Lightweight all-in-one wet weather gear / shelter thoughts

[Allchin09]

Hi,

I've been thinking about saving weight in the shelter and wet weather gear department of my equipment. My thought is that instead of having a separate poncho, ground sheet and fly, why not just make one all-in-one piece of equipment!

Does anything like this exist already?

I reckon if you had a poncho that was longer and wider than normal, you could attached a few tie points and cords to it. That way, it would be long enough to cover your whole body length when laying under it, and if the width was right, you could tuck the excess under your roll mat to serve as a ground sheet.

[wayno]

theres comparative reviews of them here, you might need to pay for the article. I cn't tell , I"ve subscribed to the site

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin ... tgrZNKSwkQ

[Strider]

SMD Gatewood Cape

http://sixmoondesigns.com/raingear/GatewoodCape.html

[Mark F]

+1 on the Gatewood Cape. It was my first UL shelter and it worked well for 3 seasons use - I still take it on some day walks. You can add a net inner for bug protection. Only issue is that if you are not tall the rear of the cape can drag on the ground - a couple of press studs to fold up the back solves this issue.

One of the nicest things is that in wet weather you can slide your pack off under the cape, sit down and eat lunch in remarkable comfort.

[perfectlydark]

Allchin I am in the process of making this exact item. Ill put pics up in the diy thread once complete (dont hold your breathe waiting though)

[GPSGuided]

Allchin I am in the process of making this exact item. Ill put pics up in the diy thread once complete (dont hold your breathe waiting though)

What if I do?

[wayno]

we'll send flowers to your better half

[GPSGuided]

LOL!

[Allchin09]

Wayno - I'm not a subscriber, maybe one day when I have the money however!

Strider - That looks pretty cool, I don't know how it would work without a hiking pole as I don't walk with them. Do you know?

PerfectlyDark - I bit the bullet this morning and ended up making my own fly / poncho combo. Below are some photos of it.

All rolled up

Laid out flat

The gaffer tape tie points and fishing line guys

The slit for my head when used as a poncho, which is taped over when used as a fly

Poncho mode - No need for a hood when you have a big hat! (hopefully...)

The dimensions are 1.2m x 2m and it weighs around 230g. I'm going to use it on a overnight bushwalk this weekend, so I'll let you all know how it goes when I return.

[GPSGuided]

Nice Allchin09! May I ask what material was that? Also, why did you size it for above the knees? Wouldn't that also be a little short in tarp shelter mode?

[Allchin09]

The material was just Grunt builders plastic from bunnings. I think it was 100um thick and came in a 2m x 5m roll.

The decision on length was made after a bit of mucking around and testing. I wanted to make it as short as possible to save weight, and 2m seemed to be the shortest that I could fit under in a slightly curled up position, with enough leeway either side to keep me dry.

[Gusto]

STS have been making this for a long time.

http://www.seatosummit.com.au/products/outdoor/nylon-waterproof-tarp-poncho/

http://www.seatosummit.com.au/products/outdoor/ultrasil-tarp-poncho/

[perfectlydark]

Well done! Thats a lot more sophisticated than my plans

[Allchin09]

Gusto - That's exactly what I was after! Thanks for the link.

[Walking_addict]

I have the ultrasil type from paddy, a little more cost but well worth the weight saving.
Really only used on the one trip to png 5.5 years ago, but will no doubt use it again for more temperate trips (just haven't done any since !)

Sent from my HTC1 using tapatalk

[Allchin09]

Just came back from testing my creation as a fly. It worked well, but it wasn't much of a test as there wasn't any rain or wind!