Has anybody used a Golite poncho tarp for covering a hammock? I've got a HH ULBA and am considering using the Golite for hammock cover and personal rain protection. How well will this work?
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Has anybody used a Golite poncho tarp for covering a hammock? I've got a HH ULBA and am considering using the Golite for hammock cover and personal rain protection. How well will this work?
IMHO I wouldn't use it for any more than a light rain with no wind! Any more than that & I think your gonna get wet, esp with the hennesy sides pulled out.
Also, what do you do when it's raining and you want to set up the hammock? Do you take off the poncho and get wet yourself while setting it up, or do you keep it on and let your hammock get wet?Quote:
Originally Posted by Arkwater
Fishbone the Golite poncho is one of my favorite gear items. Spare lean to shealter (min coverage though) cooking tarp, ground sheet if you have to go to ground, wind blocker if i wrap my sleeping bag in it, and oh yeah a poncho too. And its only 10oz. But its just not big enough for using with your hammcok. But if my tarp somehow ripped, I sure would try to use my golite poncho as a spare or lay it over the hole. Also Golite products do rock! I just got a new Golite pinnacle pack and love it. Keep your poncho but buy a hammock specific tarp. OES are the best.
Thanks for all the feedback. I was considering using it on the diagonal, oriented with the HH side pull-outs. I may have to do some testing in the warmer weather; possibly with an undercover to see if there is enough coverage to protect from rain. Ahhh, more fun in the woods!:D
I use the Golite poncho/tarp with my bridge hammock because the length of the ridgeline is so short that I can set it up in an A-frame configuration and cover the hammock. But even then the protection from the sides is minimal. Windblown rain would be a problem. I've tried setting it up along the diagonal as you mention but it doesn't quite work. That's because even sleeping diagonally in a gathered end hammock doesn't quite create a rectangular shaped area that needs to be covered. You'll notice the stock tarps for asymmetric hennessy hammocks are not rectangles and that's the reason.
My blue GoLite poncho is in several pictures in my gallery.
I supplement it with socks held in place by binder clips on both ends. The head end is a small SpinnTex sheet that I carry for staging my pack. The footend is a DriDucks jacket.
In Colorado the storms seem to be either intense or prolonged, but not both. I generally do not cook where I sleep. I hike long slow days and do not spend much time in camp. For my style and location it works fine.
I have used ponchos/capes the same size as the Golite - about 5- X 9- feet for extended periods (AT thruhikes and others) in rain and wind. I am happy with the small coverage and don't plan to change it much. Set up low, ponchos work fine in the wind as long as the distance between the static (ridge) line is low enough. In heavy weather, I attach the ridge lines to the trees instead of to the hanging line so the ridge line of the tarp is against the static line of the hammock. That lowers the tarp several inches.
I use the ponchos square to the hammock. The actual measurements of the ones I use are 4' 11" x 9' 2" - a little larger than the Golite poncho. What length you need depends on the length of your static line. I have center tie-outs on the long edges so I can add an extra line upwind when conditions warrant it.
The 5' width works well enough that I have cut my poncho/cape/tarp down by removing triangles from the central ridge pull-outs to the sides, leaving the sides 5' 6" long. That saves some weight and does not affect performance. Since I used catenary cuts on those diagonal sections, the tarp sets up tighter.
Food: the last picture in the gallery is what I had in mind; possibly with a SuperShelter to minimize spray getting to the quilt or underpad.Quote:
Originally Posted by food
Spock: your experience is comforting.
Thanks to all.:)
FishBone,
I forgot to mention that I throw a clove hitch around my hood and guy it overhead. The hood tends to weigh down poncho and if it is too flat the poncho can become a funnel.
The poncho is adequate, but does not have much of a safety margin.
Food: thanks for the note on the hood/clove hitch; that's a nice touch!