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Post by cweston on Jul 27, 2020 8:56:46 GMT -8
I'm considering giving this a shot. Any thoughts on these three questions?
1) Traveling off-trail, and/or in brushy terrain. Ever get hooked on stuff?
2) Around camp. My biggest beef with ponchos is around camp--I've often found it fairly difficult to do routine camp stuff (cooking dinner, collecting water, etc) in a poncho because of the floppy/flappiness. Thoughts?
3) Does it really fit OK over, say, a 65-70L pack with "stuff" attached? (Rubber camp shoes, trekking poles or an ice axe.) I have rubber tip guards for my axe, so I don't think actual tearing would be an issue.
I know, they're not expensive: I should just buy one and try it.
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almostthere
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Post by almostthere on Jul 27, 2020 18:32:12 GMT -8
It's a fairly durable thing. More like a generously - proportioned parka. The sleeves keep it from the "big wings" effect of a regular poncho. It does fit over my 45 - 60 liter packs, with crocs attached. But you may need help pulling it down over the load.
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Post by Coolkat on Jul 29, 2020 8:14:45 GMT -8
I just got done with a 9 day trip in CO where the rains came every day so I got to use mine on a regular basis. I have 70l pack and it fit over just fine but I always needed help getting it over my pack. That to me was the biggest draw back. It's not something I'd use for rain protection on a solo trip. I also didn't like having to remove the poncho just to put my pack down to maybe rest after significant elevation gain.
We did some off trail work and I also was worried about it's flappiness would catch on things so I brought with me a small bit of small diameter bungee cord to wrap around me but it didn't rain while off trail. I'm not sure that I would have wanted to be wearing it while climbing over or under blow down. I didn't have camp shoes nor did I ever put my trekking poles on/in the pack so I can't address that.
Oh... one other thing. This will be different for different people but the arms were just about an inch short for me.
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Post by cweston on Jul 29, 2020 8:37:34 GMT -8
It does fit over my 45 - 60 liter packs, with crocs attached. But you may need help pulling it down over the load. I have 70l pack and it fit over just fine but I always needed help getting it over my pack. This is good info: I'm planning several short solo trips this fall, so this may not be the right tool for those hikes. How was La Garita, Coolkat? It was indeed very rainy last week: I was in the Gores. |
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Post by johntpenca on Jul 30, 2020 17:25:19 GMT -8
I'm not sure that I would have wanted to be wearing it while climbing over or under blow down. That's my concern about ponchos; tripping on blowdowns or when high stepping bounders (both up and down). But I like the idea of the added ventilation. |
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Post by bluefish on Jul 31, 2020 7:04:49 GMT -8
I gave ponchos a fair shot. I liked their multipurpose-ness, as they could also serve as a shelter or ground cloth. Several bad incidents: stepping on them and tripping in steep terrain, one horrendous fall that concussed my wife, and some windy disasters , especially on one trip in the Grand Canyon, made me abandon them. Even using some sort of belt still made then prone to massive billowing and obscuring vision of what's in front of you. Not fun when there's a thousand feet of drop off a couple feet away. They were good in summer thunderstorms to wait things put, but I'd rather just set up a tarp.
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almostthere
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Post by almostthere on Jul 31, 2020 9:07:10 GMT -8
I gave ponchos a fair shot. I liked their multipurpose-ness, as they could also serve as a shelter or ground cloth. Several bad incidents: stepping on them and tripping in steep terrain, one horrendous fall that concussed my wife, and some windy disasters , especially on one trip in the Grand Canyon, made me abandon them. Even using some sort of belt still made then prone to massive billowing and obscuring vision of what's in front of you. Not fun when there's a thousand feet of drop off a couple feet away. They were good in summer thunderstorms to wait things put, but I'd rather just set up a tarp. And that's why I got a Snugpak Patrol Poncho. It's prone to zero of those things. |
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texasbb
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Post by texasbb on Jul 31, 2020 9:25:53 GMT -8
I gave ponchos a fair shot. I liked their multipurpose-ness, as they could also serve as a shelter or ground cloth. Several bad incidents: stepping on them and tripping in steep terrain, one horrendous fall that concussed my wife, and some windy disasters , especially on one trip in the Grand Canyon, made me abandon them. Even using some sort of belt still made then prone to massive billowing and obscuring vision of what's in front of you. Not fun when there's a thousand feet of drop off a couple feet away. They were good in summer thunderstorms to wait things put, but I'd rather just set up a tarp. And that's why I got a Snugpak Patrol Poncho. It's prone to zero of those things. Other than having dedicated sleeves, I'm not seeing how that thing would be any different from any other poncho with regard to the issues @blufish raises. Can you elaborate? |
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Post by Coolkat on Jul 31, 2020 9:32:54 GMT -8
If you want to see this poncho in the wind, you might find this video helpful...
