RS rain poncho??? Sale ends today.

Hi woofie,

It's up to you if you want to purchase the RS one, but, I think these are just as good and less expensive.

https://www.walmart.com/search/?cat_id=0&facet=retailer%3AWalmart.com&query=rain+poncho&typeahead=rain#searchProductResult

If you don't want to spend $10 for the Coleman brand, there is the generic brand for $5. They come in black, blue, yellow and red with a storage pouch shaped like an envelope. Not heavy. Does the job in a pinch; especially if someone can't hold up an umbrella or needs to be hands free for other reasons.

If interested, they can be found in the Women's accessory aisle with the umbrellas. They are usually on a hanging end cap.

Coleman and other brands can be found in the "camping aisles."

Hi, I'm in CA, and I also don't think or rain much- except for this past winter.
I prefer a knee length, packable raincoat. The problem I've had with ponchos is that if it gets really windy, the poncho blows away from my legs, and my pants get wet.
Of course, it's all up to personal preferences. Safe travels.

We like our RS ponchos and have used them on several occasions when a sudden rain shower happens. They are good quality and have saved the day for us. We carry them in our backpacks.

We have store chain called Academy Sports and Outdoors. They sell disposable/emergency ponchos for $.99 cents. I toss 10 or more of these in my carry on. Last trip I wore one and my rolling carry on suitcase wore one when it rained. it was perfect. i use to carry a regular poncho with me but i find them to be a burden carrying one around on sunny days. once in italy i got so tired of carry it around i left it at the hotel and of course it rained. i couldn’t bring myself to pay €5 for a disposable one from a street vendor.

the other problem i had with the reusable poncho is when it stops raining i stuck with this big sheet of wet plastic.

If your current raincoat is similar to this one, I would just take it.

https://www.amazon.com/Columbia-Womens-Arcadia-Ii-Jacket/dp/B00DQYPSJU/ref=sr_1_3?crid=HZW1KWPKLWO&keywords=columbia%2Brain%2Bjacket%2Bwomen&qid=1554061060&s=gateway&sprefix=Columbia%2Brain%2Caps%2C196&sr=8-3&th=1&psc=1

This type of raincoat is also great to slip on during the plane trip to keep warm without being a bulky layer. And it folds into a small bundle inside its hood, so I don’t feel bad when I’ve taken it on multiple trips but only needed it for rain on a few. Also, it’s more like something you will see local people wearing vs. a poncho. I do place a garbage bag in the bottom of my suitcase in case there was such a heavy rain that lasted so long I thought my suitcase would be drenched - never needed it.

Depends on whether you will have a use for it other than this trip.

We looked at them in the store, and eventually decided for our needs using the $0.99 kind my wife had in her 'earthquake kit' at school would work for us. Other than the trip, we had no real use for a "rain poncho".

If you have a need on some sort of ongoing basis for a a rain poncho, then it makes sense to make the investment.

My $0.02

Thanks everyone for your input. After reading through your responses I decided to stick with my original plan: couple ultra cheap throwaway raincoats from the 99Cent store plus my Ariat jacket and sun hat. I sprayed the jacket, packable backpack and hat with Dry Camp today. In case you haven’t used it, Dry Camp works great on my older no-longer-waterproof horse blankets to keep my pony dry. I’ll pick a couple throw away ponchos too. They’re not pretty unless you like yellow but I won’t have drippy rain gear to carry around.

Side note: this fall’s and winter’s rain amount was abnormal (hopefully) so I seldom need rain gear at home and the throwaways work just fine.

Woofie, we use regular pullover type windbreakers - the kind that fold up into a small zipped pocket, sprayed with Camp Dry or a similar product. I spray them twice, letting them dry fully between sprayings, and may hit the shoulders a third time.

These have gotten us through London in February, and Switzerland in April. And they're great for layering. I've never taken a coat or jacket on one of our RS tours. My regular tops, a cardigan, and if I'm pretty sure it's going to be cold, my silk long underwear, topped with the windbreaker, it's toasty! And the windbreaker is roomy enough that it will fit over my Appenzell backpack, if necessary.

I take a knee-length Gore-Tex hooded shell parka from L.L. Bean, sadly no longer offered by them. It stuffs into its own pocket and doesn't weigh much. And of course I use it all the time here in the rainy Northwest, not just on trips.

I've also taken to packing a couple of those 99-cent ponchos, keeping one in my pants cargo pocket in case I'm out somewhere without the parka. For those who don't live in rainy places and aren't looking for extra insulation, I'd recommend them.

Be sure to spray your shoes, too.

Thanks Janet. I hadn’t thought of waterproofing my shoes.

I'm late getting into the discussion, but I wanted to mention that I have a RS Rain Poncho and it has worked well on the few occasions I've used it. It's compact so easy to pack along on days when there might be rain. I haven't worn it for awhile but as I recall it's large enough to cover a daypack. I prefer a reusable rain poncho as I don't like contributing to the amount of plastic thrown into landfills.