Poncho

Cycle-touring, Expeditions, Adventures, Major cycle routes NOT LeJoG (see other special board)
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Sweep
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Poncho

Post by Sweep »

Camping a while ago I came across a guy singing the praises of an ex army (don't know which army) poncho he had.

Appeared to synthetic and very light and thin but tough - he proudly screwed it up in his hand to demonstrate.

I think he also said he used it as a make-shift shelter/groundsheet at times.

In truth I maybe found him a tad obsessive at the time but I've been thinking of late that one could be jolly useful.

How much would such a thing cost?

Anyone recommend one in particular or a supplier?

Am in London if that helps with regards to visiting an old-fashioned bricks and mortar shop*

* Oh how I miss Laurence Corner, source of everything from a Ruritarian Uniform to a camouflage net to a sold-as-seen parachute.
Sweep
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al_yrpal
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Re: Poncho

Post by al_yrpal »

Agree with that, they are very useful. I got mine abroad for a tenner, so I'm no help.

Al
Reuse, recycle, thus do your bit to save the planet.... Get stuff at auctions, Dump, Charity Shops, Facebook Marketplace, Ebay, Car Boots. Choose an Old House, and a Banger ..... And cycle as often as you can......
yakdiver
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Re: Poncho

Post by yakdiver »

Have a look on ebay
fluffkitten
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Re: Poncho

Post by fluffkitten »

Military ponchos tend to be relatively heavy but tend to be slightly larger and come with eight eyelets (often with tie outs as well). Most of the cheaper commercial ones are a little smaller, have 4 or 6 eyelets but are quite a bit lighter.

I like ponchos but as shelters they're best only for emergencies unless you can get a fairly large one. Even then there won't be much space.

But buy one and play with it anyway. :D
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Audax67
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Re: Poncho

Post by Audax67 »

Like the look of that Vaude one. You could hang it up outside someone's window at night to scare the sh*t out of them.
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MuirSR
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Re: Poncho

Post by MuirSR »

Or there's the DD Poncho, from DD Hammocks; £24 delivered.

I can't comment on what it's like, because I've never seen one, but DD Hammocks' stuff is generally good quality and value for money.
Psamathe
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Re: Poncho

Post by Psamathe »

Sweep wrote:Anyone recommend one in particular or a supplier?

I got mine (a heavy army type) in a local Army Surplus Store. They had both the very lightweight ones as well as the heavy more military ones (and my impression is that these days Army Surplus Stores sell mostly new 3rd party product rather than ex- military surplus).

Sweep wrote:I think he also said he used it as a make-shift shelter/groundsheet at times.

Groundsheet - fine. But I thought it was mainly walkers using them as shelters as they tend to use their hiking poles to hold the thing up. I could be wrong on this though.

Ian
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Audax67
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Re: Poncho

Post by Audax67 »

Psamathe wrote:
Sweep wrote:I think he also said he used it as a make-shift shelter/groundsheet at times.

Groundsheet - fine. But I thought it was mainly walkers using them as shelters as they tend to use their hiking poles to hold the thing up. I could be wrong on this though.

Ian


Tie a bit of string between two tree/posts/handy blokes and drape the poncho over it.
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Galloper
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Re: Poncho

Post by Galloper »

If you do buy a poncho, as opposed to a lightweight tarp, when using it as a shelter, make sure you tie a loop around the head section to close it off otherwise rain will pour through. branches or sticks will serve as supports and bungies are useful for tieing off to trees or fences as most ponchos will have eyelets.
fluffkitten
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Re: Poncho

Post by fluffkitten »

MuirSR wrote:Or there's the DD Poncho, from DD Hammocks; £24 delivered.

I can't comment on what it's like, because I've never seen one, but DD Hammocks' stuff is generally good quality and value for money.


Was watching video of a guy using one of these last night and it looks great, its one of the few ponchos out there that seem long enough.
Ben@Forest
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Re: Poncho

Post by Ben@Forest »

For shelter use (rather than as a waterproof) you really needed two old British Army ponchos - you slept (if you possibly could) in a basha with your oppo - one half was not enough to make a decent shelter except in the best of weather. If you're looking to buy one (or two) Silvermans is still about - on the Mile End road - I remember that, as a Jewish company, they didn't open on Saturdays.
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Sweep
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Re: Poncho

Post by Sweep »

Thanks for the replies.

I agree with the poster above that many Army Surplus stores now sell third party stuff - ie a bit fake - I guess when I was a lot younger they were still selling off all the post war stuff that they had massively overstocked (ie: 30 to 40 years of boot shoelaces etc etc) and so helped near bankrupt the country.

Thanks for the links but I was kind of hoping for particular recommendations on ones folk had actually used. Some of those look very heavy for what is basically a sheet.

Thanks for the Silvermans tip Ben - are they a genuine army surplus place?

Are you an ex soldier.

My memory of ponchos was sparked the other day when browsing in Decathlon and finding an end of line one but it seemed to be made of non techie material - just plain nylon.

They do look incredibly useful once you forget any idea of looking good :) The Vaude one actually looked kinda kinky to me.

There's also a small Army Surplus shop on The Cut near Waterloo London - I'll check them out as well.

thanks for the help so far - more tips welcome.
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Ben@Forest
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Re: Poncho

Post by Ben@Forest »

Yes, Silvermans do a lot of genuine ex-Army kit (not just British but all NATO armies) though a quick scan of their website shows they do a lot of other stuff nowadays as well. I was a soldier many years ago and it was somewhere squaddies went to buy 'better' kit than they had been issued. Whether they needed it or not was immaterial - it was just good to have a variation on the bog-standard issue!
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Sweep
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Re: Poncho

Post by Sweep »

Many thanks Ben.

Just checked out their web site.
Lots of different ponchos - so many could have one for each day of the week - a casual poncho, a dress poncho, a poncho that "says something about you" etc etc etc
Sweep
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