the begining of this idea came from one of ranger rick tscherne's books. <br>1. take ether two poncho liners or one thinsulite poncho liner and sew a ykk zipper along the bottom and sie of the liner(s)<br><br>2.buy an imps net from brigade QM ( if you use your brain this thing has hundreds of uses.)<br><br>3.millitary poncho, or what some call a sf shelter(its a light weight tarp made from the same matirial as the poncho.)<br><br>4. the last thing you need is a lamanated space blanket<br><br>I have used this setup exclusivly for the past 7 year, in climates as devers as upper new york ( ft drum) to south tx,<br>and found it to be equaly comfortable in all climbs. weight is aproximatly 7lbs. total, and takes up vary litlle space in my my ruck<br><br><br><br>

Hi Will,<br><br>I don't think I understand exactly how you put it all togeather. It seems that you zippered the two liners togeather, which then is inside of the poncho. Now is the net and the space blanket spread out between the two liners or just carried with the poncho, or.......this is where I get lost......Could you please clarify.<br><br>Neal

Will,<br><br>just out of curiosity I would like to ask you why such a system? I mean it sounds great and it surly does its job but why not a sleeping bag? I'm using a down filled 0 degree bag with the waterproof bivy that weights about 6 lbs and when compressed in the sack it is about the size of the basketball. Like you I'm also climbing so my kit gets different multiple uses. I'm just very much interested why you would go with a setup like yours instead of "pre made" solution. Thanks in advance for your time.<br><br>Matt (who always looks for better ways)<br>

Any time I plan on sleeping overnight obviously I would pack a sleeping bag and a bivy. The reason why I have always prefered this method is it that it has multiple uses. Ponchos can be used as ponchos, bivys, tarps, and tents. A poncho liner with a head hole sewn in the center can also be used as a tarp, tent, and coat. When I have the money I plan to put one together and cinch it to my Hydrastorm for a light summitting pack.

The usual method is to tie the liner to the poncho via the attached tie strings and ponch grommets. Then you snap the poncho together with its snaps. This creates an improvised sleeping bag among numerous other uses. <br><br>With the ranger rick conversion kit you can add a zipper to the line( which I find to be unneccessary) and you can add a head hole in the center so the liner can be worn as a makeshift coat. <br><br>Thus far this is the best all around emergency set-up as it doesn't tear as easily as the other shelter products on the market.<br><br>At this point I am looking for alternative ways to use these two items.