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Altus Poncho tips and tricks.

Kitkat1066

Kitkat1066

Member
Time of past OR future Camino
Future May 2022
I recently bought an Altus Poncho it's the newer kind so no velcro on the cuffs. I watched Anniesantiago13 talk about why she loved her Altus. Now like Annie said she is 5ft 3, ( I am 5ft 0) and one of the reasons she love's the Altus so much is because it almost reaches her ankles so no need for rain pants. I also love the fact that you only need to take your pack off once to put in on and then the rest of the day it will hang safely on your backpack meaning you only need to put your arms through it again if there are showers, no taking your backpack on or off. However there has to be an easy way to put it on, I have short arms so its hard to reach the top of my pack to unhook it to be able to pull it all the way down, by the time I have finished putting it on I'll be soaked lol. Anyone got any tips on how to put the Altus on quickley and easily?
 
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I have long arms, so I just open the zip and sort of swing it on like flamboyantly putting on a coat 😄 When it is hanging off the pack between showers, I pull the sleeves under my arms and tie them at my front, so I can easily slip them back on. Not sure why you need to reach the top of the pack to unhook anything? The hump for the pack is really generous so it will just hang off that? Alternatively, take off your pack, put the Altus on without putting the arms in the sleeves and zip it up, then lift the pack up under the Altus and put it on. Looks odd, works great!
 
We bought a couple in SJPdP in October last year and they showed us how to put them on. Simply hold the Altus out in front of you, with the opening facing away from you, and swing it over your head. Its then quite easy to put your arms in the sleeves and do up the front zipper. Amazing piece of kit! Good luck.
 
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nidarosa said:
I have long arms, so I just open the zip and sort of swing it on like flamboyantly putting on a coat 😄 When it is hanging off the pack between showers, I pull the sleeves under my arms and tie them at my front, so I can easily slip them back on. Not sure why you need to reach the top of the pack to unhook anything? The hump for the pack is really generous so it will just hang off that? Alternatively, take off your pack, put the Altus on without putting the arms in the sleeves and zip it up, then lift the pack up under the Altus and put it on. Looks odd, works great!
Click to expand...
It gets caught when I try to get my second arm around my pack to put it in the sleeve. This will be trial and error I think.
 
Kev&Kath said:
We bought a couple in SJPdP in October last year and they showed us how to put them on. Simply hold the Altus out in front of you, with the opening facing away from you, and swing it over your head. Its then quite easy to put your arms in the sleeves and do up the front zipper. Amazing piece of kit! Good luck.
Click to expand...
Thank you so much you should have seen me trying to get my arm around the back of my pack to get hold of the second sleeve🤣🤣🤣
 
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Kitkat1066 said:
I recently bought an Altus Poncho it's the newer kind so no velcro on the cuffs. I watched Anniesantiago13 talk about why she loved her Altus. Now like Annie said she is 5ft 3, ( I am 5ft 0) and one of the reasons she love's the Altus so much is because it almost reaches her ankles so no need for rain pants. I also love the fact that you only need to take your pack off once to put in on and then the rest of the day it will hang safely on your backpack meaning you only need to put your arms through it again if there are showers, no taking your backpack on or off. However there has to be an easy way to put it on, I have short arms so its hard to reach the top of my pack to unhook it to be able to pull it all the way down, by the time I have finished putting it on I'll be soaked lol. Anyone got any tips on how to put the Altus on quickley and easily?
Click to expand...
I'm also 5ft and searching for a good, not too expensive, poncho for my first camino. Do they sell the Altus in the US? I can't find them on Amazon.
 
Kitkat1066 said:
I recently bought an Altus Poncho it's the newer kind so no velcro on the cuffs. I watched Anniesantiago13 talk about why she loved her Altus. Now like Annie said she is 5ft 3, ( I am 5ft 0) and one of the reasons she love's the Altus so much is because it almost reaches her ankles so no need for rain pants. I also love the fact that you only need to take your pack off once to put in on and then the rest of the day it will hang safely on your backpack meaning you only need to put your arms through it again if there are showers, no taking your backpack on or off. However there has to be an easy way to put it on, I have short arms so its hard to reach the top of my pack to unhook it to be able to pull it all the way down, by the time I have finished putting it on I'll be soaked lol. Anyone got any tips on how to put the Altus on quickley and easily?
Click to expand...
Well, I don't reach up and over my pack. I just slip my arms into the sleeves. I wonder what you're doing different?
 
