Hunting & Fishing Ponchos, Cloaks, and similar apparel

[TheSolitaryTraveller]

This is something i've be wondering since it seems the average outdoors clothing now has such good water and wind resistance, that the need for something like a poncho now is really there anymore.
Because the normal wear I use to use in the mountains when I did backpacking and camping and also spent a week with my adviser, which was just a t-shirt under a water and wind resistant shell jacket and some water and wind resistant pants. Which seemed to work without a problem, thus I kept dry and warm even thou I went through snow and rain in that set up. But the guy who was my adviser for the training I went through, he wore something that was like a mix between a poncho and a cloak. He seemed to use it as a way to cover his pack and gear, thus a way to keep really everything from head to waist dry.
(Was a flat brown color, water and wind resistant, durable material, opened up from the front, had a hood that extended a bit past the face, simple design, covered whole body but didn't far past knees, and was held together with buttons. If you know of something like that tell me because i can't get the damn thing out of my head)

Anyways does these items really have much place now a days, considering how good the normal outdoor wear at keeping you warm and dry. Because it seems like a lot of guys have them but rarely use them that much from what i've gathered.

 

[Honky]

Did he have a Hill People Gear Mountain Serape?

 

[TheSolitaryTraveller]

Color is right but it I guess i would say it wrapped around the body starting form the shoulders as oppose to drape over it like that serape and no zippers. because his stayed closer to the body, without needing to be pulled in.
But odds are he had it custom made because he is one of those guys that feels if you can afford to get your gear custom made do it so you have the perfect product for yourself.

But still, the original question how many guys here actively use items like these now a days?

 

[threetrees]

i've pretty sure you talk about something austrian hunters would refer to as 'wetterfleck', and german hunters would refer to as 'lodenkotze'.

besides the hood and the collar, it's made from a single piece of loden. it might be more heavy than other synthetic materials, but then it also serves as a wobbie/blanket. loden makes no noise at all, which is why it's mainly used by hunters. very breathable material and interestingly also highly waterresistant. big drawback compared to synthetic material: it's rather heavy, especially once it's soaked full with water. but then it's also your sleeping-bag replacement. it's not well usable as a 'commando-canvas/tarp' as loden shouldn't be stretched. for that i'd rather recommend you to have a normal poncho/commando canvas/tarp with you. that way you have a cloak, sleeping-bag, ... that provides you with very good rain protection while you walk. should you want to sleep, take out the synthetic canvas/poncho/tarp, make a little shelter and cuddle into the wetterfleck.

how many use them? well. in our region i would argue that every hunter aged 40+ has one. the younger ones tend to try all kind of lightweight synthetic things, to end up buying loden once they have experienced that the sound of synthetic just scares off all the boar when you move just a little. loden just doesn't give off any sound at all. for hunting deer, red-deer and other animals, sound is not as crucial (from my experience)

 

[45.308]

I have no use and would not use it. Why? Not a sound piece of kit for me 10 days out in weather with everything I have on my back. Synthetics that wick and dry by nothing but body heat in a few hours or over night in camp, and the open design good for chimney effect but does afford protection for the elements, a good mountain wind will chill the core very quickly. A good piece for slow movement woods hunting over a day and back to your stocked cabin camp sipping brandy or scotch but for fast and light week long trips, I have no use for it.

I wore wool products for years in Alaska with great success but it gets bogged down with moisture and takes a long bright sunny day hanging in the air to dry it, not something I experienced too often in the alpine backcountry.

 

[threetrees]

i would argue that it depends alot on what you need it for:

if you need something very quiet, like for close-range stalking of deer, loden is something used almost exclusively in the german-speaking area.

if you need something for hiking in the mountains, where you are backpacking for several days, _and_ you don't care about the noise you make - i'd recommend you the newer materials

 

[45.308]

Like I said, its a good piece for slow movement woods hunting over a day and then back to your cabin camp to sip brandy or scotch but for fast and light week long trips, hiking or hunting, there are much better pieces. Of course wool was used for decades with success and I used it for many years. Its first version of softshell when spun tight but when you add lots of water, it becomes very heavy and will not dry quickly in the backcountry. I wore Norweigen and Austrian military winter wool pants and a commando / fishing wool sweater for years, warm and tuff but get them wet and they become dead weight. We would remove them and spin around by hand as hard and fast as we could to expel the water. This worked quit well but burnt many calories. Now, I can get damp over the day, go to sleep wearing all my clothes inside a Primaloft sleeping bag and be warm all night and everything is dry in the morning.

I am sure that piece is very region dependent and personal but the question was does anyone use it or does it have much of a place today and for 99% of backcountry hunters and users I would say no, there are better pieces. If I was deer hunting stalking in the woods of Pennsylvania maybe but highly doubtful.

 

[GBTX01]

threetrees,
Where would someone in the US go to find a quality wetterfleck and about how much should one expect to send on it? Thanks,

 

[threetrees]

personally, i'd recommend you to talk to a good seamstress (that's what i do most of the time) and get good loden cloth. Here you need to decide (together with the seamstress) whether you prefer thick loden (warmer) or go for thinner loden. If you go for the thin loden, there is something which one might translate as 'stroked' or maybe 'brushed' loden. Seeing that the surface is then alot smoother than for normal loden, it doesn't pick up water that quickly.

on the design, i would advice against the traditional wetterfleck design. as you mentioned, the only opening is to the front, which you can close with buttons. But when you sit somewhere and want to glass around for deer, the only way to get your arms out is to open the front (because the wetterfleck reaches far down on all sides). If you do that while sitting on your ruck, late at night, hunting boar, all the heat will get out of the front now. I'd either have the sides shortened to about hip-height (so you can get out the arms more easily), or go for the normal full length, but have overlapping loden-cloth plus buttons there so you can create a small opening to get your arms out. in both cases you wouldn't have to open the entire wetterfleck to do something with your arms. maybe something like this could be better for your needs:

if you go for a seamstress, i'd also consider having two simple, deep pockets sewn in on the inside on the front.

the hood ought to be detachable. again, overlapping loden cloth. fixed by buttons.

a nice detail you can add with the seamstress: internal straps that allow you to throw the wetterfleck backwards and carry it more like a backpack. with a third strap you could first role it up, then hang it around the shoulders. open the center strap and it rolls down, pull it forward and you are enclosed:

traditionally, the loden cloth would be dark-green. personally, i'd go for something that is more like grey-green.

with respect to costs ... I would say that it should be less than 100 to 150 usd. depends on the seamstress.

ordering online can be done in various shops from europe[mainly austria and german for the discussed wetterfleck/lodenkotze] (not sure where to get them in the us). there the prices might be higher, and shipping would have to be added ... i'd estimate about 100-150 euro + shipping there.

 

[Winny]

Tagged for later.....been trying to find the exact thing for sometime now.