Hi all,
I’d like to keep this short, but it won’t be easy. As a matter of fact, I think it’s impossible. But I DO think it's interesting.
My one-man shelter-system consists of a GoLite Lair 1, a DIY bathtub floor and -when necessary- a BPL mosquito-net. To me, the Lair 1 only has one problem, but that’s a BIG one: the front is wide open. I know it’s important to find naturally sheltered campsites to avoid driving rain becoming a problem when wind changes overnight, but, sometimes, this simply isn’t possible, especially at high altitude -above tree line-, which is where you’d normally find me. I found out -the hard way- that even when I pitch my tarp behind a huge boulder, with the front as near as possible, the turbulences created makes it impossible to avoid my sleeping bag getting wet. So using a bivy bag becomes mandatory, which makes the alternative of a single skin, fully closed tent more attractive. Even if I’d substitute my DIY floor for a plastic groundcloth, I’d probably still be better off -only thinking in terms of weight- with a tarptent instead of my system (Lair 1 + groundcloth + bivy + mosquito-net).
On the other hand, I like the simple set-up of a tarp, with separate floor, because of its greater versatility and its more direct contact with Mother Nature (I’m convinced that tarp-lovers could come up with dozens of reasons, but that’s not the intention of this post).
So, instead of changing my tarp set-up, I thought of buying myself a small tarp which could be used as an awning in front of the Lair 1 and it didn’t take a lot of thinking to change the tarp for a poncho-tarp, because, with some chaps, I could ditch my rain-jacket and pants and that would allow me to loose quite a bit of weight. The problem I was confronted with was the fact that I have experience with ponchos and…. I DON’T LIKE THEM. On easy-going routes they might be O.K., but when one travels cross-country they become a nuisance. You can’t see where to place your feet, you can’t use your hands when a bit of scrambling is involved; you can’t even use trekking poles. Furthermore, they flap in the wind, they’re not very good at keeping you warm -which not necessarily has to be a disadvantage- and, with the sides wide open, wind-driven rain still gets the chance to wet you. There are many more disadvantages but, once again, that’s not the reason of this post.
So what IS the reason…
I DO want something to close the front of my Lair 1 and I DO want to loose weight (ditch my raingear).
After an intensive Internet-search I came across the Parcho (Quest Outfitters) and the Packa (Cedar Tree).
http://www.questoutfitters.com/patterns-jackets-cart.htm#Jacket%20Patterns – scroll down to Parcho.
http://www.thepacka.com/
These started to look like something that was usable, but it wasn’t until I read Roger Caffin’s MYOG article about the Silnylon Mountain Poncho, that I knew that that was the one I wanted to have.
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/myog_mntn_poncho.html
I’m really impressed with Roger’s design; it’s more…. I LOVE IT and I would have tried to make it just as he described it, without any alterations, if it would not be for the fact that it can’t be used as a tarp so it doesn’t solve my Lair 1 problem.
Whilst I was searching the Internet I must have seen -and read-, at least, 40 or 50 different articles -I’ll happily admit: most of them on BPL- and there was one particular article about an old-fashioned Traveler’s Cloak that made my brain work harder.
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/xdpy/forum_thread/1782/index.html
(Original article: http://www.angelfire.com/my/zelime/howto.html#cloak
Well… It was the start of a brand-new concept (as far as I know), which combines the brilliant design of Roger’s Silnylon Mountain Poncho with the old-style Cloak.
How? First one question: What makes the Mountain Poncho unsuitable for use as a tarp? (1) The pattern is cut in such a way that it is optimized for the use it was meant to be for (putting it simple: a rain-jacket with pack-cover) and other reasons being (2) the hood and (3) the sleeves.
Let’s deal with the hood first: Going back to the old cloak, which is just a rectangular piece of fabric draped around the body -see mentioned article for further explanations-, copying the way the hood is made solves the hood-problem. In the same article there is a link to the PAP-poncho that demonstrates it pretty well (original is in French, the link will open the translated version):
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&u=http://www.randonner-leger.org/forum/viewtopic.php?id=909.mozilla:en-US:official
Looking at the pictures in the PAP-poncho article, it is clear to me that I won’t need such a big piece of fabric, so I’ll fine-tune the pattern in such a way that it is just big enough as an awning for my Lair 1, but not too big for its use as a poncho. Don’t forget I don’t want an ordinary poncho; I want it short like in Roger’s Mountain Poncho. The legs can be covered with chaps (and a skirt if need be).
That’ll only leave the sleeve problem to be addressed -and I WANT sleeves, because I DO use trekking poles and I DO scramble every now and then-. Well it actually isn’t really a problem. It would not be very difficult to make a fixing -like the hood in the MLD silnylon Pro Poncho Tarp- for both sleeves so that these can be rolled up and fixed when the poncho is in use as a tarp.
I’m thinking of buying just a piece of fabric (the cheapest I can find) and do a mock-up to find out how it works.
Now I’m really coming to the reason of this post (just a few questions).
– What do you think of this idea?
– Has anyone seen anything similar?
– What about using Cuben Fiber? (I have read dozens of articles about CF and I still don’t know (a) whether it will stand up to its task, (b) whether to sew it (problem: needs to be seam sealed) or tape it (problem: performance in very cold weather; Erin McKittrick wrote: > Took it outside, where it's 10 degrees here in Anchorage this morning. All the tape unstuck – instantly) and (c) whether its lower weight (increased with the tape-weight) weighs up against a Silnylon sewn poncho.
– What do you think about calling it a Parcho Tarp?
BTW: Roger. I know you don’t like zippers and I agree. My first Gore-Tex Jacket (TNF Kitchatna) had a storm flap, to cover the zipper, with one large strip of Velcro. I didn’t like it. It was either open or closed (with or without the zipper). In my next Jacket (Marmot, forgot the model) the storm flap had several small strips of Velcro. Much better; in a light drizzle I was able to just fix the little pieces of Velcro and keep the inside better ventilated. Now I’m coming to the point: Wouldn’t it be possible to put a waterproof zipper in the whole front of your Mountain Poncho and have 4 or 5 short -maybe 1 or 1½ inch- strips of fabric, sewn horizontally at the back of the zipper on one side and then cross behind it to the other side where it can be fastened with some snaps. This would allow you to leave the zipper open when weather isn’t too bad and when it becomes worse you just close the zipper. The use of a waterproof zipper eliminates the need for a storm flap (less weight) and the snaps don’t have the ‘bad’ habit to just ‘creep’ shut when you don’t want it. Roger wrote: > But the Velcro rain-seal flap over the snaps slowly crept shut down the front as I traveled. Velcro can ‘creep’ shut like that. :)
Edit: I had some links copied, but these didn't work. I'll post these in a separate message.
Second Edit: Tried to put these back in the original article. Hope it works.
