried a rain skirt, made of Silnylon, much better, weighed about 1-2 oz, on and off in a few seconds, I felt now that I wasn't a slave to rain. I could even carry on walking as I change from skirt to no skirt, all I had to be wearing was my Paramo coat and my Rab gaiters and I was fine.
I then decided to treat rain as a totally different problem to all of the other weathers. I no longer wear my Paramo (except to go to my local pub in the winter) and I now have a small bag, filled with my gaiters and a long £15 waterproof coat strapped to my rucksack. When it rains I just slip on my rainjacket, when it stops, but looks like it may rain again or it just drizzles, I just open it up, or zip it again, to stay cool and to dry out any perspiration that may have built up inside the jacket and stroll on until I make the decision to take it off permanently for the day. I've written in about this before, but I can confidently say now that I have made a great decision for myself (i.e. separating rain from the other weathers) and I just wished I thought of it long ago.
I can now use two methods to beat the rain, one is to use my long waterproof coat and gaiters and the other is to use my second £15 waterproof coat, (I've cut the bottom off of this one) plus my rain skirt and gaiters. Any spending for me these days, expensive or otherwise, is now concentrated on every other type of hiking clothing. For example, I have ordered a Rab Vital windproof jacket because I now know that the main weather I dislike the most is wind and cold. Rain for me is now a minor issue.
Obviously buying a £250 waterproof jacket is a personal choice to make, but for any newbies out there who want to hike, may believe that there is no real alternative, please think again because there is!