ponchos... a consolidated thread.

[ODA 226]

We "SF Types" never use a "Ranger Roll". We always carry appropriate sleep-systems, universally known as "Fart-Sacks".

A poncho liner tied to a USGI poncho is a sub-standard sleep system and you are guaranteed to freeze your ass off in most non-summer situations. A tip from a professional: "YOU WILL FREEZE YOUR ASS OFF"!

Get a real sleeping bag, preferably synthetic and be done with it! Your "ASS" will thank you!

[ptAltered]

I'm not a fan of ponchos; when I wear them as rain gear I end up getting my shins soaked and they're much heavier and bulkier (though cheaper) than modern sil-nylon tarps for shelter building. I'd rather carry a 10x10 silnylon tarp and a bit of paracord for my improvised shelter and bring a lightweight shell (jacket and pants) for the rain.

Hope that helps,
Mow

[bltjr1951]

For some reason folk get their legs wet and wonder why poncho failed them.

The poncho isn't for wet areas, they have mil rain suits for that.
And they have sleeping bag systems for colder temps too.

Just like the "only a tarp for me" crowd, that shun tents cause they're weird.
I've got a goretex bivy for light use, keeps me dry and critters out.

As for military manuals, pdf online and ebay for books.
Got WW2 FM off ebay, putting together a haversack was PITA.
http://www.hardscrabblefarm.com/ww2/m1928pack.htm

[ninja-elbow]

Having lived in the rain most of my life and going through a change-up in rain gear lately Here is my opinions:

First, I just reviewed a SnugPak "poncho" - in quotes as it is more of a "mu-mu" than a poncho. I like it.
viewtopic.php?f=14&t=91689&hilit=snugpak <<review





Our woods are wet, the more we get into them around here the more acclimated we get over the wet. Not saying we are impervious to hypothermia or anything, we just don't care much about a tad of dampness and some of us have adapted to the course of action of wet to dry.

Regarding the rain suit v. poncho: This is how i look at it as I own and use both.
When I wake up in the morning and my POD runs through my head before hitting he deck, I go like this:
"Today, it might rain where I am going." = poncho.
"Today, I am going to be chopping wood and digging drainage ditches all day outside in the rain." = rain suit.
Bottom line being ponchos are for walking to a dry destination in the rain while rain suits are for being out actively in the rain.

Ponchos are good if you are in sporadic rain or are chilling out in it. I'm walking down some tail, it starts to rain some and get me wet, I pull the poncho out of it's pouch while keeping my pack on, pull it over my head and pack, keep goign down the trail, no drama.

Poncho as shelter? Never liked that idea. I started doing tarp and bivy last year and I'd rather have my Snugpak and a tarp than just a poncho. That is actually what I carry - a poncho, and one of my 2 tarps (an 8x8 or a 10x10).

ETA: I gotta hand it to ODA - he is correct. Just bite the bullet, save your pennies and get a proper sleep system. Took me 20 years to learn that lesson.

[jamoni]

Ninja, to be fair, I might fit under a poncho shelter a little better than you would.

[ninja-elbow]

Ninja, to be fair, I might fit under a poncho shelter a little better than you would.

True that

[TheLastOne]

This is how you scare off bears. And everything else.

[Woods Walker]

Holly shit a giant black flying squirrel. I think the primary downside to that poncho is maybe a lesser ability to use as a shelter. On the positive it looks like good raingear.

[Woods Walker]

Get a real sleeping bag, preferably synthetic and be done with it! Your "ASS" will thank you!

What he said and don't forget about the ground pad.

[Blackdog]

We "SF Types" never use a "Ranger Roll". We always carry appropriate sleep-systems, universally known as "Fart-Sacks".

A poncho liner tied to a USGI poncho is a sub-standard sleep system and you are guaranteed to freeze your ass off in most non-summer situations. A tip from a professional: "YOU WILL FREEZE YOUR ASS OFF"!

Get a real sleeping bag, preferably synthetic and be done with it! Your "ASS" will thank you!

X2 (although I am a great fan of down bags too). After spending at least my fair share of time rolled up shivering in a poncho liner dreaming of a real live sleeping bag my heart felt advice is if you live anywhere but the tropics and have the choice between a poncho liner and just about any sleeping bag that doesn't say Hello Kitty or Barbie somewhere on it, pick the sleeping bag.

Currently I don't own a poncho unless you count a Ecotat but I get the usefulness of a poncho, what I don't really get is the never ending stream of love the poncho liner gets.

Just rambling a bit here: In 20 years of wandering around getting paid by Uncle Sam to sleep hard I don't believe I ever tied the liner into the poncho. I can't remember (but hey, I can't remember lots of things) a single Ranger referring to the poncho liner with poncho as a "Ranger Roll". I do remember making a bit of fun of the first guy I ever saw take a therarest sleeping pad to the field, man was I a block headed, muffin brained nit wit then.

