Poncho Groundsheet Combo and the reality of rain

But just to back up a bit, the alternative is to buy the bathtub floor, right? That is 3.5 ounces. So the poncho/floor saves 3.5 ounces. You might be able to get a lighter single purpose poncho, making the difference even smaller.

But assuming you save a couple ounces, it still might be worth it to you. As you said, you rarely encounter rain. So are you willing to put up with (at worst) a damp floor once in a blue moon to save a couple ounces? Only you can answer that question, but it sounds like a reasonable thing to do. I certainly wouldn’t call it “stupid light”, just a sensible trade-off.

Being a frequent user of a Gatwood Cape, I am a big fan of multi-use.

But two things always perplexed me about the Cuben poncho ground sheet:

1) Exactly what you said: adding something even wetter on top of the wet ground after a wet day of hiking doesn’t sound appealing. And to turn around the next morning wearing a poncho stained in “Virginia red” clay sounds like a new fashion design. Besides, a great way to increase condensation risk to a shelter is to park it on a wet surface. Why add more water to this equation?

2) Tent companies have made zillions of dollars selling unwitting customers little pieces of material precisely cut to fit under their tent, which are destined to quickly tear apart over normal use. So I can’t wrap my mind around sleeping on top of an EVEN MORE EXPENSIVE piece of material, (which has been proven to not be very good with abrasion and punctures), since it will likely wear out even more quickly than just about any other material out there.

Multi-use is great, but swapping out a piece of Tyvek or Poly for Cuben seems kind of over the top to me.

I own the poncho groundsheet, but bought it with the intention of only using it as a poncho.

The reason being- there is a hole for your head. It can’t be sealed (i.e. mld poncho/tarp), and so is useless as a bathtub floor. I have tyvek for a groundcloth. If a forecast calls for heavy rain, I’ll use a tent, as I don’t own a dedicated bathtub floor for my tarp.

The Sierra has very, very thin soil covering granite at altitude–or no soil at all. So when it rains, the rain runs into rivulets or simply ‘floods’ the area. It pools in depressions (that is, your tent site.) The groundsheet for a Hex solo does provide a bathtub. A poncho does not.

yes you can choose sites wisely, but can you honestly say that you’ve never made a mistake? Especially at the end of a long day when you’re very tired and finding a perfect campsite will be a prolonged exercise?

As to the infrequency of rain during summer months in the Sierra: I think this is overstated. Thundershowers can dump a lot of rain over one or two hours. And when monsoonal moisture works up on the East side from Mexico, it can pour rain for many many hours, including overnight. And, more than once the extended weather forecast has been seriously wrong when I’ve been out for a week or more.

It doesn’t take long for a small mistake to result in your clothes or even bag becoming soaked in cold rain–and then you’re screwed. For me, 3.5 ounces of prevention is worth it.

I do what you are thinking of. Yes, there can be a little moisture on the inside of the poncho…but I’ve never been bothered by it. It’s not like the bag is going to get soaked. I see it as just part of the “game” or experience as it seems you can never keep everything 100% dry when it’s raining.