How to Use an Emergency Rain Poncho

By anniewrites, eHow Member

Emergency Rain Poncho

Emergency rain ponchos have many uses during natural disasters or when you are lost in the wilderness. If you have an emergency survival kit, chances are good that it contains one or more ponchos, but after reading this you may just decide that you want to get some extras to keep on hand. Just make sure that you get a good quality emergency rain poncho that has electronically welded seams. Sizing may vary, but a good general size to look for is 52"x80."

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Step 1: An emergency rain poncho can be used for keeping dry in the rain. I know this one is obvious, but it's still the tried and true use for a good poncho. Making sure that you have a good quality poncho of a heavyweight material is of utmost importance here. There's nothing more annoying than getting a tear in your poncho and ending up all wet.

Step 2: An emergency rain poncho can be used as a wind breaker. If it is not rainy out but it's cold and windy, you can layer your rain poncho over your clothes and tie it so that it is tight. It will help to keep you warm by preventing the wind from going through your clothes.

Step 3: An emergency rain poncho can be used to carry items that can't get wet on a rainy day. Say you need to haul a bunch of books and you didn't bring a bag from them. It's raining and you're afraid they will get ruined. No fear, just use your trusty poncho as a pouch to carry your books and your problems are solved. Now, let's just hope that you have an umbrella or else you might need two rain ponchos, one for you and one for the books!

Step 4: Rain ponchos can be used for an emergency shelter. They can be tied and fastened to a tree using rope to provide you some shelter if you are stranded in the wilderness. It's not quite the Hyatt, but it's better than nothing, right?