Ventile Poncho

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Is £110 too much?


  • Total voters
    162

Jared

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Sep 8, 2005
3,411
652
51
Wales
Rather bizarrely whilst soaking in the bath earlier... I wondered if the ventile & sewn loops would be strong enough to improvise a stretcher with 2 poles.
 

oetzi

Settler
Apr 25, 2005
813
2
64
below Frankenstein castle
Quote:
Originally Posted by littlebiglane View Post
Oooooh I am getting seriously excited about this project now
AGREED as said before I'm desperately saving.........
__________________

Or you do like me and start selling unused stuff at evilbay!
I was so surprised about what I could get rid:
Books
Parts of old photographic equipment
tons of bicycle parts of all ages
Even a 12Kg Linhof tripod, thrown away by someone unknown and carried home on the rack of a bike by me, brought € 155,-
 

littlebiglane

Native
May 30, 2007
1,651
1
52
Nr Dartmoor, Devon
Quote:
Originally Posted by littlebiglane View Post
Oooooh I am getting seriously excited about this project now
AGREED as said before I'm desperately saving.........
__________________

Or you do like me and start selling unused stuff at evilbay!
I was so surprised about what I could get rid:
Books
Parts of old photographic equipment
tons of bicycle parts of all ages
Even a 12Kg Linhof tripod, thrown away by someone unknown and carried home on the rack of a bike by me, brought € 155,-

Glad to hear from you again. Everything alright? You must be if you are selling stuff on Evilbag for the day (hopefully sometime soon!) that we can purchase said Poncho!
 

Still Waters

Nomad
Dec 20, 2007
459
0
North yorkshire
How about a polycotton one to bring the price down on the fabric?
A bit of waterproofing on polycotton and its very dry in a large down pour.

Maybe if polycotton mix fabric was used but the price kept the same then the differance in cost could be used to add all those detailed little extras?

The prototype looks on the small side for my liking
loops instead of eyelets gets my vote
the wire hood gets my vote also
I would preffer it to have ridge line loops
Does it have the ability to be fastend together to make a bivvy bag?

It may be prohibitive in cost to make it mate with a issue poncho but will 2 of these ponchos connect together?

What material is used in the stitching thread?


I am intersted and i fully understand the price of ventile but for me to spend £110 in one go i would need somthing that covers a lot of options and will last an age.


I suppose beggers cant be choosers.

Maybe two versions one in polycotton mix and one in ventile?
 

littlebiglane

Native
May 30, 2007
1,651
1
52
Nr Dartmoor, Devon
But it will last an age. Its made of ventile. Its also made by Hilltrek who specialise in making ventile clothes.

It will also act as a raincoat, a rucksack cover and also something to sleep under and won't melt if you go near a flame.

Try and do that with a standard laminate jacket for £110.:rolleyes:

But its really a case of this garment really splitting the vote - 1/3 to 2/3rds. A bit like marmite I suppose!

Different strokes for different folks...

(and yes it does need to be bigger..and it will be... BushVen has popped it back into Hilltrek to get the modifications done. He is due to speak to them shortly and see how it is progressing )
 

fishy1

Banned
Nov 29, 2007
792
0
sneck
Unless you all are set on Hilltrack, I know a friend who sews this kind of stuff (although I think he does mostly custom stuff) and might be able to do these for you all. If you pm me the specs of the hilltrack one, I can ask him and see if he could get you a better price than £110.
 

littlebiglane

Native
May 30, 2007
1,651
1
52
Nr Dartmoor, Devon
Unless you all are set on Hilltrack, I know a friend who sews this kind of stuff (although I think he does mostly custom stuff) and might be able to do these for you all. If you pm me the specs of the hilltrack one, I can ask him and see if he could get you a better price than £110.

Thanks for the offer. There has been quite a bit of development work on the Poncho already and Hilltrek are mid modification. It has been a while in coming but they are very busy at the moment. Hilltrek are a quality outfit and their production quality and skill is top-notch. They have many years experience in designing, testing and tailoring clothing - including ventile. That is one of the reasons why we asked them. Ventile is expensive (just take a look at other clothing made from it - you would not get a jacket for anywhere near £110 (inc vat and delivery). Even a single ventile shirt like the Westwinds would set you back £80. So I can't expect a massive saving over fabric costs. All in all I think that £110 inc P&P for such an expertly made garment is not bad value. But there is no reason why you cannot look back through this thread and use the spec to get one designed by your contact. Tell us how it goes. If it works out better and cheaper then choice is always good. I would however not want to disrespect Hilltrek and also one of our fine members, Bushven who have put some considerable time into compiling the spec, getting a prototype made and tested and having further modifications made (currently underway).

However it is your shout.

Thanks for the interest.

LBL
 

littlebiglane

Native
May 30, 2007
1,651
1
52
Nr Dartmoor, Devon
Okay People. I think we are starting to move on this again.

Lawrence of Bushcraft Ventures has given his considerable experience to the development and testing of this bit of kit and I totally trust his opinion (which is lucky!). He now has got the garment back from Hilltrek and has tested it. There needs to be one further modification (see his note, below) then it can go onto Wayland for final testing/review. I hope we can have something to show at the Bushmoot in early August. I have asked Lawrence for some updated pictures which I will post up when he send them through. Then the ball will be in Wayland's court :)

"Hello Mark,

I've been able to look at the poncho and have a review below.


The overall length of the poncho has been increased from 7' to 7' 6", with 3" added to the rear and the same at the front. This may not seem like much but the extra 3" at the rear means that there is better coverage, especially when wearing a Rucsac. An extra 3" may be a mean the poncho will be to long for anyone under 5' 6", but its OK for me and I'm 5" 9'. The extra overall length will also make the poncho more comfortable when use as a basha.


The hood and head opening has been increased, this makes it much easier to use the hood especially if wearing a wooly hat. A volume adjuster has also been added to the hood in order to make it a good fit. I thought this to be an important feature.


As suggested by Wayland then tapes are hidden under the fabric of the poncho, this makes the overall appearance more 'streamline' . Unfortunantly the centre loops have not been fitted, I shall get onto Hilltrek about this.


Overall the above changes have made the poncho much more practical than before, and with some minor alterations, I feel it should soon be ready for use."
 

basha

Forager
Aug 9, 2006
242
1
64
kent
hi Littlebiglane,
just to let you know I'm still keen on this. Thanks for perservering with this project.
 

littlebiglane

Native
May 30, 2007
1,651
1
52
Nr Dartmoor, Devon
Thanks for your continued interest. It has taken an age (nearly a year!) to get this far but I think it will be worth it. Just waiting Bushven to get the poncho back to Hilltrek for a final modification with central loops for hanging (and make them hidden like the ones on the corners).

Then it is off to Wayland for final testing.

Just waiting on this really. We should have something for the Bushmoot this year.
 

jimjolli

Tenderfoot
Jun 27, 2008
74
0
london
very interested. please let me know.

I like the windshirt they do (kinda like a poncho) and the kangeroo style pocket is super handy too.

Olive green would be my choice of colour.
 
Committee/ enthusiast designed products always seem to develop like this, unless there is a business driving the design. I appreciate not everyone involved in the project is getting paid to work on it and have other priorities. Just let me know when it is available.

Dan (from wet and windy Hong Kong).
 

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