Poncho or Rainsuit

Joined
Apr 25, 1999
Messages
94
Which do you prefer? Do you feel that Gore-Tex is worth the added expense? I've been eyeing a nice, packable, Gore-Tex set from L.L. Bean, "Stowaway Raingear".
 
I like a lightweight gore-tex coat. I do not wear the pants (prefer wool or gaiters) unless building a snow cave
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However, I always bring a poncho on trips with me. A wonderful multiuse item.

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Greg Davenport
http://www.ssurvival.com
Are You Ready For The Challenge?
Are You Ready To Learn The Art Of Wilderness Survival?

 
Barry , when I'm out and about, I use a light gor-tex shell with hip waders. Alaska has mostly tundra to contend with . But I've been thru some hellatious rain storms with no problems...It's all in the layers you wear.
 
If I could only have one, I'd take a poncho, every day of the week.... You just can't make a decent tent out of a jacket...
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Gore-tex and similar fabrics have a usefulness. It is in cool to hot temps involving external moisture. I would not vote for goretex in extreme (Sub-zero) cold, since you'll likely not encounter external moisure, and it's nearly another barrier to your own body breathing.

As far as if it's worth the price, you need to spend a decent amount of time in the clothing for it to be worth the price. In many summers staffing at a scout camp, I never carried gore-tex, I had a Helly-Hansen coated packable jacket and pants, and they did me well every time I needed them, but a long rainstorm there was one that lasted the whole afternoon, and a monsoon took two days to go away. Not a very rainy climate.

One complaint I have now is that there is little technical gear made not involving gore-tex or something similar. I'd like a winter shell that's not gore-tex (I have this severe dislike for 400+ dollar pricetags), and am having trouble finding one...

Stryver

 
Poncho for the same reasons Stryver said.
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Lee

LIfe is too important to be taken seriously. Oscar Wilde
 
Ditto.
Ponchos are just to damn versital to leave behind. It fits into the principal of taking one thing to do two jobs instead of two things that do two jobs. I have made tents sleeping bags and solar stills using ponchos try that with a jacket.

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Joshua, aka Feneris,'Destroyer of Whisky' of the Terrible Ironic Horde
But doom'd and devoted by vassal and lord.
MacGregor has still both his heart and his sword!
-MacGregor's Gathering, Sir Walter Scott
 
To answer briefly: I have both rain jacket and poncho. And just planning to get some experience with Gore-Tex.
I have rain pants and a rain jacket. I wear the rain parka very often, even in the street (cheap $29 EMS piece, hardly matches Gore-Tex though coated but I am happy with that). The rain pants are similar in materials and price but made by Columbia. In case of a heavy pour-down, I carry a plastic poncho (medium weight) in my backpack.
I haven't owned a Gore-Tex but keep looking.

Hope I helped something,

HM

 
I went through many years of scouts relying on a surplus army poncho for rain gear. After I got a gore-tex jacket and similiar pants I realized how much ponchos suck in comparison. Probably the biggest advantage is that your legs stay dry when you have on waterproof pants, instead of having water from the poncho dripping down your legs and into your boots. Another bonus is that you can wear your pack normally when wearing a rain jackey and rain pants. Yeah, you can't make a tent out of a rain jacket, but you will also be way more comfortable in something that breathes better than rubber, which doesn't breathe at all. Gore-tex rain suits are also a lot lighter weight than rubber ponchos, and they are more versitile too.
 
A PONCHO! Especially, military ponchos. They can be used for so much more than to keep you dry. Shelter, sleeping bag, water collector, camo, etc. Not to mention, a poncho can be draped OVER all your gear and keep it ALL dry if it does rain!

Good luck!



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Plainsman :)
primitiveguy@hotmail.com

You use what you have on you, then you improvise! :)
 
Sesoku,

If weight is a consideration, has anybody know about a 'high-tech' light Gore-Tex or similar poncho?
Maybe I just do not know about it.

HM
 
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