1. A hat, any hat but a wide brimmed hat especially would have been a welcome addition. I often use my Tilley hat with my rain shell because I don't like closing the hood. I prefer the visibility and ventilation of an open hood. As such without a hat, the poncho hood managed to stay in place most of the time but occasionally slid forward and covered too much of my eyes.
Yup, my experience as well.
2. I wondered what would work best if I were to use this as a shelter. How would I seal the hood from dripping rain onto me? Simply cinching the hood would not suffice - perhaps I should attach/pack a ranger band along with the poncho?!
On most military ponchos the hood can be sealed tight more or less with the drawstring, then buttoned down for a tight fit. I've never had a problem with my shelter leaking through the hood providing the above steps are carried out with a little care.
3. My lower arms, wrists and hands got wet. That means my long sleeves were wet and would take a while to dry out. Perhaps I should have pulled my arms inside the poncho, eh?
Yes.
8. I do however question the rationale of the dual usage of a poncho/tarp for some conditions. If the rain is start/stop and gives you time to set up that might be fine. If it is raining continuously and if this my only shelter how can I set this up as a tarp and stay dry at the same time? By bringing another shelter? (Bivy bag, 2nd tarp or even tent?) Not very practical as a one item doing double duty, but then again, on the dry prairies I may not have as much need to use it as a poncho.
In the ideal world you'd be carrying a full complement of rain gear, poncho + sleeping bag, bivy, maybe even a tent. In the real world, you end up with whatever you have at hand. It might not be as comfortable but heck, that's life. The poncho shelter is a minimalist solution as opposed to something more elaborate, say a tent, log cabin, luxury trailer. The latter are all more comfortable than a poncho shelter per se.
On a more serious note though, it IS possible to set up a poncho shelter very quickly if you know what you're doing. That would limit the amount of exposure down to maybe a couple of minutes at most, probably less. Again, practice is key.
9. I did not attach cords for use as a tarp shelter but if I did, I would probably use something like triptease for visibility rather than black tarred bankline. But that brings me to my next point - should I keep the cords attached and remove as necessary for a poncho or keep them on to use for the shelter? I can keep the cords stashed in the same silnylon ditty bag but not too much length. And I would need to keep stakes separately since there is no way the bag has enough room for them.
I use ordinary white shoelaces tied to each of the three grommets per side. It works fine and allows me to set up my shelter very quickly if need be without looking for extra cords.
You may not even need cordage to secure the poncho. Small L-shaped stakes can be carved easily from hazel branches or the like and planted into the ground directly through the grommets.
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