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A poncho covers your pack as well as you, so the shoulder straps and the gear inside stay dry, which a jacket cannot do. Open underneath, it lets air move as you walk, so you are not sweating inside a sealed shell on a humid climb. Most fold into a small bag or pouch and weigh between about 200 and 350 g, light enough to live in a side pocket next to the rest of your camping gear.
Some go further than rain. The tactical model opens out to 213 by 140 cm and can be strung up as a tarp, and the camping model also works as a groundsheet. That helps on a lunch stop in steady rain, but for the night you still want one of our tents.
Length decides how wet your legs get. The hiking poncho opens to 210 by 140 cm and comes down over the legs, with a drawcord hood and adjustable sides. The zip up rain poncho is cut long at 125 by 195 cm, and its front zip lets you vent without taking it off, with press studs down the sides.
Wind is the weak spot of any poncho. Pull the hood tight, close the sides, and on an exposed ridge tie a length of cord around your waist so it stops flapping. The thick hiking poncho takes a different route: one piece with no seams, zips or fastenings, which leaves fewer places for water to get through.
For an army poncho look in the scrub, the military model comes in army green and green, brown or winter camouflage, made from a heavier 0.2 mm PU-coated polyester. Another hiking model comes in green, beige, brown and black camo with a cape cut wide enough for a rucksack. Orange and yellow are easy to spot on a bush track, and the bright orange one has an aluminised lining that keeps body heat in when you need it in a hurry.
Of the two women's ponchos, the travel one has an adjustable drawstring hood with a zipped collar and thin fabric that dries quickly, while the hiking one comes in a zip or hooded style, in colours from navy and beige to pink and blue polka dot. Strung on cord above a hammock, the tactical model also makes a small tarp for the night.
