Rain protection

I am at a loss in this field at the moment as well. I am now considering swapping over to a poncho tarp and reaping the weight benefits. However I am unsure about which way to go with respect to pants. I do take them with me on occasion for the simple fact that I use them to layer when not using a sleeping quilt and I absolutely hate being uncomfortable and wet. But now that I am going to get semi leg protection because of the poncho is it going to be worth the extra 4oz.

The other option as well is an umbrella and pants. I love the umbrella, I can’t say it enough times. It just has so many advantages for me that I can’t consider not bringing it. But it now seems overkill with a poncho. I use it mostly for sun protection since I don’t like wearing hats and I refuse to wear sunscreen.

Living in Aus amidst the heat and humidity usually makes our gear selection a little different that the larger crowd on here, but there must be some others here that have used ponchos in this kind of weather that may be able to comment on how a poncho holds up to humidity.

Depends. What do you call ‘winter’?
I wouldn’t use a poncho for winter hiking unless your winter includes lots of rain as mine does, unless we have a drought, like now. In the case of winter rain, rain at near freezing, a poncho over W/B jacket and rainpants is a great combination. It keeps the pack dry, keeps most of the rain off your primary shell, creates a (sortof) layer of dead air. When temps go below freezing, the poncho is useless. It catches wind, flaps, doesn’t hold enough dead air to be the primary shell.
If you use the poncho as a tarp, you will have it with you anyway, so the weight will be meaningless.

For non-winter hiking, I prefer a poncho. It doubles as shelter and pack cover, and I find it more comfortable than a rain jacket. No rain trickling between pack and jacket, no water being forced through the W/B membrane by the hear and pressure of pack straps and back. Just sheets of water falling away from me and my gear. And when the rain lets up a for a while, I can Clint Eastwood it over my shoulder, ready to redeploy in the next shower.

Rain pants in warm conditions. What are ‘warm’ conditions?
Down to the lower 40s, I don’t cover my legs even in rain. When I’m hiking, my legs will get wet from sweat inside rain pants or rain from the outside, and I would rather have the pants dry to put on in camp if it gets cold. That being the case, I carry lightweight (but highly water repellant) wind pants – not W/B rain pants.

I use neither. My rain-protection strategy is a windshirt and a home-made rain skin for my wide-brimmed hat. I once carried an umbrella but found it the most useless item in my pack.

I find that so long as the rain isn’t directly hitting the windshell it will effectively bead off for hours. Of course I don’t (rarely) deal with horizontally blown rain so my needs are probably different than yours.

I live and hike in the southeast. It rains there year around and our cold weather is very damp. I use Marmot Precip year around. All those zippers make it easy to vent so it is comfortable in a wide range of temps. It provides excellent wind protection. When combined with a insulated vest it becomes my winter coat. That probably would not work in some areas but works great here.

I have a w/r coat and pants that packs down into their zip pocket, but I also carry a Campmor ultralight extend poncho. Ditto V. Hines

One issue is flapping which I’m going to add an addditional snap on the bottom corner.

The other issue is using trek poles. This past weeekend during a 20 miler, it rained steady for about 4 hours in 35-40 degree, so I brought my arms inside the poncho and pinched the poncho material from inside while using the poles.

What are some of the options others have worked out. I’m thinking small web loops inside to hook my thumbs in.

My son thinks I should just put fringe around the bottom edge.

Note: The following is my $0.02. YMMV. Hiking conditions are on-trail rainy, hot, humid, or freezing rain or wintry mix (rain/ freezing rain/wet snow) in winter in New England.

Can use poncho all year round. Used them since I was a kid.

Clearly, as V.H. astutely mentions, the features that make it nice in windy summer rains, cause it to not function well as a sole winter shell.

Fine for on-trail or open off trail use. “Catches” on branches easier than rain pants/jacket combo if off-trail and brush is plentiful.

