Recommendation For Poncho

[jckresq]

I am told a good quality heavy duty plastic poncho is the way to go for heavy rain protection. Any recommendations on brand of ponchos?

I have seen a few ranging from cheap crappy watching the footy types through to heavy plastic ones. Assuming we should take something hardy, the heavy plastic one is my bet, but anyone recommend a brand in preference for another?

[Galen]

G'day,

Yeah, go for the heavier one. It should set you back about 20 bucks or so. Brand names are not important in this department, pretty much all the same in that price range. I think that if you get caught in the rain it's gonna get you wet regardless. I think's is fair to say cats and dogs type rain is pretty much the norm.

[austin]

I reckon what would be good is a poncho that covers both you and the pack. Dont know if there are any such things but i think it would be handy.

Went for a trek today with my pack in the pouring rain (purposely) and found that the water gets in between you and your pack – not nice – so is there any such pack

Galen, your the whiz on camping gear – whadya reckon

austin

[Mel]

Hi guys

Recommend something that will keep you dry around camp. No need to have anything while you are walking. The rain is warm and you will only sweat anyway. At camp though you want to be dry. We didn't bother with our gortex, but took lightweight jackets. The brand we bought was Rainbird, aviaable from any camping store.

Hope this helps.
Mel

[phantom]

Hi Guys,
There is an Exped Poncho that triples up as a poncho, bivy bag and tarp. They are great but like all ponchos they don't breath and are hot to walk in despite the openness of them. You can use one of the cheapie ones for $2 or go for a 2 layer Goretex waterproof jacket like the Photon from Mountain designs that doubles as a windproof jacket. If you keep adding items for a particular purpose you will end up with a 20 kg pack. Multi tasked items are the way to go.

[jckresq]

I ended up purchasing a Sea to Summit Poncho that can be used as a tarp also. After Kokoda I hope to use it so I went with this one. Approx $50 which is a lot of a poncho but I am sure it will be great.

I think I am planning to get wet whilst walking and enjoy the rain and use it mainly at camp or if we all need protection for some reason. It can go over my pack but I also have a pack cover so not as essential, but handy to know it can do it.

Thanks for the quick advice everyone.
trk_poncho_sm.jpg

[dcorker]

We completed the trek earlier this month and it rained for the first 3 days! We put the ponchos on but found we got too hot and ended up taking them off and just enjoying the cool rain on us. As long as you have covers for both your day pack and main pack, that will be enough to keep everything dry. I left my covers on the whole trek mainly to protect the pack if we had a fall – which we did numerous times! Throw a poncho in but you may not use it as much as you think, handy to have though.

[Freray]

Hi
When I walked the track I kept an el cheapo in my day pack. As other people said the rain was warm so I didn't bother to use it. I ended up giving it to one of the porters.

Freray

[jckresq]

Hi all, agree with others, poncho great for around camp when your not active, but during the trek just get wet. I was rained on for 5 days and loved it. My poncho was nice at camp to help keep dry. Note that the extra weight is an issue so in hindsight I would not have taken it, based on my experience anyway. Food for thought anyway.

[Lorna]

The poncho is great for around camp, particularly to get to the loo and back dry in the middle of the night. My night clothes were my only dry set, and I wanted to keep them that way. My poncho would have been a complete hindrance to walk in – too long.

[peterh13]

Ive always walked without rain protection unless its very cold.
I agree with the others about rain being better than sweat.

[Author]

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