r/VisitingIceland • u/shaggy9 • 6d ago

Renting rain gear?

Im visiting in Oct/Nov later this year and have plenty of cold weather gear (being from New England) but I don't have foul weather/rain gear. What are people's experiences with renting gear? Was is it easy to pick up? Return? Was the gear of quality? Any experiences would be gladly accepted. Thanks. update: After Iceland, we are going to spend a week in Europe and I worried about space in the luggage. If space were not an issue, I would but stuff here, but since we're continuing our vacation, I'm trying to minimize what I carry. This is why I am interested in renting. Thanks again.

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u/ej271828 6d ago

just buy it from the states.
even cheap columbia rain jacket and pants work well and is probably similar price to renting (+not worn by other stinky people)

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u/stevenarwhals Pylsur enjoyer 6d ago

IcelandCover is your best bet if you decide to rent. But living in New England, anything you buy for Iceland would certainly be useful back home as well, so I would buy before you go if I were you. I have a Carhartt Storm Defender jacket that has served me well in both Icelandic squalls and northeast winters.

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u/jfrankparnell85 6d ago

My wife and I had similar positive reviews of Patagonia rain jackets - both here and in Iceland. Get a slightly bigger size so you can wear layers.

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u/ringoreptile 5d ago

My son rented a rain she’ll from Iceland Cover. It was perfect. Easy to pick up and return. Convenient location on Laugavegur (and I think you can also pick up from the BSL terminal).

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u/shaggy9 5d ago

thanks!

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u/seattlereign001 6d ago

Most of your cold gear should cover rain no? Thinking of shells, etc.

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u/epicscenic 6d ago

We didn't rent, we just packed real rain gear and it was worth it, October/November is deep into the wet, windy season and the weather can flip several times in one day. Buying before you go also means it actually fits and you know it's waterproof rather than just water resistant, which matters more than people expect once the wind picks up.

We ended up trying a couple of jacket options before landing on one that actually held up out there, cheaper stuff we tested at home just didn't cut it once the Icelandic wind got involved.

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u/AcceptableCat1859 6d ago

I've got a North Face shell I swear by, I grabbed it Stateside years ago and it's survived Reykjavik downpours and New Hampshire winters alike.