Rain pants needed in Ireland in mid October?

Rain pants are the type of item that is never needed, ……until it is. Do you already have them? Room in your luggage? I don’t know that I would go buy them for this.

I’d spend a bit more time focused on my shoes and socks as well as making sure I have a waterproof coat.

We wore our rain pants a lot in Ireland when we were on a different company's tour.

We are here in Ireland now on a tour. 6 days in. I would call the rain passing showers. Sometimes heavy but not really significant. One visit to the southwest coast to watch sheep herding was a washout with driving wind and sideways rain. So as the others have commented if you have rain pants and room then put them in your luggage

I brought rain pants on a trip and they were a life saver for hikes. One minute the sun is shining, the next torrential downpour. I was able to get soaked and dried out in the car and at lunch without a change of clothes. Jeans get wet like that and you are screwed. A good investment for your trip and back at home.

We have been to Ireland numerous times and never would have used them. If you are hiking maybe but we were.either driving. Or on public transport and would not have needed them. We were there at least three times in October and although did encounter some.rain not.enough for.rain. pants. However if you have room and want to take.them.go.for.it.

I will suggest a compromise. What if you pack a pair or two of lightweight, nylon(?) hiking pants? The kind that are fast-drying, so that if the weather is wet, they’ll dry quickly even if you’re wearing them.

Something like this, but there are lots of brands out there, at all price levels:

https://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/77475?page=vista-trekking-pants&bc=&feat=hiking%20pants%20women-SR0&csp=a&searchTerm=hiking%20pants%20women&pos=1

I would definitely not wear jeans or all-cotton pants of any kind. As someone else said, they’ll stay wet and heavy.

I’ve done long-distance hikes in driving rain and have never worn rain pants. They are lightweight, but don’t breathe at all, so they make you hot and sweaty.

Hello @asesterman. My husband and I will also be on this tour. Possibly with you? He bought rain pants and waterproof shoes and I didn’t. I have hiking type pants that will dry quickly and am spraying my shoes with waterproof spray. We both have good raincoats and lots of layers.

If you have a raincoat or parka that goes past the knees I wouldn't bother with rain pants in addition. But if you have only a rain jacket, you might appreciate the pants. No guarantees about the weather, but rain is certainly predictable in October, and you'll want to be able to spend time outside.

I could have used rain pants on one hike near Dingle in May. But I had a long enough parka that I was OK, my cotton lower pantlegs got wet but eventually dried, and my shoes had lots of waterproofing.

What if you pack a pair or two of lightweight, nylon(?) hiking pants? The kind that are fast-drying, so that if the weather is wet, they’ll dry quickly even if you’re wearing them.

Stacy made a very good observation. We've been caught several time in rain showers, and our clothing (light weight sythetics) dried very quickly. A long rain jacket will give you a lot of protection also. In addition, consider having a pair of dry socks in a zip lock bag in you day bag. They've been a godsend for us a couple of times.

We were on the tour before Covid in the fall of 2019. My husband stuck ours in just in case. I’m glad he did because it poured the day of and during the Raptor demonstration and I would have been miserable without them. We were just in Ireland this last July for 10 days. Most of the days were as they call it “soft” and hiking pants treated with DWR and a raincoat were sufficient but there was 3 days that it poured and again, I’m glad I had them. I guess it all depends on whether you don’t mind the possibility of wet pants and soggy shoes (spray on water proofing for walking thru puddles of water would have been totally ineffective) for a couple of the days.

What do the locals wear during these storms?

I wish I had a pair of rain pants on at least three occasions in April a few years ago. Back then I didn’t have any travel pants that dry quickly so I was in my jeans when it rained so hard that my umbrella and jacket did little to keep me dry. Since I was on a day trip each time, I couldn’t go back to my accommodations to change, so spent the rest of the day day miserably wet. The problem is that if it rains all day, even your fast drying clothes won’t dry unless you have the chance to go indoors long enough, like into a museum or a restaurant. If they don’t take up too much room, I would take them.

I was on that tour last summer, late July-early August. We had some very wet and chilly days on the west side, i.e. along the Wild Atlantic Way. I'm sure you will experience similar or worse weather in October. Hopefully some beautiful fall foliage will enhance your tour.

My strategy for coping with it on the tour was the same one I used with the sideways rain in May on Orkney a few years earlier and it's very close to what others are suggesting. Embedded links go to some personal examples. Being female, the Eddie Bauer raincoat and pants are for women, but EB has similar items for men as well as rain pants for both.

Long hooded raincoat with a billed cap or beanie to help keep the hood in place and the rain off my glasses, quick drying pants, layering under as needed for warmth.

Where I usually diverge from many Forum participants is with footwear and socks. Keen and Sockwell have boots and socks respectively for both men and women. Regardless of season or location I always wear Keen ankle high waterproof lace-up boots as my main shoes everyday. I wear them with Sockwell moderate compression knee high socks. This combo keeps my feet dry and warm (or cool) even in the worst of weather and helps with stamina on the trip and at home.

Sidebar: I recently gave a friend some of those socks because she was saying that she was having fatigue problems and sweaty feet from being on them at work. According to her, she was amazed that they helped so much for both issues, but especially that her feet stayed dry.

Y'all are going to have a great trip. I originally signed up for that tour for May 2020. Of course it was cancelled. I wanted to go last fall largely because of the fall colors, but I couldn't make that work with my other commitments. Stay healthy, warm and dry and take lots of pictures.

October is when my husband and I like to travel too. We are going on a RS tour of Greece (SOON!)

We pack light - never had rain pants.

We have been to Ireland and other places in rainstorms. I stayed dry wearing a rain hoodie and boots. Others in our group struggled with umbrellas when the wind came up. Though a travel umbrella is useful when there's no wind.

Enjoy your trip!

Thanks to everybody for the information, and hello to Trish, we'll see you on the tour. The outcome is that we bought rain pants, and based on the comments, we also bought waterproof shoes. I believe all this worry about rain clothes along with our purchases should pretty much guarantee there will be no rain. So to everyone on the tour, you're welcome.

I hope your travel days are sunny or at least just “soft” and you don’t have to wear the rain pants but believe me, you’ll be happy to have them if it pours. It’s a beautiful country, enjoy your time there!

I have travelled to Ireland a half dozen times. Usually I am on a horse, but also touring. I would take the rain pants or a full length rain coat. The pants don’t take up much room. Be happy if you don’t need them, but you will appreciate them if you do.

Just received a picture from a friend and her husband at the Giants Causeway. She has her raincoat and rain pants on with a big smile. Her husband is in his raincoat and drenched jeans with a scowl. A picture says it all…..:)