I am looking for a good solid rain gear for hiking / camping?
- on 03.19.10
- Camping Gear
- Digg
- Del.icio.us
I’ve looked at GI style Poncho, but I am not in a military or anything. What I liked about GI style poncho is one size fits all, tough rip free material, and it has Grommets corners for emergency shelter use.
Is there any other option than GI style poncho out there that are just as good ?
I use a rain jacket, just a nylon shell, made by Marmot {$49} and pants made by Stearns {$25 at Wal-Mart}. I’ve been out all day in pouring rain and wind many times, as recently as last week, and only gotten a little bit damp underneath. Being nothing more than nylon with minimum liners these make a very light weight combination, probably 1/4 the weight of a military poncho. They are also a lot more comfortable than a poncho, they protect you from the wind, they cover you all the way to your ankles, and you don’t have water coming in the sides where it is snapped. A poncho that leaves you unprotected from the knees down is kind of pointless. If I’m going to carry something to keep me dry I want to stay completely dry.
The heavy military poncho is really an outdated piece of equipment, it would be like carrying a canvas tent. There are so many other things that do the same job at much less weight. I carry a nylon tarp that weighs 1/4 of what a military poncho weighs, it makes a shelter 4 or 5 times the size of one made by a poncho. Do I need to go on!
Over 35 years backpacking experience, more than a 1,000 nights in the back country, 13 nights already this year.
Sure, you can be soaking wet and miserable in almost anything. Me? I sprang for a very expensive Gore-Tex rain suit which I like. (You can sleep in it, too.)
PS: You can, still, carry the poncho as a, ‘top cover’ if you want to.
References :
http://www.cabelas.com/rainwear-parkas.shtml
I think you should stick w/ the GI style poncho.
I have a GI style poncho and find that for the price, it’s really nice. The material def. seems tougher than the material on most of the rain gear/ponchos Ive seen at many sporting goods stores, the snap closures are solid, since it’s a poncho I can take it on and off without much of a hassle, and it doubles as a ground tarp (amazingly handy when the ground is wet; it’s somewhere to sit, keep dry wood on,etc) or simple shelter.
The only downfalls are that it’s not as breathable as some of the newer rain gear (after a long while humidity builds up inside), it’s a bit bulky, small streams of rain roll off the hood and onto the neck/chest during torrential and windy rain.
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They don’t always come in military colors.
Mine is a deep blue color, I’ve even seen orange ones.
The ideal solution would be a jacket with Event fabric. It breathes and stops water better than Gore tex. But it isnt anything like cheap. The next option would be Gore Tex. It tends to get clammy, especially if youre using it in florida. The next option is a water repellant jacket. These are reliable for short periods of rain, and are more clammy than gore tex.
A regular nylon jacket or one with a light water repellent coating and a poncho is a good solution, especially in the south.
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I say it’s the best multi-use item that can turn into a shelter personally, I say get the the GI poncho, get it with the liner, it could save your life.
References :
I use a rain jacket, just a nylon shell, made by Marmot {$49} and pants made by Stearns {$25 at Wal-Mart}. I’ve been out all day in pouring rain and wind many times, as recently as last week, and only gotten a little bit damp underneath. Being nothing more than nylon with minimum liners these make a very light weight combination, probably 1/4 the weight of a military poncho. They are also a lot more comfortable than a poncho, they protect you from the wind, they cover you all the way to your ankles, and you don’t have water coming in the sides where it is snapped. A poncho that leaves you unprotected from the knees down is kind of pointless. If I’m going to carry something to keep me dry I want to stay completely dry.
The heavy military poncho is really an outdated piece of equipment, it would be like carrying a canvas tent. There are so many other things that do the same job at much less weight. I carry a nylon tarp that weighs 1/4 of what a military poncho weighs, it makes a shelter 4 or 5 times the size of one made by a poncho. Do I need to go on!
Over 35 years backpacking experience, more than a 1,000 nights in the back country, 13 nights already this year.
References :
I have tried ponchos, and while it seems attractive at first there are too many drawbacks. First they are not a versitile as you might think. If you use it for a ground cloth then you don’t have any protection to go out and gather wood, pee, or what ever. And, as a groundcloth it will quickly get little holes from sharp rocks, sticks, thorns etc, then be worthless as a rain jacket. A poncho has no arms so water tends to get your sleeves wet. In wind they blow around and are quite worthless. Because there is no front opening, or for some other reasons, they tend to get condensation from sweat. Those who recommended Gortex jacket and pants or similar water proof breathables are correct. It isn’t perfect, ;but it is the best at the moment.
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40 years hiking, climbing and exploring in California, Alaska and Washington