Reviews > Clothing > Childrens Clothing > Sierra Designs Hurricane > Anthony Smith > Long Term Report

Sierra Designs Hurricane Rain Pants and Parka
Long Term Report
March 6, 2006

Tester Bios
Child
Name: Cameron Smith
Age: 6
Gender: Male
Height: 3’ 10” (1.17 m)
Weight: 40 lb (18 kg)
Chest: 21.5 in (55 cm)
Waist: 20.5 in (52 cm)
Hips: 25.5 in (65 cm)
Arm Length: 18 in (46 cm)
Inseam: 17.5 in (44.5 cm)
Backpacking Background: Cameron has been camping and hiking since he was about 18 months old. He will currently carry up to 5 lb (2.5 kg) of his own gear. Cameron is very comfortable sleeping in his own tent, and has expressed interest in trying hammock camping. Cameron is growing into an avid outdoorsman, always asking when the next trip to the woods is.

Adult
Name: Anthony (TJ) Smith
Age: 30 years old
Gender: Male
Height: 5’10” (1.78 m)
Weight: 155 lbs (73 kg)
Email address: tjsmith1946@gmail.com
City, State, Country: Pensacola, Florida USA
Backpacking Background: I have been camping for a little over 5 years now, mostly car camping. I have recently begun backpacking, and I am constantly adding new gear to my “collection” in an effort to get my gear list tailored more towards backpacking. Most of my backpacking trips are short duration, not more than one or two nights. I am planning some longer trips in the near future.
My current pack weight is around 15-20 lb (7-9 kg) without food and water, depending on if I'm solo camping or taking my son along, as I have to carry some of his gear. I am a dedicated hammock camper and have tailored my personal gear to that aspect of camping.

Product Information

Year of Manufacture – 2005
Manufacturer URL – www.sierradesigns.com

Item	Pants	Parka
Size Tested	Small	Small
Color Tested	Charcoal	Navy
Stated Weight	N/A	N/A
Weight as Delivered (including stuff sack)	4.4 oz (126 g)	8.4 oz (236 g)
Inseam	19.5 in (49.5 cm)	N/A
Waist	30 in (76.2 cm)	33.5 in (85.1 cm)
Length	28 in (71 cm)	21.5 in (54.6 cm) back length
Sleeve Length	N/A	23.25 in (59 cm)
Stuffed Size (Approx)	5.5 x 2.5 in (14 x 6.3 cm)	6.25 x 3 in (15.9 x 7.6 cm)
MSRP (USD)	N/A	N/A

Initial Information/Observations

For more information, please see our Initial Report and Field Report.

Field Information

Date: January 29, 2006
Location: Big Lagoon State Park, Pensacola, Florida
Weather: Overcast with brief periods of light rain, temperatures ranged from 62 F (16 C) to 69 F (20 C)
This was a short day hike in a local state park. While conducting the hike, we encountered a few periods of rain, not lasting more than 5-10 minutes each. Cameron wore the pants for the duration of the hike, and took the jacket on and off depending on the rain. The Hurricanes were able to keep Cameron and his clothing dry throughout the hike. During the periods of rain, Cameron was able to put on and zip up the jacket himself. When the rain would stop, he was also able to remove the jacket himself with minimal help.

Cameron has also worn the Hurricane jacket on a couple occasions around town and to school during periods of rain. He has had no problems with ease of use, and has not complained of his clothing getting wet in areas protected by the jacket during these uses.

Final Thoughts

Due to the nature of testing rain gear, Cameron and I have been at the whim of the weather present during the testing period. We have experienced an unseasonably dry period in our locale during this testing period and as such were not able to get as thorough of a test as we had hoped for. During the testing we were able to conduct, we did not experience any negative issues.

We have found the Hurricane Youth Rain Gear to be well constructed. The seams have held well during testing, and Cameron did not experience any issues in stress locations such as the knees and elbows. His jacket has handled being worn with a backpack without issues, and there are no wear marks where his pack straps rest on the jacket. The Hurricanes have developed a few creases in the material due to being stored in the included stuff sacks, but during wear most of these creases come out.

Cameron has found that the Hurricanes keep his clothing from getting wet, even during a downpour. During warm periods, he has not complained of being hot while wearing his rain gear (temperatures experienced during testing reached almost 80 F (27 C) for several days). He also did not complain of any discomfort while wearing the rain gear with his backpack worn over the jacket.

Cameron has found the Hurricanes to be easy to get on and off, both the jacket and pants. He does find the pants easier to use if he takes his shoes off while putting them on and taking them off, but that was expected by us prior to testing. Cameron has found all the fasteners and adjustments easy for him to use, and only required minimal assistance with the drawstrings when we first received the gear. He still has problems with getting the gear into the stuff sacks, but I have not had problems assisting him with this. I attribute his difficulties with his lack of dexterity in rolling the jacket and pants prior to putting them into the stuff sack.

Pros
1. Ability to keep Cameron dry even during downpours
2. Comfort level even during warm temperatures
3. Easy to use fasteners

Cons
1. Difficulty for Cameron to put the gear into the stuff sacks
2. Cameron finds it necessary (for his ease) to take his shoes off for placing/removing the pants.

Our thanks to Sierra Designs and BackpackGearTest for allowing us to test this item.

Reviews > Clothing > Childrens Clothing > Sierra Designs Hurricane > Anthony Smith > Long Term Report