has there been a brand that tried to sew dessicants inside the jacket? ive got these bags of moisture absorbing beads that i microwave to "revive" their powers; imagining a thin layer of these inside a thin shell would work for a while
This past spring I had some flooding in my basement, some blankets got soaked so I hung them up to dry. One of the blankets was an old Hudson's Bay wool blanket, and after 5 minutes 99% of the moisture drained out into a puddle under the blanket. That's the awesomeness of wool, no synthetic fibre can do that.
What I've settled on after years of experimentation (not saying it's the best, but the best for me so far) is wool clothing with a light, breathable water-resistant shirt and overpants, covered with a water-impervious poncho. I don't care about the breathability of the poncho. I gave up on pack covers long ago and switched to pack liners. In my case, I just use a large contractor's garbage bag for that. It's heavier, but the ruggedness is worth the weight for me and what's inside will stay dry even if I fall into a lake or something.
Usually, my feet get the wettest in rain, and is the most miserable body part to be wet, so wool socks (with sock liners to prevent blisters) and waterproofed boots are mandatory. Wool socks dry very quickly. I haven't got a great solution to keep the insides of the footwear dry (shoes/boots don't dry quickly without a boot drier and you have to be shoeless while drying them), but gaiters really help a lot.