DIY Rain Poncho

[diyguy]

I had some excess silnylon left over from a tarp project and decided to make my own rain poncho.

I considered making a poncho in the past, but I worried that the hood and visor would be too complicated to make. I even considered a hoodless poncho in an attempt to simplify the sewing (see here) but I ultimately decided for the full enchilada. I’m happy to report that it was WAY easier than I expected. I borrowed ideas from here and here, but ultimately went with my own design.

I opted for a version with a visor to keep rain off my glasses (a pet peeve of my beloved, but ridiculously heavy, military poncho). I also added an extra foot of material in the back to cover my pack (the first prototype had 24” of excess material, but it was excessive). I debated myself on how to secure the sides. I considered Velcro and zippers, but ultimately sewed cordage ties down each side. My thinking was that Velcro would attract dirt and a zipper would minimize ventilation. Ties can ultimately be tied loose or tight, allowing for variable ventilation options.

I used 0.5” grosgrain for all eight tie-outs (four corners and one centered on each length). The tie-outs will allow me to use the poncho to close-off the end of my tarp or maybe as a temporary rain/wind shield without setting up my full tarp. All tie-outs were reinforced with triangular pieces of silnylon. I sealed the poncho with a mixture of mineral spirits and 100% silicone caulking.

The final dimensions are 62X93” (slightly bigger than my military poncho) and the poncho weighs 8.9oz sealed. Included in this weight are four hanks of G-line and a shockcord waste band secured within the side ties for easy deployment.

I tested the poncho in last week’s rainstorms. It works great.

I’m pretty happy with my zero cost, 8.9oz piece of new gear. And it was a blast to make.

Thanks for reading.

Brian

[rstms]

Very nicely done. Any chance of more detailed information on the hood pattern and how it is attached?

[diyguy]

Thanks. I used the following sites for guidance:

http://frankrevelo.com/hiking/sewing_poncho.htm
http://royrobinson.homestead.com/ponchoplans.html

I modified the guidance to suit my needs, but the hood/poncho attachment method pretty much mirrored Step #8 in the second link. This same site helped with the hood pattern, but I ultimately copied the shape of my military poncho. If I had to do it all over again, I would make the hood about 10% smaller.

Does this help?

[rstms]

Does this help?

Yes...very helpful. Thanks!

[moose717]

Great poncho ... I'm a sewist ... this is next on my list!

[Yukon]

Great looking poncho! I'd like to make one of these myself, thanks for the links..

[XTrekker]

That thing is sweet...Gonna try and make one soon out of some DIY Silnylon Marpat camo I got..

[William36]

You certainly inspired me. I love that do-it-yourself "free "stuff