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Thread: poncho not waterproof?

  1. #1
    ...shhh... smokelessfire's Avatar
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    Default poncho not waterproof?

    why is my military poncho, which is made from basically nylon tent material, not waterproof at all? it repels rain, but if you touch the inside of it, your hand comes away wet. whats the deal?


  2. #2

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    Basicly mate the design of the poncho is to, as you say, repel the rain and i dont know if you have but if you touch the inside of a tent the water comes through. I dont know why this is but is does. To solve this problem wear, as you probably do, another layer underneath. The thing we where told to do is wear the most durable layer on top. This could be a woollen jumper or just a t-shirt thats really good at absorbing water then your other layers. This will keep you dry for the duration of your QR op. They are not intended (or not commonly used would be a better phrase) for long time use without a waterproof layer underneath. The waterproof layer underneath would usually be DPM that will turn darker with water which is bad as your surroundings dont.

    To put it simple just wear another layer.

  3. #3

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    I have ran into this personally as well as heard it from several other people as well. I have no idea why, but I did read online somewhere the actual cause of the "leaking from touching." It's something that can happen with tarps as well. We had a very large tarp for a rain protector on our last camping trip (Crown King AZ) and if you touched the underside during the downpour...it came through where you touched. Bizarre?

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    My exp. with canvas tarps used in prim. outings is that even treated, you just don't touch them. Or if you do, run your finger all the way to the bottom as the water will follow the path.

    Now ponchos, I have one and it is 100% waterproof. Ya'll are just buying the wrong ones.

  5. #5
    Senior Member Fog_Harbor's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by smokelessfire View Post
    why is my military poncho, which is made from basically nylon tent material, not waterproof at all? it repels rain, but if you touch the inside of it, your hand comes away wet. whats the deal?
    Nylon isn't waterproof. The only thing that keeps the rain out to begin with is the surface tension of the water itself. You either have to treat it, or buy a material that IS waterproof.
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    Quote Originally Posted by FVR View Post
    My exp. with canvas tarps used in prim. outings is that even treated, you just don't touch them. Or if you do, run your finger all the way to the bottom as the water will follow the path.

    Now ponchos, I have one and it is 100% waterproof. Ya'll are just buying the wrong ones.
    could u link the one u have? The reason i ask is i want one that is 100%waterproof not water-resistant that ill last a long time

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    Link?

    1968 Vietnam


    Google USMC poncho's for sale. Most discount military sites carry them.

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    the reason i asked was because there is a hard to find rubber poncho and a new nylon one is yours nylon or rubber?

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