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Wesley
I once worked with a guy who knew how to fold/roll his poncho so that he was able to store all his gear in it like a backpack when we hiked. I can' t remember how he did it. This seems like the perfect solution for ultralight backpacking. This way your gear would be protected from the rain, and you could also use the poncho to build a shelter at night which would get rid of the weight from a tent. Does anyone have any ideas?
Answer
Those ponchos have small eyelets fitted round the hem so they can be used as a shelter strung between tree branches or from bits of line, or even pegs bashed into a rock face, and they can be strung up for collecting water, which runs into the large hood.
Whether issued to the US Army, UK, Germany, India, China, etc, they all work the same with just small changes in design.
They can certainly be used for wrapping your gear but it isn't a good idea if rain is expected unless you have another cover for yourself and then you may as well have used the extra weight on a lightweight backpack of which many models are available, and use the poncho for it's primary purpose of keeping the rain off you which it does very well.
It also can't be used for collecting water if it's wrapped round your gear keeping it dry and you can't use it for another intended purpose of providing a green cover for you to scrim up in....army for hiding.
Lay down on the grass or in the bushes, get the poncho over, and disappear. When it's opened out its long....twice the length it is when worn as a poncho.
For the military it's use is obvious but it's also good for wildlife watching and photography as an instant hide.
It also makes a good ground sheet big enough to wrap around you and although it doesn't provide a complete cover that way it can do a good job of keeping a wind off and keeping most of you dry while you sleep on the ground as an alternative to stringing it up to act as a roof over you.
If it was keeping your gear together all that gear is coverless when you use the poncho for anything else so using the poncho as bag for your stuff isn't a great idea.
Ponchos are not the only good thing from the military for camping out with.
Army combat blankets are green proofed nylon sheets like proofed nylon tent material, around seven feet by five which are intended to cover casuaties on stretchers in battle zones and they are very strong and totally waterproof and they make an excellent shelter.
One of my tents is made of three sewn together for two sides and a floor and bits of another cut and sewn on for the back and front. The seams are treated with seam sealand and then taped with seam tape which you can buy from camping shops.
The whole tent weighs just over a pound and cost peanuts for sealant and tape from a camping shop, and the used combat blankets from an ex-army store.
I also use a Coleman Raid, which weighs 980 grams, just under 2 lb and has stood up to fierce weather on my cold wet island home and on the Scottish Highlands and the Alps in Austria and Slovenia, and is one of the tents used by mountain runners on two-day events where you run with all your kit including a stove and food and camp overnight in some remote location before setting off on the second half of the course.
It's good fun, has some very fit and pleasant participants of both sexes, and worth a look if you like mountains and running and using very lightweight gear.
The Raid is old now and the new version called the Rigil is a bit wider so two people fit in it better although I've slept with two in the Raid quite often...err, very close and only really suitable for people intending to share a night together in a race but not as a normal camping tent for two. The Raid is tiny.
One carries the tent and the other carries the stove and pots which weigh about the same so the weight is shared and you share the food weight equally.
Good if you're running as a mixed team with your partner . You run even lighter than by yourself.
Here is the new version, the Rigil.
Coleman tents are excellent for the money. I have three for various uses, all well worth having.
http://www.worldofcamping.co.uk/shop/coleman_rigel_x2_tent__1665 . . . . . .
http://backpacking-in-europe.com/coleman-rigel-x2-backpacking-tent-reviews/ . . . . .
Those ponchos have small eyelets fitted round the hem so they can be used as a shelter strung between tree branches or from bits of line, or even pegs bashed into a rock face, and they can be strung up for collecting water, which runs into the large hood.
Whether issued to the US Army, UK, Germany, India, China, etc, they all work the same with just small changes in design.
They can certainly be used for wrapping your gear but it isn't a good idea if rain is expected unless you have another cover for yourself and then you may as well have used the extra weight on a lightweight backpack of which many models are available, and use the poncho for it's primary purpose of keeping the rain off you which it does very well.
It also can't be used for collecting water if it's wrapped round your gear keeping it dry and you can't use it for another intended purpose of providing a green cover for you to scrim up in....army for hiding.
Lay down on the grass or in the bushes, get the poncho over, and disappear. When it's opened out its long....twice the length it is when worn as a poncho.
For the military it's use is obvious but it's also good for wildlife watching and photography as an instant hide.
It also makes a good ground sheet big enough to wrap around you and although it doesn't provide a complete cover that way it can do a good job of keeping a wind off and keeping most of you dry while you sleep on the ground as an alternative to stringing it up to act as a roof over you.
If it was keeping your gear together all that gear is coverless when you use the poncho for anything else so using the poncho as bag for your stuff isn't a great idea.
Ponchos are not the only good thing from the military for camping out with.
Army combat blankets are green proofed nylon sheets like proofed nylon tent material, around seven feet by five which are intended to cover casuaties on stretchers in battle zones and they are very strong and totally waterproof and they make an excellent shelter.
