Gatewood cape or something else?

Me too Ron, I'd much rather you produce it, than I try something like it myself!

Awesome.

Great news :-)

Just chiming in that I'll be interested as well.

Just came across this post, ironically a year to the day Ron Moak posted about a cuben Gatgewood Cape was in the works. I would buy this the day it is for sale. Unless Ron would sell me a prototype? Please Ron ….Please ….

I’ve been eyeing the Gatewood Cape for a while.  I much prefer ponchos over WPB jackets for rain gear, and I’m tired of trying to get a good pitch/coverage with my cheap REI poncho in the rain.  How easy is it to pitch the Cape without taking it off?

I’ve debated MYOGing a poncho tarp like Quest Outfitter’s Parcho design with silpoly, but I think I should just get the Cape first and see how I like it before I try to reinvent the wheel.  A cuben Cape is very tempting, but probably out of my price range, and I expect I’d constantly be in fear of snagging it (all my ponchos seem to have 1 or 2 taped holes).

Is there something better?

In order of my experience. Keep in mind I have never owned an inner net and am fine with just a head net.

I used poncho/tarps for decades. Biggest drawbacks (1) small as a shelter, so you need a bivy (2) you have to take off your rain gear in the rain to set up your shelter (3) extra hassle dealing with guylines since it is dual purpose (4) lot of extra material flopping around in poncho mode that isn’t needed. However, I used them for years and it didn’t make sense to change until Cuben arrived.

I have a Wild Oasis. Awesome shelter, but single use. Bivy not needed.

8′ X 10′ Cuben tarp plus a rain jacket, like a Marmot Essence, is lighter than a poncho/tarp, bivy combination. WPB jackets suck. Bivy not needed.

Plain Hexamid and a zPack poncho/groundsheet is even lighter, more manageable poncho size.

Perfection… Deschutes CF shelter plus zPack poncho/groundsheet total weight = 10.4 ounces without guylines.

Deschutes review with a whole bunch of other considerations for these kinds of shelters and comparisons.

zPacks poncho/groundsheet review

How easy is it to pitch the Cape without taking it off?

You mean when wearing as a rain cape to pull yourself inside of it and set it up as a shelter from underneath it? I’m not aware of anyone who can do this, I know I wouldn’t be able to.

For temporary situations when I need both rain protection and a shelter (setup/takedown or middle of the night bathroom breaks), I use my water-resistant wind shirt, my umbrella, and/or I carry a flimsy disposable poncho (1/3 of an ounce) to cover me.

extra hassle dealing with guylines since it is dual purpose

I run into this too — you don’t want to leave the guy lines on or you’ll trip over them when wearing as a poncho/cape, and you don’t want to tie and untie them every night and morning when there may not be a need to wear it between camps. I just got some mini biners, one for each corner except the front which has its own line already, and I keep guy lines attached to those biners for quick attach/release to the corners. Yes that adds about a half ounce overall, one of the penalties that comes with dual use.

For temporary situations when I need both rain protection and a shelter (setup/takedown or middle of the night bathroom breaks), I use my water-resistant wind shirt, my umbrella, and/or I carry a flimsy disposable poncho (1/3 of an ounce) to cover me.

An an umbrella or extra poncho kinda defeats the purpose of a multi-use shelter and rain gear ;-)

But this is the problem with most gear, no perfect solution and there are usually trade offs, so each of us needs to figure out what works best for us, not what works best for another. This is what is great about the forums — we can share experiences and then try what seems to fit into our own methodology. The last thing we should to is try and model, or accept, what the so called experts do. There are no experts, but there are many with experience and skills that can provide insight.

You mean when wearing as a rain cape to pull yourself inside of it and set it up as a shelter from underneath it? I’m not aware of anyone who can do this, I know I wouldn’t be able to.

Yeah, that’s what I meant.  I can kinda do this with my current poncho with a tree.

1. I face the tree with my poncho on
2. Wrap the guyline to the tree
3. Kneel down, pulling my head down through my hood, and stake the 2 front corners.
4. Take off my pack, turn around, and crawl away from the tree, holding my guyline
5. Stake the back corners
6. Take my hiking pole and the guy line, crawl out into the rain, and quickly try to wrap the line on the pole and stake it.
7. Stand in the rain, swear about how ugly my pitch looks, and try to adjust the corners and line.
8. Knot the hood and crawl under the poncho.

I thought since there’s no guyline with the Cape, this might be easier.

I do wear my wind shirt and waterproof sombrero in the rain when the poncho is pitched.  I’d bring those regardless of whether I went tarp+jacket or tarp+groundsheet poncho – 2 of my favorite pieces of gear.

I agree with Nick that a cuben combo (Deschutes CF or Hexamid or … + ZPacks groundsheet poncho) would be perfection if I had the money.

I like to use my rain jacket to help stay warm around camp and to sleep in when temps dip down. Some might say a Helium II doesn’t breathe well enough to sleep in, but I don’t have a problem with it. I got the idea from reading Joe Valesko’s CDT gear list. For example, last month when I was backpacking out on the Florida Trail, temps got down to around 30* with my MB # 3 sleeping bag. I woke up in the middle of the night a little cold, even with an MB Ex-Light jacket (cold sleeper). I put on the Helium II and it made the difference. Can’t do that with a poncho/tarp.

Plus ponchos suck when a cold rain sets in with temps under say 50*. What do you do about protecting the arms? And ponchos aren’t good in strong winds or with bushwhacking in sticky brush.

However, with all that being said, I’d have to consider a cuben Gatewood if Ron ever brought them to market. I’m a poor man, but I’d sell plasma or do whatever to get one because unlike a poncho, I’d enjoy 360 degree protection and I wouldn’t need a bivy….and at 8 oz instead of 12 oz for the silnylon Gatewood.

The reduced surface water weight of cuben vs silnylon would be nice too. Water seems to shake off cuben much better. Which is nice if you have condensation all through your gatewood…and then have to put it on straight away in the morning…

On another site i came across this interesting info on the Gatewood and it’s use:

I now also swear by ponchos (my backpacking shelter is Gatewood Cape poncho/tent and bedding is JRB Sierra series poncho/quilt) since they are super warm while idle/sitting around camp and during breaks – due to the ‘mitten effect’ of having all limbs inside. Then if you introduce artificial heat (eg, Alcohol candle) in the protected triangle of your legs while sitting cross-legged on a pad, it can create a micro climate that’s warmer and more luxurious than a hot tent… esp if using an insulated poncho like the JRB Sierras.

I can’t imagine trying that!!!  Before switching to hammocks I loved having my Gatewood Cape, but I only ever wore it when there was rain.  In the mountains of PA rain is usually accompanied by wind and I would be very nervous lighting anything between my legs if there was a chance the wind would blow my sil-nylon shelter into an open flame.

I guess if you were able to tuck it under you so that the poncho was taut all the way around it might be possible, but I (for one) can’t see it.

Just ordered a gatewood and s2s nano net. 10oz+3oz… 13 oz shelter for 170$. Wind jacket to set up… Can finally ditch the bivy. I am very excited

Thomas,

I’m sure you’ll really like it.  I typically use my second trekking pole and a bit of extra guyline to provide some additional headroom with the existing tieout.  Let me know if you’d like to see a photo.