I needed a poncho for work

for those light rainy days. If I have a real downpour it's Helly-Hansen or Grunden's time. Those two are commercial fisherman grade rain gear.

I went straight to my favorite surplus dealer, the Old Grouch in Clyde, NC. This guy sells the real deal. It is actual USGI surplus which is getting harder and harder to find.

From what I gather the army went out of the poncho business a while ago and the leftovers are either beat up, worn out or simply not available.

The Old Grouch, Tim, found an old government contractor and had the basic GI poncho made with a few small improvements. The poncho original dimensions were based on the size of a WW2 GI and people are a couple of inches taller these days. Tim's ponchos are cut a couple of inches bigger.

Mine just arrived and its the real deal. It is a little oversized and will do what I want it to. It is something to thrown on over me at work to keep dry in during those basic summer rains.

It was a little more costly than a genuine older surplus poncho but it's brand new, a little better and I consider it money well spent.

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY