After wearing The Paramo Poncho in the rain for the first time today I have some thoughts to share with you. Rather than write a proper review I have just listed my various thoughts here as bullet points. Bear in mind that this was the first time I have ever used a rain poncho of any kind so I have nothing else to compare it to other than regular zip-up style raincoats. Also bear in mind that I am not a bushcrafter like yourselves, I am just a guy with some horses who spends my weekends working out in the countryside.
The Good Stuff
- The material appeared to be totally waterproof today.
- Whilst wearing just a cheap t-shirt and Regatta fleece underneath it kept me perfectly dry whilst working outside in fairly constant, moderately heavy rainfall for about an hour.
- The open and baggy nature of the poncho means there was no build up of moisture inside like you can sometimes with a coat.
- The hood and collar work particularly well and felt really comfortable when worn with a baseball cap underneath.
- The hood always stayed in place despite gusty wind conditions.
- It was comfortable to wear and kept me dry whilst poo picking in the rain (this job requires a wide range of energetic movements to rake up the horse poo into a shovel then swing it energetically over the hedge).
- It was reasonably easy to put on and take of my small but bulky rucksack (which was full) and wear said rucksack underneath the poncho while walking about in the rain.
- The ponchos ability to keep my rucksack dry was a really big plus point. I liked this aspect a lot and is not to be underestimated when spending a lot of time in the rain whilst wearing the rucksack.
- Due to the super thin material the Paramo poncho packs up very small.
- It weighs less than a regular rain shell coat does.
The Bad stuff
- A poncho is slightly trickier to put on than a regular zip up coat is due to having to pull it over my head (just a general thought about what all ponchos must be like rather a specific issue with this Paramo one).
- Due to to the thin material the cuffs felt slightly wet to the touch on the inside even though it was still dry and no water had actually passed through.
- The light and baggy material did billow and blows about in the wind a lot (this didn’t bother me personally but the sudden movement does spook the horses making them scared and causing them to run away).
- I probably won’t wear it very often (due to it frightening the horses) but I still think it will occasionally come in handy for those occasions when the weather unexpectedly turns wet and have no other rain gear with me.
- I do quite like the poncho but on balance I still prefer a regular style zip-up raincoat due the greater ease of putting them on.
