Review on 👕 Stylish & Functional: Charles River Apparel Pacific Poncho for Boys' Clothing by Jeff Dabney

Let me define what I mean by a poncho. Not a fashion accessory for warmth, but durable rainwear appreciated by the soldier who stands guard for hours in a downpour. It's just a big rectangle of fully waterproof material with a hole in the center for your head. Most versions have drawstring hoods. The long sides of the rectangle only fall down to the boots. Its edges feature double-sided snaps so you can pin the edges together to form a sleeve for your body. A steel grommet at each corner provides a secure anchor point, allowing you to use the zip-less hole punch as a tarp or even as a tent. Without sleeves, seams, zippers and pockets, the poncho is very light, compact, easy to fold and take with you. I needed a poncho for my 12 year old grandson to summer camp. He is about 4ft 8in tall and slim build. I felt that an adult poncho would be unwieldy for him. Since he lives far away, I had to order this for him without trying it on. This item was relatively inexpensive and well tailored. Went towards it and survived camp well but I'm disappointed in its design. I have a pair of military style ponchos that saved my wife and I a whole day on an Alaskan cruise. I was even able to make a video by holding my camcorder under a roomy poncho and filming through the open side opening. I'm a fan of this great style of dress. The major downside to this version is that it only has ONE side snap on each side. The rest of the length is free and flaps in the wind, losing a lot of rain protection, especially on windy days; I cannot fully endorse this item as it loses many of the wonderful qualities of the military style full button poncho: offers FULL protection from heavy rain. I can combine it with an optional poncho to make a 2-person puppy tent (I'll admit I've never done this, but good to know). I used mine as a ground sheet and as a trap; and hung from trees by ropes to save a small picnic from a nasty drizzle. Multiple ponchos can be linked together to protect a very large area.