[jehicks87]

We "SF Types" never use a "Ranger Roll". We always carry appropriate sleep-systems, universally known as "Fart-Sacks".

A poncho liner tied to a USGI poncho is a sub-standard sleep system and you are guaranteed to freeze your ass off in most non-summer situations. A tip from a professional: "YOU WILL FREEZE YOUR ASS OFF"!

Get a real sleeping bag, preferably synthetic and be done with it! Your "ASS" will thank you!

X2 (although I am a great fan of down bags too). After spending at least my fair share of time rolled up shivering in a poncho liner dreaming of a real live sleeping bag my heart felt advice is if you live anywhere but the tropics and have the choice between a poncho liner and just about any sleeping bag that doesn't say Hello Kitty or Barbie somewhere on it, pick the sleeping bag.

Currently I don't own a poncho unless you count a Ecotat but I get the usefulness of a poncho, what I don't really get is the never ending stream of love the poncho liner gets.

Just rambling a bit here: In 20 years of wandering around getting paid by Uncle Sam to sleep hard I don't believe I ever tied the liner into the poncho. I can't remember (but hey, I can't remember lots of things) a single Ranger referring to the poncho liner with poncho as a "Ranger Roll". I do remember making a bit of fun of the first guy I ever saw take a therarest sleeping pad to the field, man was I a block headed, muffin brained nit wit then.

You spent 20 years in and don't understand the love the woobie gets? It's the friggin WOOBIE, man!

I love my liner, super warm... when used as a blanket. That is the only thing I've ever heard anyone using the woobie for and being happy with it. It also works pretty well adding an additional layer in the mss bivy.

[Blackdog]

We "SF Types" never use a "Ranger Roll". We always carry appropriate sleep-systems, universally known as "Fart-Sacks".

A poncho liner tied to a USGI poncho is a sub-standard sleep system and you are guaranteed to freeze your ass off in most non-summer situations. A tip from a professional: "YOU WILL FREEZE YOUR ASS OFF"!

Get a real sleeping bag, preferably synthetic and be done with it! Your "ASS" will thank you!

X2 (although I am a great fan of down bags too). After spending at least my fair share of time rolled up shivering in a poncho liner dreaming of a real live sleeping bag my heart felt advice is if you live anywhere but the tropics and have the choice between a poncho liner and just about any sleeping bag that doesn't say Hello Kitty or Barbie somewhere on it, pick the sleeping bag.

Currently I don't own a poncho unless you count a Ecotat but I get the usefulness of a poncho, what I don't really get is the never ending stream of love the poncho liner gets.

Just rambling a bit here: In 20 years of wandering around getting paid by Uncle Sam to sleep hard I don't believe I ever tied the liner into the poncho. I can't remember (but hey, I can't remember lots of things) a single Ranger referring to the poncho liner with poncho as a "Ranger Roll". I do remember making a bit of fun of the first guy I ever saw take a therarest sleeping pad to the field, man was I a block headed, muffin brained nit wit then.

You spent 20 years in and don't understand the love the woobie gets? It's the friggin WOOBIE, man!

I love my liner, super warm... when used as a blanket. That is the only thing I've ever heard anyone using the woobie for and being happy with it. It also works pretty well adding an additional layer in the mss bivy.

Lets drill into this a bit. I loved my poncho liner when it was all I could manage to stuff in my ruck. That said I never used a sleeping bag and wished I had a liner instead of the bag but the reverse of that can't be said with a serious face. I guess I love a poncho liner like I love the 62 Rambler station wagon I learned to drive in.

I still have a poncho liner and my dogs love it. Doubt I ever use one again for field work. Woobie is another term I never heard while in, I must be way too old.

[Redfred16]

I guess us lowly scouts were abnormal. Most of us slept with just ponchos and poncho liners, at least for anything not during the winter or longer then 5 days. But I do remeber a Caravan Guard excercise in Germany sleeping under one and waking up covered in snow. I still have my poncho liner and use it when at the hunting cabin and keep a new one in my BOB. It's also 1 of the 2 things I bought my son when he graduated from basic, a poncho liner and a decent folding knife.

I would recommend, a decent and proper sleeping bag for long term use, but if its just a few days moving from a disabled car to a static location, I'd say travel light and use it to get warm for some short cat naps.

[jehicks87]

Blackdog, I haven't ever met someone who wished they could trade their sleeping bag in for another poncho liner. But I have never met anyone that hasn't loved the liner for what it is, either. To each their own. I love it, and would always recommend one to anyone on the fence.

[ninja-elbow]

Holly shit a giant black flying squirrel. I think the primary downside to that poncho is maybe a lesser ability to use as a shelter. On the positive it looks like good raingear.

I will attempt flying with that poncho this summer. It will be awesome.

