[pct-l] Frogg-Toggs + pack cover vs poncho

[giniajim]

I've recently obtained a Packa (probably like the Parcho you describe below).  Have only used it in a light rain, but it seemed to work fine.  I'm sure it'll get more serious testing as Spring gets underway.
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: CHUCK CHELIN 
  To: Paul Mitchell 
  Cc: pct-l 
  Sent: Tuesday, March 23, 2010 12:12 PM
  Subject: Re: [pct-l] Frogg-Toggs + pack cover vs poncho


  Good evening, all,



  I use a combination tarp/poncho/pack cover except during the most serious
  rain in the north.  It could be used there also except it’s big and floppy,
  and aggravating to wear for an extended period.  I did use it in the north
  in September ’02 – and it was acceptable -- but that’s where I learned
  better.



  To be sufficiently long for a shelter a tarp/poncho is really too long to
  walk in easily, so the head hood is placed nearer one end and the extra
  length in back is turned in under the poncho and secured up by snaps or
  Velcro.  It covers me, it covers my pack, and it also allows me to sit
  within my own little tent wrapped around me to wait-out a downpour.  While
  doing so my hands are inside, dry, and free to use for essential duties –
  like opening a sack of Peanut M&Ms.  The weight savings are in not needing
  separate rain gear and pack cover.



  For more serious rain I wear a “Parcho” which is a cross between a parka and
  a poncho.  It covers me and the pack.  It is considerably less floppy than a
  poncho, but still loose enough to ventilate moist air underneath.  Its
  downside is it can’t be used also as a shelter tarp.  In that situation I
  carry a separate, slightly larger, tarp which doesn’t have the poncho head
  hole and hood.  For sustained rain a plain tarp is better because there’s no
  head hole to tie closed to avoid leaks in the middle of the shelter.    With
  the Parcho I wear very lite SilNylon chaps which keep the water off my legs
  while ventilating well.



  I have three full sets of Frogg-Toggs, and I like them for general outside
  duties and training hikes, but one downside of them is the wrists, ankles,
  pants top, and the parka bottom are all equipped with snug-fitting elastic
  which really inhibits ventilation.  If you want the pack covered a separate
  item must be carried.  The parka can also be used as a jacket/wind shirt,
  except it weighs 2-3 times what a thin, separate wind shirt weighs.



  Most people won’t like the idea, but I don’t usually care if my pack gets
  wet provided I have a garbage bag to protect my sleeping bag and some
  clothes.  Everything else is either in its own bag, or it can just get wet.




  Steel-Eye

  Hiking the Pct since before it was the PCT – 1965

  http://www.trailjournals.com/steel-eye

  http://www.trailjournals.com/SteelEye09


  On Mon, Mar 22, 2010 at 11:17 PM, Paul Mitchell <bluebrain at bluebrain.ca>wrote:

  > In the past I've used frogg-toggs and a pack cover, but I'm wondering about
  > the reduced weight and convenience of a single poncho thrown over self &
  > pack.  I made the mistake once of ignoring light rain until it became heavy
  > rain and sleet out of laziness, not wanting to dig into the pack for the
  > togs & cover - and a poncho seems like something that could be kept handy
  > and quickly put on/taken off.
  >
  >
  >
  > The frogg-toggs jacket performs really well, and I've heard that ponchos
  > (plastic of nylon) feel fully wet against the skin.  The toggs are one
  > additional warmth layer, and are a great fashion statement when doing
  > laundry in town.
  >
  >
  >
  > So, any opinions?  Pros/cons for either that I might be missing?
  >
  >
  >
  > Potential 178
  >
  > www.hikefor.com
  >
  >
  >
  >
  >
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