Ventilates pretty well – especially if there is some wind with the storm as is often the case in the Northeast.

In all but the hottest weather, I use a Wild Things Epic wind shirt underneath it to keep both my arms dry and wind-driven rain from wetting my torso.

For the lower body:
a) In warmer weather, don’t mind if my legs get wet, but even in summer, I use DWR nylon trail cargo pants.

b) If I am using an extended Poncho-tarp, then gaiters are sufficient to keep my legs dry (from outside moisture). If wind is driving the rain, then either the back of my legs can get wet, or I untied the rear of the poncho-tarp from my waist and then tie the lower corners together, but the wind will cause a bit of flapping and it doesn’t seal well (would need extra snaps, perhaps). This is by no means a real desirable solution. See “c” and “d” below for better solutions to wet legs.

c) Had some chaps years ago for quite a while – not UL gear. For about two years, IIRC, I’ve used some light weight (~3.2oz) rain chaps Equinox Full Moon Chaps (see BPL review here).

d) LLBean Epic by Nextec fabric trail cargo pants.

Dear Anon,
Thumb loops are easy and if you bar tack them, they will work as additional pull-outs.

Have you tried a waist cord around the poncho? Really reduces flapping.

Thanks for your insights. A follow-up question: do you have any strong opinions on rain jackets without hood but wearing a hat instead (f.e. OR Seattle Sombrero) vs.
a rain jacket with hood?

Yes, Sven, I have some very strong opinions on this subject. For all but very cold conditions, only a novice does NOT have either a rain hat or an umbrella to supplement their rain jacket or poncho. This is because there is an enormous difference in the amount of heat dissipation when the neck is left open on all sides versus closed off by the hood. Using a rain jacket with rain hat can be quite comfortable in warm conditions, like 70F (provided you are not hiking uphill), whereas with a hood, this would be insufferably warm.

Note that the rain hat does not need to be waterproof. Water-repellent is fine. For example, cotton canvus bush hats or fur and wool felt hats are both merely water-repellent, but this is perfectly okay, since under worst case conditions (monsoon conditions at 32F), the rain jacket or poncho hood can be used. Under typical conditions (drizzle at 60F), merely water-repellent is fine, since water will evaporate as fast as it comes down.

Personally, I use a home-made rain jacket of Goretex from seattle fabrics together with a waterproof zipper from owfinc. This jacket comes down past my knees and consist of 2 pieces of fabric plus a hood. One piece of fabric is used for the back, yoke and arms, and another piece of fabric is used for the front (after sewing these two pieces together, the front is slit from the neck down and a zipper installed). There is thus a seam across the chest, seams along the sides, and a seam to connect the hood, but no shoulder or back seams. The arms come down past my fingertips, so I don’t need rain mitts. Normally, I tuck the hood down the back and use a hat to keep the rain off my head. In very cold conditions, I will pull the rain jacket hood up under my rain/sun hat. Because the rain jacket comes down past my knees, I don’t normally need rain pants, even when I’m expecting 32F rain. Instead, I just bundle up in the torso to compensate for the cold against my legs.

The jacket is quite wide at the knees, so I can climb easily without the fabric snagging me. At the same time, the jacket is not so wide as a poncho, and also not open at the sides and also the fabric is heavier than typical poncho fabric, so there is little problem with rain being blown in by the wind.

I don’t have any pockets in this jacket. Instead, I use a home-made neck purse (also of goretex) for holding books and maps. A neck purse is better than pockets, since it can be used in warm rain, when I just let myself get wet.

Making your own pattern for a rain jacket like I just described is very simple. Just buy some $1/yard fabric at walmart and experiment. The only hard part is getting the hood dimensions just right. I would give my own pattern, except I haven’t yet put it on my computer.

i’ve tried a poncho tarp a coupla times. i don’t mind it as a shelter but as a rainjacket, it really sucks. it’s way hot even at temps around 40 and it’s clumsy to wear.