USGI Military Poncho – WTF is so hard about getting it right???

USGI ponchoThe USGI military poncho is maybe one of the most useful things our military has ever produced. It can be used as a poncho (duh…). If you don’t need rain gear, it can be used as a tarp or made into a tent. Combined with a poncho liner, it makes a pretty nice 3 season sleeping system. Really, it’s one of the simplest and therefore brilliant ideas I’ve seen. A water proof skin, convenient size, hole for your head, and grommets along the sides so you can easily attach to it. Simple, versatile, extremely useful for preppers, backwoodsmen, a backyardsman, heck, pretty much just about any one. In fact they’re so useful that at least a few companies are making copies rip-offs of the USGI poncho. It’s such a simple design you’d think they could get it right but they don’t. And that really p****s me off…

WTF is so hard about this???

You’d think it would be easy to copy. All the clones I’ve seen are the correct dimensions, some are even made from better material than the original. So why do the clone makers insist on NOT putting grommets around the edge? You know, so you could actually tie it together with a woobie instead of just thinking about it? WTF good are snaps instead of grommets? Do the stupid snaps make it easy to lash the tarp to trees to make a poncho hooch? No, they don’t. So WTF does NO ONE make a USGI style tarp with real USGI style grommets along the sides?

Even worse, they market them in a way that impllies they’re “the same” as a real USGI poncho. ”
Men’s US Waterproof Ripstop Hooded Nylon Festival Poncho in Olive Green” by a company calling themselves Mil-Tec. Sounds legit, but it’s FAKE. NO GROMMETS on the sides like a real USGI poncho would have. Other favorite FAKE things I’ve seen them called are “Poncho Army Ripstop Ponch,” “USGI Style Poncho,” I’m sure there are more. And they’re ALL FAKE unless the have grommets around the edge, yet are marketed to make you think you’re getting a poncho that’s the equivelent to a USGI military poncho.

It’s not the quality, it’s the LYING…

If you don’t need the grommets, the quality on some of these fakes is actually pretty good. The quality isn’t the problem. The problem is if you need the grommets (which I do) and the company intentionally markets their non USGI poncho in a way to make you believe it’s compatible with a real USGI poncho. Guess what? Without the grommets, IT’S NOT THE SAME. Implying it is, is f*****g LYING. So why do they do it? Wouldn’t it be just as easy to put grommets around the f*****g edges and make it TRULY compatible with the USGI poncho?

OK, rant over…

Peace out,
porcupine