Poncho vs Rain Jacket and Pants

Clay, I love my poncho and have been using one since the mid 80's. They are a pain in the ass sometimes so I tend to use mine when its a bit warmer and I dont want to carry the extra weight of a jacket pants and full size tarp. I lived out of a backpack for over three years and all I had was a tarp and airplane blanket. Yhis was fine as I was in the tropics where no matter how wet I got I would never have to worry about hypothermia. If I am doing winter camping such as the cascades or baker foothills I prefer smaller tighter fitting jacket and pants, this is also the case if I am doing anything techical. In adverse weather I much prefer a full tarp to a poncho. Mine is heavy at 12 ounces but I can carry a bit less water and sneek my poncho in with my jacket and pants. It all depends on when and where you are going and for how long. Experience is also a huge factor. I say carry all three and see how it suits you. Ali

My preference has always been for raingear & a pack liner. Most of my hiking's been in Alaska, and it's often too windy & rainy for a poncho to help much. The majority of my hiking's been off-trail, too, where ponchos would tend to get caught on things.

I like that ponchos can can do quadruple duty as rain protection, wind breaker, pack cover, and tarp. As such, I've been tempted to buy one for summer trail hikes in fair weather places. I just wish it was easier to find tarps made of breathable materials. While they're airier than raingear, they feel like I'm wearing a garbage bag with a hood.

One thing some rain jackets can do that a poncho can't is keep you dry when paddling; some are built for this and have seals at the cuffs to keep water out.

I wore a poncho once walking around my city on the rainiest day I ever saw looking for an apartment. I was completely drenched, head to toe. They simply don't keep me dry.

I prefer pants/jacket and umbrella. The first time I ever hiked with an umbrella in the rain I wondered why everybody doesn't do it. It makes so much sense.

I've gone back and forth on this for several years, but have settled on jacket and pants, but only if they are either eVent or micropore (DriDucks). The main reason is that once I get sweaty under a poncho, it is hard to dry out, particularly near the hood, neck, chest and underarms (at least with my Gatewood Cape experiences; more open ponchos may fare better, but don't protect as well). With my eVent or DriDucks jacket, however, I will certainly sweat on the uphills for sure, but on level terrain I am able to dry back out again. I feel a little safer knowing my jacket pushes the moisture out of my clothing system.

That said, a very versatile setup would be a Gatewood Cape and a DriDucks jacket instead of a windshirt. The DriDucks are only 2-4 oz heavier than a windshirt, breathable enough to act as a windshirt, and their lack of durability is mitigated by the fact that you have a poncho as additional rain protection. The DriDucks also give you something to wear while setting up your poncho or to wear around camp once the poncho is setup as a tarp. The versatility comes from the fact that you'd have both jacket and poncho, and thus could wear whichever (or both) suits the conditions. I would use this setup if I didn't find the Serenity NetTent too confining.

You can certainly do just fine with the GoLite poncho if you keep your travel speed low. But you'd still have to carry separate shelter and wouldn't have any breathable layer. I would consider an extra base layer shirt for camp if I were to use the GoLite poncho.

re: the use of umbrellas: last weekend I was hiking in 40 degree F misty weather with my eVent jacket and umbrella. I got to a large hill when it started raining. I had been pushing pretty fast and didn't want to slow down. So I did something I've never tried before; I stripped down to my baselayer (BPL merino hoody) and thin running shorts. I was amazed at how warm and dry I was able to stay under the umbrella. There's no way I would have been able to push that hard with a jacket on and not get sweat soaked. Sure, I'd eventually dry out under the eVent jacket, but it would have been much less comfortable, and I don't think anyone should intentionally get sweat-soaked in 40 degree F weather. Since I also find a sweaty back uncomfortable and dislike sunblock, I've decided to use the umbrella for hot days as well. As a result, I've decided the umbrella is a permanent item in my pack. True, it's not essential, but it opens up a lot of options.

Finally, add an umbrella to a poncho and you've also got a lot of versatility; on warm, wet stretches you can keep the poncho hood lowered for venting, and when the wind picks up, collapse the umbrella and bring up the hood; the wind will mitigate somewhat the moisture buildup.

One final word: I removed the center pole from my GoLite Chrome Dome and use my trekking pole instead. It saves weight and the longer pole lets me hold it near my waist, which is much easier to do for several hours than holding a short umbrella up.

It's a poncho for me, but I do think that the conditions and activities will determine whether that's best for the situation. I hike on maintained trails in heavily forested areas of the east, seldom exposed to wind but fighting against high humidity. I find it hard to beat the breathability plus it's a built-in pack cover.

I do switch to a rain jacket when cross country skiing or snowshoeing (in rough terrain) so I can see my feet.

I agree with Paul and use almost the same setup. An ID Silcoat Cape (which I have found to work better than a poncho) and an MLD Grace Solo tarp (Spectralite). Most ponchos are, in reality, too small to use as tarps… the MLD Pro Poncho is an exception. I, too, like having a separate piece of gear for rain. I usually go with shorts in the rain and have been fine down to between 40 and 45F.

I have started using a tar/poncho along with a momentum wind jacket which is highly water resistant and a garbage bag rain skirt which doubles as part of the ground cloth. A lot of these people are saying it is great down to 45F which it is but it is still pretty good down to 0F if you use an insulation layer. The ground just becomes a little hard to put the stakes in though.

Craig,

"The feeling of being draped in a giant blanket is really annoying to me-"

Have you looked at your avatar lately?

P.S. Just an attempt at humor..hope no offense is taken.

Peace

>Yeah, umbrellas are the best of breathable rain gear, but you'll be cursing if you have to hold it for hours on end!

I've never used one , and don't see any reason while in the backcountry to use one. The added weight and inconvenience doesn't justify it's use to me.

When it's raining and winds are light or when the sun is very very hot, an umbrella will always be sheltering me. I use the aluminium coated one that makes a great portable shady area. It attaches to my LuxuryLite frame so I don't have to hold it. No good for off trail bushbashing though, in which case a rain jacket and hat are my preference (hat is much less hot than a fully enclosed hood).

The following works great for me, and allows me to use both hiking poles and an umbrella.

If my pack is filled in the right way I can lay my open Golite umbrella on top of my pack with the shaft beside my neck and coming down one shoulder and then under the sternum strap on my pack. The top of the pack keeps the umbrella off my head and the sternum strap keeps it from falling off.

Periodically I have to adjust the shaft as it slips…better would be to attach it somehow to the sternum strap so it stays put.

Jason,

I'ved looked unsuccessfully for waterproof zip off's, back when I was looking to use them with a Gatewood Cape in warmer conditions to keep my shorts dry.

Is your intention to use the waterproof shorts as your main pair of shorts then? I would think you'd get uncomfortably sweaty on warmer days, even if they are just shorts. Also, if they had any kind of wicking/breathable layer, you'd have to be more careful about oil and dirt compromising the fabric.

Something else you might consider is a silnylon kilt and rain chaps. Not quite as weather resistant, but more breathable if you use something like MLD's eVent chaps. But no one makes plaid-patterned silnylon! =)

For me, the real breakthrough came with the release of BPL's Thorofare pants. At 4oz, you can afford to also bring running shorts and the DriDucks pants for lighter weight than any zippered wp/b would offer. Sure, it's more total items, but I find it much quicker to throw on my pants (I use lock laces for shoe laces) than to fiddle with attaching zippers on my legs. They are also much more comfortable than my old non-stretchy zip-off nylon pants.

i agree with the legs. i just use my jacket and gaiters to keep my feet dry. if my thighs get wet oh well they dry quick enough.