Forum: outdoors.stackexchange.com
Tags: <walking><rain><technique>
Title: Caught in the rain without rainwear or raingear
Question: If you are caught out in the rain without any rainwear, raingear and nowhere to hide out, how can you minimalize the damage?  I've seen things like:   holding a bag over the head  wearing a plastic bag on the head  keeping the head down   Obviously planning ahead would be ideal, but...:  What methods are there to avoid general wetness when you're caught off guard.

Answers:
sents: text: Strip off.
text: Your skin is waterproof.
text: Assuming it's warm (because if it wasn't, you'd have proper gear, right?)
text: then you're not going to freeze, especially if you're walking.
text: So take off everything you can afford to be seen without (because getting arrested for flashing is a downer) and stash it in your pack.
text: When the sun comes out again, you can air dry as you go, or you can sacrifice some item of clothing as an impromptu towel.
text: I've done substantial amounts of summer walking in the UK wearing only a pair of shorts, most notably on the West Highland Way in Scotland where it rained sideways 4 days out of 6.
text: If your work rate is high enough, you stay warm from the inside in spite of the water running off your skin.
answer_details: author: outdoors.stackexchange.com/users/6481/Graham
score: 51
sents: text: So, if you're caught off-guard, you won't have anything with you that offers direct protection, such as: raincoat, poncho, garbage bag, tarp, or any other portable shelter.
text: It also means that you won't have any tools along that might help you build a shelter, such as a pocket knife.
text: Some might have one, some not, but let's assume you don't.
text: Some of these options will reduce your wetness, but not eliminate it.
text: Some of these are not quick solutions and wouldn't be fast enough to help for a quick downpour.
text: Therefore, you'll need to quickly consider your environment, and look for what is available.
text: The possibilities will differ greatly: City/Suburbs: alcove of a building, or hopefully you can go inside
text: (you're probably not thinking of this environment, but for completeness) if there is a building, find the wall which is most out of the wind.
text: Stand against the wall, as flat against the wall as possible, and you will be out of the worst of the rain.
text: It will work with big trees as well, but trees mostly have branches which will either help or hinder (drops.)
text: Forest: under an evergreen of some kind.
text: If there's lightning, be careful here.
text: Definitely avoid the taller trees in that case, but that may not be enough.
text: a cave would be great a cliff might help, either because it's overhanging, or because the wind is blowing the right direction gather dead branches to build a quick wickiup, and cover it with leaves if it's a genuine survival situation, use your hands to break boughs from evergreens and make a shelter There will be environments where there's no good solution if you're caught off guard.
text: These might include open plains, desert, etc.
answer_details: author: outdoors.stackexchange.com/users/1942/Don Branson
score: 19
sents: text: My experience as a cyclist is that getting wet doesn't matter (because skin is waterproof): what matters is getting cold.
text: So the goal is to stay warm enough.
text: Your warmth is affected by your exercise (producing heat) and insulation/clothing (retaining heat).
text: To keep warm, keep exercising: if you stop and take shelter (when already soaking) then you'll get cold[er].
text: It may be better to keep on keeping on (even in the wet) until you reach an indoor shelter.
text: In dry weather you might keep your jacket unzipped (to stay cool and avoid sweating); if you're drenched in rain, staying cool and sweat-free is less important, instead you might zip up to keep warm.
answer_details: author: outdoors.stackexchange.com/users/6365/ChrisW
score: 13
sents: text: Get out.
text: You can quickly cool down when it's raining out, in particular when the rain is horizontal and it's 4°C outside.
text: You say there's no shelter anywhere near.
text: Then walk as fast as you can to somewhere not near.
text: I infer yours must be a day trip, for
text: surely you're not out on a multi-night backpacking trip in a cold & wet climate without any raingear or night shelter.
text: Locate the closest shelter,
text: be it a bus stop, a pub, your car, or even a house if you trust strangers and they trust you.
text: Even if they don't invite you in, you might hide under a ledge.
text: Walk to such shelter as fast as you reasonably can, be it one, two, or three hours march.
text: The wet-cold spiral is real and bad for you.
text: P.S.
text: It amazes me how often I see people in England out in the rain without proper rain protection.
text: This is England, it rains.
text: I don't recall seeing the same in Netherlands, Sweden, or Norway.
text: In the USA too, right on the peak of Mt. Marcy, I remember seeing hikers without any rain gear caught out in heavy rain.
text: A sure way to catch a cold or worse.
answer_details: author: outdoors.stackexchange.com/users/566/gerrit
score: 12
sents: text: A waterproof map made of a rubber-like paper.
text: I keep one in my backpack for going to the library.
text: It is very small and light-weight when folded and very big when opened up.
text: This is much more durable than a garbage bag.
text: Trails Illustrated have them.
text: They can also serve as something to sit on if really need to do so, and the area is wet.
text: They dry fast, as well.
answer_details: author: outdoors.stackexchange.com/users/14756/Planet.Megan
score: 1

Summary of the answers:
Getting wet doesn't matter (because skin is waterproof). What matters is getting cold - so the goal is to stay warm. Strip offf if necessary. Alternatively, you could use a waterproof map made of a rubber-like paper.
Waterproof maps can be handy. Skin is waterproof and you should focus on staying warm.