I didn't know pilgrims wore rain poncho's. Where's that pilgrim's turkey?
I didn't know pilgrims wore rain poncho's. Where's that pilgrim's turkey?
An emergency of my own making...is still an emergency.
I've been using Roy Robinson's poncho/tarptent pattern. It makes a really good minimalist tarp, which works for hammocks, though I have since moved to larger tarps.
Two thoughts: I have two of these. I would sell one, if you want a ready made solution. I have also worked out a simple way to use a shock cord and two tarp grips to make an adjustable pack cover out of it. This makes it much easier to deploy in sudden rainstorms, so it functions like a poncho version of a packa. (If you hike solo, it can be difficult to get a pack properly covered with a silnylon poncho.)
Second thought: while a hood is nice, I like a good rain hat better for hearing and peripheral vision. Makes it possible to enjoy the woods in all weathers. Sewing the hood to the poncho is the complicated part.
Any update on progress? Anybody made one of these yet?
"Do or do not, there is no try." -- Yoda
I've had the body hemmed, and the hood assembled for months now, I just haven't worked up the nerve to cut a big hole in the center of a nice tarp. My main concern is that the "neck" portion of the hood isn't tall enough to tie off to seal when in tarp mode. When you made yours, did you make the hoods to Roy's specs?
Laying in my hammock at MAHHA a little too early and can't fall asleep - figured I'd make a little post on this thread (been following it) before I get home and start a new one - just to kill some time before I drift off
Recently received my custom Zpacks cuben fiber tarp.
It's a scaled down version of the Zpacks hammock tarp with doors (10' ridge, x 5' baseline, x 7' width) that is a poncho and pack cover as well. He used the same 0.74 black cuben that he uses for his non-breathable rain gear. The poncho tarp got some great use in poncho mode on the prehike in to MAHHA - I was dry, my pack was dry, and I was well vented. Joe came up with some creative solutions to a lot of the problems that have plagued hammock poncho tarps - while I'm still amazed by this new piece of kit (it's a strange kind of gear love I'm sure we can all understand) I can't help but remind people of three points:
1. When a piece of gear does three jobs, and it fails, you're out three pieces of gear. (WV pointed that out to me!)
2. If you're wearing it you've got to take it off to set it up - rain or shine.
3. Ultralight gear (most of the time) helps you more while hiking than at camp. Lightening your load can come at some "luxury" cost.
With this new poncho tarp and Exo pack from Joe at Zpacks, I'll finally get my base weight to sub 10lbs (looking like 7-8lbs). I'm doing this for my thru hike. If I wasn't planning a thru hike I'd probably get a rain shell, pack cover, a hammock tarp with doors, a bigger (heavier) hammock, and I wouldn't mind a base weight of around to 20lbs. In fact, Id like to have all of that more comfortable camp gear one day, but right now I have more walking to do than camping.
So basically, for everyone who hammock camps and wants to go UL, and is the type of person who can sacrifice a little comfort at camp for more comfort on the trail, this might be something you consider. Look for my thread on the Zpacks Hammock Poncho/Tarp for more info (weight, pictures, etc) I'll post it in the next few days.
(Just about tired enough to drift off now!)
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