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trecile said:
In Pamplona they are available at Caminoteca.

Caminoteca - all the information and gear for your Camino - Caminoteca

Caminoteca - packing list, cost calculator, list of albergues, camino equipments and many more...
www.caminoteca.com www.caminoteca.com

You can reserve one at Boutique du Pelerine in SJPDP

Reserve online - Pilgrim's shop

www.boutique-du-pelerin.com www.boutique-du-pelerin.com
Click to expand...
They also have them at the Pilgrim stores in Zubiri (right on the main Camino) and in Sarria (at the base of the escalinatas going into the village)
 
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Anniesantiago said:
Well, I don't reach up and over my pack. I just slip my arms into the sleeves. I wonder what you're doing different?
Click to expand...
Love watching your Youtube channel I tried putting it on like a normal jacket forgetting that I had to reach around my pack to try and grab the other sleeve. Needless to say ended in a right mess lol but love the flip method.
 
And if the day has intermittent showers but hot then take your arms out and tie the sleeves around your waist to avoid excessive sweating
 
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I once about considered adding pit zips - or just a pit opening - in my Altus to improve airflow, but on my next walk I discovered that I very rarely wear it for very long so I didn't bother. Has anyone done it, or tried one of the Altus type ponchos with pit zips? I know Decathlon has one but it's heavy.
 
Kev&Kath said:
Simply hold the Altus out in front of you, with the opening facing away from you, and swing it over your head.
Click to expand...
Indeed. And walk smartly forward a couple of steps at the same time, so it all ends up behind you. This works fine in no wind. If there's a mild breeze make sure you are facing in to it - and you'll need to give it some welly to get the whole thing over your head in one go. If you are out on an exposed part of the camino and it is windy, it will push into your body before you have a chance to send it up and over. In these cases, still holding the shoulders, bring it down to the ground* and bunch it up so you are gripping the bottom as well as the top. Then lift up and proceed as before, letting go of the bottom part as you raise your arms. This time you won't need to step forward, just have a stance so you are braced when the wind catches...
*Edit - if your knees won't let get all the way down to the ground with your pack on, just let the wind bring the poncho into your body and bunch it up from there
 
Last edited:
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Thank you, everyone, for this dialogue about the Altus Poncho.

There seems to be general agreement that this is a good product. Surely it must be better than the conventional open-sided poncho I have been using, and wrestling with in the winds. Now I am considering buying an Altus, and retiring my old poncho to the closet of shame.

I want to buy the correct model. Are there multiple models or styles of Altus Poncho? Which model is the subject of this thread?

Thanks again.
 
Kitkat1066 said:
From Ireland found it on Amazon.uk Germany company.
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I've had 2 on order from Amazon UK, or so I thought. Ordered them on 1 January. Still not been delivered. Just found out that they're listed as out of stock! Can't get hold of any for love nor money! Have now ordered 2 from Decathlon as we head off in 4 weeks' time.
 
How to Successfully Prepare for Your Camino
Camino Preparation Guide
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
I live in the UK and bought my Altus Atmospheric from a Berlin outlet, because of Brexit I couldn't find a Spanish company to post one to me at the time. I have made three changes to my poncho, the first being that the hood is so big it kept falling over my eyes, I just fitted a small area of Velcro to the hood to hold it in the best position. I didn't like the elasticated sleeve ends so I got rid of the elastic. The sleeves are short so my wife's friend has sewed an extension 'sleeve' to both arms, just 2 cm longer than my longest finger. Its my way of keeping my hands dry when it rains and they cover the ends of my hiking sticks as well so that means my hands still stay dry. I roll them back when not needed. My third change was to sew an 8" extension to the poncho hem. When it rains the water now drips onto my waterproof gaiters, not onto the area below my knees as it used to. I now like it a lot, especially the full-length zip.
 
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