A Pretty Good UL Raincoat

Haha, Ian!  Squirrel suit escape would definitely be my last resort, but I’ll keep it in mind.  It might beat death by poisoned undies (a la Navalny).

Roger, it’s more of my old dollar-a-yard Wal-Mart silnylon stash.  I’m saving the gray for shelters, so this was my only other bolt.  I’m not entirely sure of its reliability; it does get damp inside but that may be a condensation issue.  I didn’t get any leaks when holding water over a bowl overnight.

I have a Gatewood Cape. That zipper in the front provides only a small fraction of what a poncho’s open sides do. I get steam bath hot and condensation in there pretty quickly unless I’m just sitting still.

it does get damp inside but that may be a condensation issue.
I would say so, with 99.9% confidence.

Cheers

Ahh, okay.  Thanks, Roger and David.  I’ll try to figure out ways to mitigate that on any subsequent versions.

I’ve got some silpoly to make my second Parcho, but I plan to make it a bit longer in the back than my current one. I did replace the original zipper in my Parcho with one that opens from the top or bottom which makes it nice for ventilation.

Did you use the Parcho pattern? What were the changes that you made and why?

I’m thinking that I don’t need to make it quite as wide and voluminous as my current one.

Thanks

Just as a suggestion for makers of ponchos: run a 10 – 15 mm hem at the bottom and put some 2 mm bungee cord in it. You could put a little cord lock at each end (ie at the split down the front). Tighten this slightly when the wind is strong. Eventually you might find the right length and tie the bungee off instead.

Reason is that my wife did have her rather loose poncho go up over her head once when she was climbing a rather steep route (a ladder I think) in a storm. She said it was awkward.

Cheers

As I recall, I made it longer, I added the drawstring at the bottom, I added a flap in front of the zipper with snaps down the front, and I added the shoulder strap loops from Roger’s Mountain Parka pattern.

The shoulder strap loops let you throw the poncho back off you over your pack with complete confidence.

The poncho cannot fly away in a high wind: it is tethered.

Cheers

The Parcho pattern does have a casing at the bottom with a cord through it for exactly that reason.

Where/how to you attach the shoulder straps? What are they made of?

Look further up this thread, Roger links to his instructions.  Grosgrain and snaps.

Thanks. I’m not a premium member, so I can’t read the entire article. I’ll figure it out. 😊

A strip around the back of the neck:

Big snaps are recommended: better safe than sorry.
Spacing to suit YOUR shoulder straps.

Cheers

Thank you! The visual is very helpful.

When walking in forested areas where I expect all day rain in cool (30’s) to warm ( 70’s) weather I use a PACKA.  see review  https://www.outsideonline.com/2357376/review-packa-hybrid-jacket/poncho

Mountain and windy conditions a hard shell