Tomshoo Poncho Review


Product: Tomshoo Poncho

Stockist: Amazon

Price: £12.99


This should be titled; The Stupidest Looking Thing I Ever Bought". The Tomshoo poncho is a lightweight rain cover which is useful when cycling, hiking or camping. I was looking for a product I could throw on quickly during a rain shower and wouldn't take up much room in my pack. This poncho delivers on weight and space saving, but boy, do you look stupid in it. On paper the poncho should be easy to put on, but rain is often accompanied by wind, and therefore you may find yourself fighting what people might think from a distance is a giant orange tarpaulin. There are Velcro straps to secure down the sides, but sometimes the wind can get under this and whip the poncho up into your face. It also can be quite difficult to get the back of the poncho to go over your rucksack, a second person is useful to help you. If you are carrying a larger rucksack, like a 65 l one, the poncho won't cover the entire surface of this.
See, I told you!

I tried the poncho out on the West Highland and Great Glen Ways. I had more success after period of practice on the latter long distance walk. I had a smaller rucksack in which to put the poncho over and  I was able to secure the sides quicker and easier. With the larger pack on the West Highland Way the Velcro side straps were stretched further apart. I could have done with a drawstring at the bottom to stop the wind from getting under the poncho. There is metal eyelets that I could have threaded elastic or rope to keep the bottom closer to my body. 

Performance wise I had no problem keeping dry. The poncho had no problem keeping out the rain, some which was heavy at times. It didn't fully cover my arms but it wasn't a problem as I was mostly wearing a T-Shirt.  I could also use the poncho to set on the ground before putting down my rucksack. I could have used it in other ways as well, utilising the eyelets at the bottom. 

Verdict

A cheap and cheerful poncho that does the job when the weather turns bad. You wont win any style points, but you'll stay dry. 

Pros

  • Inexpensive
  • Keeps the rain out
  • Can be used for other purposes

Cons

  • You may look a bit daft
  • Can flap about in the wind
  • Can be tricky to cover larger rucksacks. 


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