On his piece about the Amazon trip, Michael said the a good rain poncho is necessary when taking pictures in the rain, but he didn't say where to get a GOOD one.
Before I read Michael's comments, I made a trip to Italy and carried a cheap Poncho from WalMart. It was almost useless -- too short -- side closures didn't work well -- hood could not be adjusted -- made me wetter inside from the sweat than protection from the rain -- wind would unsnap the side bindings -- etc.
When I got home and read Michael's piece, I started searching for a GOOD one. I found one IN SPADES! You can see and order it if you like it at:
http://www.warmlite.com/start.htmThat's a small family company that makes tents and other gear for extreme expedition use. The requirements for their gear is long lasting strength and very light weight. Their gear is used in some of the extreme parts of the world.
The Poncho is made from feather light tent material and weighs about 6 oz. It can be stuffed into a one-gallon zip lock bag with half the space unused.
You can specify the length you want, and you should get it long enough to come to about 12" from the ground.
The sides are secured with zippers, so they don't fly open in the wind or anything else.
The hood can be adjusted and secured with both velcro and a draw string. It has a clear visor and you can push it off your head if you would like a hat instead.
The poncho is large enough to cover most any back pack you can carry as well as your camera hanging from your neck.
It has been very stable in the wind -- mainly because of the zippered side openings.
I highly recommend it.
Each poncho is custom made and mine took about three weeks to get.
Wil
