The last couple of days I’ve been testing a couple of items that I’ve had for a while now. Mainly because I’ve not really checked them over since buying them, and they need that before using them in anger.
One draw back, even hinderance, that does put me off is that I have a small garden, which is 50% or just over concrete. And until recently a quarter was taken up with a shed (I now have to get the contents to the dump).
The first was the Dutch Army poncho that I have.
The poncho is designed to be used in conjunction with the Dutch Army hooped bivy bag (which I also have and need to test).
I don’t know the dimensions of the poncho. However it is smaller than the Aldi tarp. I’m going to guess this is 6ft by 4ft approximately. So not much living space if being used as a shelter. But being a person under 6ft in length it would provide adequate cover for me. And when used in conjunction with the intended bivi or any bivi it is perfect for providing a bit of additional cover from the elements whilst in the bivi.
Having missed the previous days constant rain (which the Aldi tarp handled really well) to test the waterproofness of this poncho, I had to resort to using a hose pipe.
As you can see from the photo above the water beaded nicely on it.
The second item I was testing was the British Army basha.
This is much bigger than the poncho, with plenty of living space under it.
If you compared the material used by the basha with the poncho. The poncho is made from a heavier, more durable material. But that makes sense because the poncho is designed to be used as its primary function first and as a shelter secondary. So is more likely to receive wear and tear while in use.
This too handled the hose pipe test well. However I did notice about three pinholes near seams. So I need to see if these need repairing or not. So ideally I need a good bit of rain to see if they are an issue or not.
I’m not sure what the neighbours think going passed seeing the tarps/poncho setup. However apart from testing the said item. The main point having one up is to provide shade for the dogs in the heatwaves we have been experiencing.
But that’s the testing of those two items done. And I can be fairly confident they will perform as expected when used in anger.