Originally Posted By sawtooth500


1. Poncho - I had I guess what you call a standard poncho. It had buttons on the sides. Problems with it:
-Not long enough - the bottom of my jeans sticking out the poncho were soaked after 2 hours in the rain
-Side - the sides were button up. Can you get a poncho with solid or zip up sides so water cant seep in? My sides were soaked by the end of the hike
-The head - water came in through the neckline and my shirt got soaked
-Too short in general - I had my backpack on underneath the poncho. I'm also a very tall guy. Is it possible to get extra long ponchos, or ponchos made for wearing a big backpack underneath?
-When going bushwaking, should I get a ripstop poncho?

2. Pants - as mentioned before, the bottoms of my pants got soaked. Is getting waterproof pants a good idea or is there another solution?


Why do you want to be bone dry?

If it is not cold, say below 45-50F or so, I don't bother with dry. I'd rather have clean rain water than sweat in the clothes. I'm probably moving fast enough to keep the warmth flowing and my wicking clothing is going to work with me to not make me have that soaked wet feeling. I might have an umbrella or poncho in use if it's really coming down.

If it's cold, I start to worry about getting wet more. I have a poncho, or I use the trash bag and a strip of duct tape to make a rain skirt and put up the umbrella. That was sufficient in a total deluge one day when we were looking for a lost radio. Three hours I walked around like that and stayed dry - oh, except for my Goretex trail shoes! My socks were squishy and soaking wet, and my feet were cold. Thank goodness for dry shoes in the car. Compromised Goretex makes a shoe worse than having no Goretex at all - the water just sits in there and squishes around.

I have the non waterproof shoes for three season use and do not have problems with that - heat, friction, and wet are what give you blisters. I have shoes that fit so don't have friction, thus no blisters. Wool socks work great for warmth, and I do not care if they are damp since even damp they are comfortable. If I wore Goretex I would sweat much more and make my feet hot enough to cause me problems, so I save Goretex for winter.

I wear nylon pants, merino wool short sleeve or a synthetic shirt, wool or wool blend socks, and I never bother fussing with dry unless it's a matter of hypothermia prevention. Have not been uncomfortable enough to bother. I never worry about the pants as they dry in 10 minutes while I am walking, after the rain stops. I rarely actually put on my rain jacket except for warmth when I have to layer up or protect my down jacket.


Edited by lori (01/05/12 08:20 PM)
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