Poncho wthin a tent??

SMD Gatewood Cape.  Pairs with the serenity net tent.

https://www.sixmoondesigns.com/collections/tarps/products/gatewood-cape

Thanks…but very much like my SilPoncho.  Looking for something a bit more substantial with bug protection.

I would think that a poncho tarp with built in full bug protection would be heavy and somewhat cumbersome to use as a poncho.

Michael Wong at Luxe Outdoor came up with a 2 part version , I think that it is now discontinued.

My photo , demonstrating one of the new features in the second version, access to the front part of the vestibule from the inside. (I had done  some tinkering with the first version )

Went on Luxe website…..quite confusing….I can’t find any set up that utilizes part of the tent as a poncho like I can for the floor of the Zpack…..Again….looking for a tent that utilizes a part (floor or fly) as a poncho
Hexamid Solo Tent 

I did mention ” I think that is now discontinued”

Most often, if a particular design is dropped it is because it did not sell.

Sometime because the cost of production was higher than the perceived value , other times simply because it wasn’t such a good idea for the general public, that is too “niche” .

The problem with a poncho/groundsheet is it will get holes in it. I have the zPacks poncho/groundsheet and it has been my main rain gear for about 6 years. I used it as a groundsheet a couple of time just to see how it would work.

The floor of the hexamid twin has a very similar to the Deschutes, so I hooked up the zpacks poncho as a bathtub. I share Nick’s concern about destroying the poncho, but for the moment it is working for me.

Cameron, have you ever had water running under your poncho?  I.e. does your body weight over the hood create a strong enough seal?

So if I understand you correctly, you are happy with your SilPoncho and wish to continue using it, but would like more substantial options for underneath your poncho tarp setup. Is that right?

If so, have you seen this?

I am also experiencing some confusion with your comment: “a set up that utilizes part of the tent as a poncho like I can for the floor of the Zpack”.

Since Zpacks only sells the poncho ground sheet as a optional accessory, it really isn’t integral to the tent, and can be easily used with any floorless shelter.

Regardless, (as noted in posts above) I would imagine that many folks who own the Zpacks poncho groundsheet likely avoid using it as a dedicated ground sheet due to it’s expense and the increased risk of puncture. In general; ground sheets are really meant to mitigate abrasion as much as keeping water out. One hole or tear in the wrong spot could make it a useless poncho and groundsheet. Other cottage makers out there probably believe the same thing, and think it’s too much of a financial risk to develop it.

I am indeed happy with my Sil Poncho….but would like sit up bug protection below.

The bivy you are mentioning won’t give me that.  Right now I use the A16 Bug Bivy for the added bug protection under my sil poncho…but again….I can’t sit up if I want to.

Since my Sil Poncho is already 9 oz (and all the shelters I’m looking at are between 15oz and 23oz–Zpack Heximid and Solplex, Nemo Hornet Elite, and The One by Gossamer)…I was trying to continue using each piece of my gear in more than one way.  With the Nemo..there is no alternate use of gear (as with my trekking poles in Zpack and Gossamer)…BUT…the Nemo offers full bug protection with no second wall (rain fly can be left off) to see the stars.  The Zpacks and Gossamer both connect the bug protection to the ceiling/walls of the shelter.  It’s all or nothing.  The Nemo is the only one that can give me both those worlds and let me sit up….

This all comes back to my love of carrying a poncho (as my only rain gear) and my intrigue about being able to have a poncho that’s integrated into the tent.  My feeling here is that someone needs to create the rain fly for a tent designed like the Nemo…that can be used as a Poncho as well…..I know it could be done once the challenge of the hood was conquered.

Hope this better explains my thinking.  I think I was too ambiguous to start with.  Sorry bout that.
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The Gatewood Cape that Paul mentions above has the SERENITY – NETTENT that is meant to go under it in buggy conditions

And THERE is what I was looking for from the start.  The product and price point are great!!
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i have been using the Z Packs poncho as a bathtub floor in the Hexamid twin for probably 35 nights. It has no holes in it other than those caused by hot dropping ashes. Those holes were easily repaired. I will continue to carry both the poncho and tent. Perhaps someday it will rain in California or Utah when I am out backpacking! So far they are both working great ;)

You’re not going to find any bug protection you can “sit up under” with the very limited square footage of a poncho tarp….mathematically impossible. However, if you can design and make an attachment which will clip on to the front of a half pyramid pitch, and then pair it with an SMD Serenity Net or a similar MLD innernet, it would work. But as others have said, the SMD Gatewood/ Serenity Net combo would be best, unless you have an aversion to capes and their lack of versatility.

Also, if you try to use something with netting on it as a poncho, it’s going to snag on things and get destroyed in no time flat.

To Paul S …. I have had water run under my poncho/bathtub. I have a zpacks version and it leaked through on me. Partly my fault as the site I selected was after dark and I had never had a problem before. I set up, everything was snug and I went to sleep. During the night the rain started pounding and the ground was very hard and did not absorb water well. What I felt was a good spot ended up being just slightly downhill and the water flowed.

In the morning my poncho/bathtub was literally sitting in about. 1/4 inch of water. It was still raining and to be honest I actually thought about staying another day there, after all I had a long day and I was easily a day ahead of itinerary. However, I noticed that some water had seeped in. Not a lot, at least not until I moved to inspect it. I was wise enough ahead if time to store my quilt away before I inspected. Once I moved the pad, the water just came on in.

At that point it definitely made sense to move the tent and if I was going to do that I should just get up and get a move on.

The pressure kept the water from becoming an issue in the night, but after that I have been far more critical of site selection than I previously had been and I am not sure I really trust a poncho/bathtub anymore. It could have been much worse.

That is a very useful story, John. I have only dealt with that in theory, but I am hoping that if it starts raining I can stuff something underneath the hood opening in the poncho/groundsheet. That would make the opening higher than the surrounding area.

I confess the only way I have managed a night in heavy rain is to get up and channel the run-off from the roof away from the tent. I don’t trust bathtub floors to keep me dry in a puddle.. One little pin prick and they will literally become a bathtub.