[KnightoftheRoc]

We "SF Types" never use a "Ranger Roll". We always carry appropriate sleep-systems, universally known as "Fart-Sacks".

A poncho liner tied to a USGI poncho is a sub-standard sleep system and you are guaranteed to freeze your ass off in most non-summer situations. A tip from a professional: "YOU WILL FREEZE YOUR ASS OFF"!

Get a real sleeping bag, preferably synthetic and be done with it! Your "ASS" will thank you!

What I said, was that the SF types would be the guys who would figure out something this versatile and awesome, not that it would be their first choice of gear, nor that they called it that, themselves. For colder sleeping, sleeping bag FTW, without doubt. But I do not find my mountain bag comfortable in August, sorry. For the warm nights, for me, a woobie is just enough, and to pack more than I need or want is silly. As you said, a sleeping bag- a proper one, for non-summer situations. But, for stuff like THIS spring (here in NY anyway), the full-on sleeping bag isn't really needed. Pack according to your needs- if you don't need a winter weight bag, don't pack one.

Plus, this thread is poncho oriented, so a long discourse and internet argument about sleeping bags is just off-topic, and doesn't help any.

[jehicks87]

Holly shit a giant black flying squirrel. I think the primary downside to that poncho is maybe a lesser ability to use as a shelter. On the positive it looks like good raingear.

I will attempt flying with that poncho this summer. It will be awesome.

Posts such as this make me wish the forum had a "like" button.

[ineffableone]

Our woods are wet, the more we get into them around here the more acclimated we get over the wet. Not saying we are impervious to hypothermia or anything, we just don't care much about a tad of dampness and some of us have adapted to the course of action of wet to dry.

Regarding the rain suit v. poncho: This is how i look at it as I own and use both.
When I wake up in the morning and my POD runs through my head before hitting he deck, I go like this:
"Today, it might rain where I am going." = poncho.
"Today, I am going to be chopping wood and digging drainage ditches all day outside in the rain." = rain suit.
Bottom line being ponchos are for walking to a dry destination in the rain while rain suits are for being out actively in the rain.

Ponchos are good if you are in sporadic rain or are chilling out in it. I'm walking down some tail, it starts to rain some and get me wet, I pull the poncho out of it's pouch while keeping my pack on, pull it over my head and pack, keep goign down the trail, no drama.

Poncho as shelter? Never liked that idea. I started doing tarp and bivy last year and I'd rather have my Snugpak and a tarp than just a poncho. That is actually what I carry - a poncho, and one of my 2 tarps (an 8x8 or a 10x10).

ETA: I gotta hand it to ODA - he is correct. Just bite the bullet, save your pennies and get a proper sleep system. Took me 20 years to learn that lesson.

Yep in Washington we have the joke of "how can you tell the tourists, because they carry umbrellas" In the Northwest you learn to deal with the dampness. Now that doesn't mean not protecting yourself, note the nice gaiters on Ninja's calves, hiking around those are a wonderful thing to have. Most hikers and outdoorsmen in the North Wet learn to use these. Soggy pant legs suck and the wet ferns and brush will make your pant legs soggy quickly. As wet as it is here you don't see a lot of poncho use. A rain jacket, gaiters, maybe a good OR Sombrero but not too much the poncho. While some do rock the poncho people here tend to have 20 different rain jackets, so maybe that is part of it. They have such easy access to the jackets they don't bother so much with the poncho. Also with the frequency of rain a shelter a bit larger than most ponchos seems to be preferred. It can rain for weeks in the NW, you don't want a tiny shelter, you want a place large enough you can hang out in. A place you can be sure the wetness is kept out. Just my POV on poncho use in the NW or any high rain area.

[elkhills]

I will attempt flying with that poncho this summer. It will be awesome.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWfph3iNC-k

[ninja-elbow]

Holy crap! I wanna' do that.

Re Gaiters: Yes. Very important for any kind of bushwhacking in our parts. I've been hampered by soaked lower pant legs a few times, as recent as last fall mushroom hunting. Chantrelles are never on the edge of some clear trail. Thing is a poncho would get in the way of that bushwhacking some and I'd bring a rain jacket for the mushroom hunting with all the stooping and crawling about in the underbrush.

[0122358]

does anyone know where to get a usgi woodland poncho in new condition? the two ive got are sloly falling apart and i have soft spot for my GI ponncho

[KnightoftheRoc]

does anyone know where to get a usgi woodland poncho in new condition? the two ive got are sloly falling apart and i have soft spot for my GI ponncho

I haunt e-bay for these. It won't be cheap, and you really, really need to ask questions, research, and be careful that what you bid on is actually USGI, and not some el cheapo Chinese knock-off. Oh, and be PATIENT- it's gonna take a while unless you have bushels of money to toss away experimenting.