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almostthere
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Post by almostthere on Jul 31, 2020 9:57:51 GMT -8
I hiked for a whole day wearing it, at the end of the rainy, windy day I was the only dry hiker in my group. Dude in the video wasn't wearing it over a real backpack, for one thing. I secure the snugpak with a couple rubber bands instead of using the stuff sack. Alternately, gathering up handfuls of poncho in the bands to expose my front for cooling down, or the sides to reduce the flapping (which was definitely less than your average flat poncho anyway) was quite effective.
Like anything else, YMMV, but the times I've been soaked to the bone I wasn't wearing the snugpak.
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Post by bluefish on Aug 1, 2020 3:58:51 GMT -8
I hiked for a whole day wearing it, at the end of the rainy, windy day I was the only dry hiker in my group. Dude in the video wasn't wearing it over a real backpack, for one thing. I secure the snugpak with a couple rubber bands instead of using the stuff sack. Alternately, gathering up handfuls of poncho in the bands to expose my front for cooling down, or the sides to reduce the flapping (which was definitely less than your average flat poncho anyway) was quite effective. Like anything else, YMMV, but the times I've been soaked to the bone I wasn't wearing the snugpak. It does look like an improvement from other ponchos , including high end Gore-tex military issue I've used. HYOH comes into play, as I have gone to jacket and pants, as they serve for wind, spare clothing , and the jacket has a good brim that keeps rain from obscuring my glasses. Big pit zips keep me from sweating out. I hate the bottom of my pants being soaked in cold rains. That's a large factor here in the Northeast, especially in late fall when I go often, or using the rain gear in wet snow. The pants with leg zips go on easier than gaiters. The contents of my pack are wp'ed, but I employ a lightweight packcover, too. The wide straps on my ULA don't bother me when wet. I wp'ed them with spray, too. Takes longggg time to soak through to the padding. I looked at the video and billowing was present even with a belt. I like tight , long velcroed sleeves, keeps me warmer and no water going up my arms from trekking pole use. I like rugged trails, the one in the vid was an easy go. Snugpack looks like a good product, just not as useful for my apps. |
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Post by Coolkat on Aug 2, 2021 9:12:37 GMT -8
Ok I have a hike coming up the end of this week and I'm thinking about my rain gear again. I kinda ditched the idea of using my snugpak poncho because of having to need other people to get over my pack. However, who is going to be style the police if I wore my pack like normal on the outside and the belt of the pack would keep it from getting blown around or caught on things. My new pack is made from water proof material and I've seem sealed it. But maybe this would be just as sweaty and gross as my rain jacket if I did this?
I'd rather use the poncho if I can.
So what am I missing something? Is there a downside that I'm not thinking of?
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texasbb
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Post by texasbb on Aug 2, 2021 11:29:33 GMT -8
I've worn a pack over a poncho before. It leaves the top sealed shut with no ventilation. Utterly miserable, far worse than regular raingear. That snugpak thing appears to have a front zipper of some kind, so maybe there's at least the possibility of ventilation?
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Post by Coolkat on Aug 2, 2021 11:51:17 GMT -8
Thanks texasbb, Personal experience is good to hear from and that is what I was wondering. I didn't think about the shoulder straps sealing things up. That in combination of the hip belt I can see how it would be bad. But yes it does have a zipper part way down the chest. |
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