Poncho as a groundsheet?

Hi,
Yep, it works great as a ground sheet. I used it this way all last summer, and no problems with tears or punctures on a variety of surfaces. It's big enough to keep your sleep set up dry and other gear too.
Hope this helps.
fred

John, thanks for the info. Anyone else have any experience with this set up?

I used my poncho as a ground cloth on very sand soil as well as under an 8×10 tarp during periods of heavy rain for both my hiking partner and me to spread our gear out and stay dry.

Poncho as a ground sheet is a multi-purpose item. The GoLite should be able to handle both.

But to me, Poncho as rain gear AND a shelter makes more sense. Now you can use a GG polycro or Tyvek for a really light ground sheet.

The only drawback that I see with this method is if you needed to use your poncho tarp for shelter. For those with another shelter this isn't an issue of course.

I've find that you can get the 2mm (or whichever thickness you wanted) plastic painters dropcloth (sold in 9'x12' pieces for a couple dollars) and have a ground cloth that weighs an ounce or so and packs up to the size of a golf ball. It will last 30-40 nights probably and then can be replaced.