poncho as shelter

[whitefoot_hp]

The availability of good, lightweight, breathable, inexpensive rain gear such as DriDucks makes the poncho as shelter questionable, IMHO.

LOL. don't make one mistake in that dri duck or it is gonna rip like a paper towel!! Nothing funnier than sittin at a shelter and watching some one walk up with a two foot gash down his 'good' dri ducks pants, apparently a twig got a hold of it.

I've done it a lot, but never liked it. The poncho is OK as a shelter, in my experience, anyway. But a 12-13 ounce rain suit (or just the 6-7 ounce jacket) and a 7-8 ounce tarp is hard to beat when setting up in the rain and traveling light.

a 10 oz poncho that is a rain suit and a tarp beats that!

[ZDP-189]

For me the decision on rain gear depends on terrain and predicted weather conditions. One just has to tune the gear to the situation. At least that's the justification for having a room fill of kit!

[Spock]

LOL. don't make one mistake in that dri duck or it is gonna rip like a paper towel!! ...a 10 oz poncho that is a rain suit and a tarp beats that!

Maybe. But one set of DriDucks lasted the whole AT for me in 07. No rips. That's after using it during trail work, then building trail in it again in 08. Still going strong.

Yes, a 10 oz poncho is lighter than a 6-7 oz jacket and a 7 oz (w/o lines and stakes) tarp. But, then you have the excitement of setting up camp in the rain when your shelter is your rain gear. In cold weather, that's not such a good idea. You can do it, but for 3 ounces, why bother when hypothermia is an issue. In warm weather, you don't even need rain gear. Just go skin.

[whitefoot_hp]

Maybe. But one set of DriDucks lasted the whole AT for me in 07. No rips. That's after using it during trail work, then building trail in it again in 08. Still going strong.

Yes, a 10 oz poncho is lighter than a 6-7 oz jacket and a 7 oz (w/o lines and stakes) tarp. But, then you have the excitement of setting up camp in the rain when your shelter is your rain gear. In cold weather, that's not such a good idea. You can do it, but for 3 ounces, why bother when hypothermia is an issue. In warm weather, you don't even need rain gear. Just go skin.

true, setting up in rain is excitement for sure. however, a 3 oz wind jacket can double as a 10 min rain suit.

and, a poncho tarp along with a 7-8 oz tarp would be far superior in terms of functionality IMO to the rainsuit setup.