My Dad was a letter carrier when I was growing up, well, when I was living at Home
He maintained that you either got wet from the outside or the inside.
Over the years I've figured out that you will either stay dry or warm when working in the rain. The main thing to understand is that you have to manage the wet on the inside, sweat. Wearing synthetics and not cotton is a start. Venting is the next issue. Too many jackets don't have proper vents. Pit zips are mandatory. Lapel and shoulder vents help too.
Gore has done a marvelous job of getting people to think that they can make a waterproof breathable fabric. The Teflon coating is a lot like a screen. If you want to keep rodents out, you have a coarse screen, if you want to keep black flies out you have a fine screen. Gore Tex and the other coatings keep out water droplets but allow water vapro to be spushed through by body heat. If you sweat too much, the water turns to liquid and stays inside.
Patagonia has taken a different approach and designed gear with bigger or smaller holes in their coatings depending on the temperature and activity level. Not a bad approach.
HH is a good company. HH was a real person. Norwegian I think. Came up with a process to waterproof material for sailors in the 1800's. They understand venting and building clothing that will last. Not too expensive either.
A nice feature for hoods is an elastic cord that goes through a tube right where the brim of a had sits on the noggin. The cordlock is at the back of the head, just below the lump. With this feature, hoods can stick to the head but the jacket can be more open at the neck to allow heat to escape.
Not having lining in work clothes will help too. Sierra Trading Post is a good place to buy gear:
http://www.sierratradingpost.com/
Tom
