Military Ponchos and Liners

[Bayou Blaster]

If your your trying to save weight in a BOB one item I've placed in my BOB is the Military style Poncho and Liner. Military ponchos can be converted into a water repelent sleeping bag using the Liner. Note: The Liner can stand alone as a sleeping bag. They can also be made into a lean to shelter or two can connected to make a tent. If you are traveling in pairs, I would recommend one miltary poncho in each BOB. Improvised tent pegs/poles can be made from branches; a little para cord and your done. You can even make a single man tent. You could buy some portable replacement tent poles for this. First assemble the poles. Spread your poncho out on the floor (inside facing up). Take your tent poles and bind each end to a corner in an X fashion. Secure the center of the X with binding or para cord. The Poncho will take on a dome appearance. Tuck in the hood and sleep under the dome. Ponchos can be made to collect rain water as well.

Please chime in if you have any other ideas.:)

[Awesome]

Bayou good post...
We use to call the poncho + poncho liner, sleeping bags "tacos". They worked pretty good. Warm and water proof! (Just had to remember to tie off the neck). In warmer weather we use to just use the poncho to sleep in to keep the bugs off!

Like you said there are so many things you can do with a good poncho. I always kept 2 in my ruck.

I did play around tryin to get the poncho tent thing perfected but I never did like that as much as the taco... I'll see if I can dig up some pictures from an old training or something.

[Bavarian]

Is this the old style rubberized poncho or the new light weight?

If it's the new one, have you tried it out in the rain yet? Is it waterproof? I have one of the new ones and I may as well be wearing a T-shirt when it rains. Mine was bought surplus so it might just be the one I got. If so, I'll get a new one. Tks