a few years ago i ran a post of how i had a hole cut into my poncho liner so i could wear it like a poncho rather that just pulled around my shoulders.that came i handy on canoe trips when i was reading or doing chores in my tent or shelter on cool evenings.up in the evening and out of the tent to "check the stars" or first thing in the morning just after getting out of a warm sleeping bag.i also used the liner as a light blanket on hot summer nites or over the sleeping bag on cold fall ones.on those times i had to fold the liner and clip the edges together with clothes pins to keep the head hole closed.
to solve that problem and cover my head to make the liner warmer i had a hood sewed on by a local seamstress.



first off was to find material for the hood.buying another liner was to expensive and after a bit of mulling it over i could see that a bit taken off each lower end of the liner would give me lots of material and not effect the amount of coverage.



here's the finished product.



and of course now you can wear the liner under the Army rain poncho as well as use it as a sleeping bag if you want.





these are just a few quick photos for a demo but in the real world i would tie the liner to the grommets on the poncho to keep the whole thing together.my seamstress works out of her home and is a real whiz when it comes to doing projects like this for me,she did more that just sew the ends of liner where the material was cut from but sewed edging around it.she asked if i wanted a draw string on the hood but i passed on that to keep things simple.

Just saying -

Being near a major military base, it's really easy to have poncho liners altered in this method. I seem to recall one store, now gone, that pretty much had these on the shelf. Also had liners with velcro or zippers to better use them as sleeping bags.

And to make ya jealous - My poncho liners cost me all of $6 each way back in Sep 81. The next week, Oct, the price went up to $18, go figure. I bought 10, sold 5, still have 3 floating around that I can put my hands on. Think the other 2 are at my parents house. And for antiques, the liners are still going strong.

very cool

Now you've gone an started me thinking about my campfire blanket. I still haven't decided on a final set-up but I'd like to be be able to wear it and I do like this. Thanks!

I'm a big fan of ponchos and liners. Most of the civilian models are pretty thin and weak. Most are pretty clearly considered by manufacturers as cheap, semi-disposable substitutes for a rain suit.

For maximum usability I like the heavily coated nylon USGI models. The older rubberized cotton are good, very tough and adaptable, but heavy. A good one with a liner is a sleeping bag, rain-wear, tarp, tent, body bag, ground cloth, drag, field expedient float, and rainwater collection device.

Has anyone here ever tried this one? It looks pretty good and Wiggy's has a great reputation.

Walmart around the end of winter had a large amount of left over fleece blankets i think around the lines of 4x5 feet. I wonder how well they would make a liner for a store bought poncho. Hmmmmm civilian alternatives......I love the sound of that these days.

Nice modification, Canoedogs!

Phaedrus, I like that insulated poncho from Wiggy's. it is a bit expensive, but well designed. I have some Aussie kit and it is all well made and designed. I like their cagoule as well.

I was only recently clued in to Wiggy's. Today the Wiggy's bag I bought of eBay arrived. It's in good shape and although I'm not sure the precise model I'm d@mned impressed! Very well made and very, very warm. Mine seems to be rated to 0 F (bases on the weight, plus a tag on the bag) so I'll probably be picking up another one for warm weather camping, maybe the Slumber. It's cheap and should be good for warm weather. Plus it could also be an overbag for my other one.

While it's expensive, I think their poncho liner might be a really great piece of gear. Lamalite is supposed to allow moisture to wick thru, so it might reduce the clamminess a bit. And based on what I've seen of the fill it's very warm. And the fact that it's 100% machine washable is a great bonus for something that will see a lot of dirt time.