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Depends. In the city, I always prefer an umbrella to a raincoat. I’ve tried some expensive brands, but even with the most “breathable” fabric a raincoat is always going to heat you up and be sweaty unless it’s truly cold outside and you aren’t moving (if you’re hiking, you’ll get hot even if it’s snowing in many raincoats, although I imagine Antarctica or whatever is in another category entirely).
If you’re hiking or outside for long periods somewhere that’s warmer than about 65f/20c, I’d accept getting rained on, get a waterproof rain hat for your eyes and deal with whatever intermittent rain you have. Honestly that’s what I’d do even if it was only 60 degrees if it was very humid. Unless you have extreme sensory issues rain isn’t too unpleasant when it’s warm, especially if you’re on vacation and not wearing a suit or something you’re trying to keep dry.
Colder than that in the 30-60 range (that’s what, maybe 0-17c?) you’ll want the lightest possible shell raincoat you can find, something you can very quickly fold away and take back out, where the water will run right off and which you can wear on top of a sweater or light outerwear of some other kind.
Yup. I'll go for umbrella for city + shell for hiking. Thanks for the reply.
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This again depends on the type of rain we're talking about, and of course wind. 65F, windy and soaked to the bone is unpleasant no matter how good your rain hat is.
This is true, but there's still a huge difference between wearing a GoreTex membrane with open ventilation zippers and an oilskin raincoat / plastic tarp cover. If you're wearing it for days, several hours each, I would spend the money.
Personally, my choice is always an extremely compact umbrella, and a un-insulated GoreTex jacket that folds down very small, which I only put on when I need my hands free or the wind picks up.
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This is pretty much my approach as well. I'll addend that if it's both slightly chilly and rainy, and I'm running for a decent amount of time, I'll shift over to accepting that I'll get wet and wearing a wool/tech baselayer that still keeps me warm in the rain. I skip the shell because you just get gross and hot inside it if you're putting in much effort. My favorite gear for this is Icebreaker merino wool, but it's pretty expensive.
If I was doing something like hiking in an Irish winter, I would definitely make sure to bring those wool baselayers.
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