One of my tents is made of three sewn together for two sides and a floor and bits of another cut and sewn on for the back and front. The seams are treated with seam sealand and then taped with seam tape which you can buy from camping shops.
The whole tent weighs just over a pound and cost peanuts for sealant and tape from a camping shop, and the used combat blankets from an ex-army store.
I also use a Coleman Raid, which weighs 980 grams, just under 2 lb and has stood up to fierce weather on my cold wet island home and on the Scottish Highlands and the Alps in Austria and Slovenia, and is one of the tents used by mountain runners on two-day events where you run with all your kit including a stove and food and camp overnight in some remote location before setting off on the second half of the course.
It's good fun, has some very fit and pleasant participants of both sexes, and worth a look if you like mountains and running and using very lightweight gear.
The Raid is old now and the new version called the Rigil is a bit wider so two people fit in it better although I've slept with two in the Raid quite often...err, very close and only really suitable for people intending to share a night together in a race but not as a normal camping tent for two. The Raid is tiny.
One carries the tent and the other carries the stove and pots which weigh about the same so the weight is shared and you share the food weight equally.
Good if you're running as a mixed team with your partner . You run even lighter than by yourself.
Here is the new version, the Rigil.
Coleman tents are excellent for the money. I have three for various uses, all well worth having.
http://www.worldofcamping.co.uk/shop/coleman_rigel_x2_tent__1665 . . . . . .
http://backpacking-in-europe.com/coleman-rigel-x2-backpacking-tent-reviews/ . . . . .
Can someone outline for me exactly how to prepare for winter backpacking/camping?
Tony Pro
I am an experienced distance hiker, but I've never pitched a tent in the snow before. I'll be hiking around Slovakia over Christmas and New Years. I can dress warmly enough, but is there a specific kind of tent I need to buy? Or sleeping bag? And anything else I should think about?
Advice from experienced outdoorsmen much appreciated!
Answer
Yes, there is a specific sort of tent you should buy, it's called a "single walled tent" and they're more expensive than usual three season double walled tents. Because blowing or falling or drifting snow could get into any other sort of shelter the single walled tent is the only way to go. I mean besides building a snow cave.
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/single_wall_tents_shelters_review_summary.html
http://www.outdoorswithdave.com/camping/building_a_snow_cave.htm
Before you set up your tent on snow it's important to stomp the snow down, stand back and let it harden for a while, then set up the tent. You'll have to consider wind protection in case of storms, pitch your tent in a protected area, whether to build a snow wall around your tent or dig out a hole to pitch your tent in, and avoid trees where snow has accumulated and might fall if the winds pick up. Rather than stakes you'll need snow stakes or make "dead men" out of bags filled with snow to which you'll tie off your tent and bury.
Of course you should have 1 1/2" - 2" of sleeping pad between you and the snow, and a sleeping bag of sufficient insulation. I recommend the use of a vapor barrier liner bag in sub-freezing conditions to prevent condensation from forming inside your sleeping bag insulation, especially important on long trips where a bag will fill with moisture.
http://www.netbackpacking.com/vapor-barrier-and-radiant-barrier-liners.html
http://www.basegear.com/integral-designs-hooded-vapor-barrier-liner.html
Here are pics from one of our snow-camping trips: http://paigefalk.smugmug.com/Backpacking/Dewey-Point-Snowshoe-Backpack/4357856_smgcd#255751461_WNrcM
Yes, there is a specific sort of tent you should buy, it's called a "single walled tent" and they're more expensive than usual three season double walled tents. Because blowing or falling or drifting snow could get into any other sort of shelter the single walled tent is the only way to go. I mean besides building a snow cave.
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/single_wall_tents_shelters_review_summary.html
http://www.outdoorswithdave.com/camping/building_a_snow_cave.htm
Before you set up your tent on snow it's important to stomp the snow down, stand back and let it harden for a while, then set up the tent. You'll have to consider wind protection in case of storms, pitch your tent in a protected area, whether to build a snow wall around your tent or dig out a hole to pitch your tent in, and avoid trees where snow has accumulated and might fall if the winds pick up. Rather than stakes you'll need snow stakes or make "dead men" out of bags filled with snow to which you'll tie off your tent and bury.
Of course you should have 1 1/2" - 2" of sleeping pad between you and the snow, and a sleeping bag of sufficient insulation. I recommend the use of a vapor barrier liner bag in sub-freezing conditions to prevent condensation from forming inside your sleeping bag insulation, especially important on long trips where a bag will fill with moisture.
http://www.netbackpacking.com/vapor-barrier-and-radiant-barrier-liners.html
http://www.basegear.com/integral-designs-hooded-vapor-barrier-liner.html
Here are pics from one of our snow-camping trips: http://paigefalk.smugmug.com/Backpacking/Dewey-Point-Snowshoe-Backpack/4357856_smgcd#255751461_WNrcM
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Title Post: How do I fold a military poncho into a backpack.?
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Rating: 95% based on 981 ratings. 4,6 user reviews.
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