I used my Chrome Dome a lot more than the rain pants last year. I used it in the sun of NM and whenever it rained. At one point just north of Rocky Mtn NP we got hit by a lightening storm up high, but got into a copse of trees and with the several umbrellas we had, produced an immediate shelter for 4 of us to hunker down under until it blew over. We had a picnic in the impromptu shelter. <div>
<br></div><div>On trail, it provided enough protection in all but the strongest blows to allow me to keep my wet weather jacket unzipped or partially zipped and therefore much less clammy inside. I could also keep shooting pictures in the rain. Sometimes cliffs and forests are at their most beautiful in a mist. </div>
<div><br></div><div>I hook it over my pack and it keeps the top half of me and the pack pretty dry and that's a comfortable way to hike for me. By synching my chest strap across the shaft, I very rarely need to hold onto it, and can usually use both of my hiking poles while the umbrella is up. </div>
<div><br></div><div>But each to his own. It is more weight, and if it's not your thing, or in a particularly dry year, it could be a weight carried for naught. But I like them.</div><div><br></div><div>Shroomer<br><br>
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