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Folding up an Altus?

Gringazolana

Active Member
Time of past OR future Camino
Francés
Trying to do this on my phone, so apologies if it posts twice!

I can’t figure out how to fold up my Altus poncho. Is there a separate pouch that it stuffs into, or does it fold in on itself? (I have the Atmospheric H30.) When I whipped it out and put it on a couple days in a gale, I was concentrating on keeping my pack dry and not paying attention to details.

I am worried that I lost its little stuff sack in the wind!! I’ve looked all over and can’t find the answer, hoping someone here can help me out.

Thanks!
 
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Have you ever tried to put a tent back into the ludicrously small bag it came in? Your Altus stuff-sack has done you a favour. It assessed your stress levels and concluded they required no further enhancement.

Just roll the damned thing into some sort of containable shape and shove it where it will fit - in your backpack.

You will thank me for this unhelpful advice one day
 
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Gee, I never have problems, but then I'm an engineer.
1. Lay the beast out flat
2. Fold lengthwise as you like (Z-folds, W-folds, H-folds, it does not matter, as long as the outside is outside) until you have a long format of poncho about 6 inches (15cm) wide), or the depth of your (new) stuff sack, and fully long
3. Roll the beast up. Carefully. Tuck the errant bits back where they belong. Keep the tension as you roll, so it stays compact.
 
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My friends bought Altuses last year in St Jean Pied de Port. They do come with stuff sacks, into which the Altus can be stuffed without folding or rolling. But since you no longer have your stuff sack, a zip lock bag or rubber band should suffice.
 
I do this with all jackets, hoodies, and ponchos, similar to @Kitsambler :

1. Hold the poncho in front of you by its hood, with the opening facing you.
2. With your free hand, grab the left and right sleeves and bring them to the center.
3. Drop the hood, and using your now free hand, grab the tail of the poncho.
4. Roll the poncho up towards the hood, starting from the tail end.
5. Tuck the roll into the hood
6. Voila, now you have a hood-sized package. Also makes a good seat cushion when dry.
 
Instead of trying to put it away this winter, I just tied the sleeves or tucked them under my pack straps in between the winter rain showers and stode along like supergirl with a big green cape. Silly, but who cares at age 61...(62 next month). It usually started raining again so I didnt need to dig it back out of a bag or backpack pocket. Silly cape barely visible here...
 

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Let us pick up your suitcase once you arrive in Europe....
...and ship it to Santiago for storage. You pick it up once in Santiago. Service offered by Casa Ivar (we use DHL for transportation).
When I am walking, and as usual in Spain it is raining, stopping, raining, stopping, raining... I just leave it zipped a tiny bit at the bottom, take my arms out and let it hang on my pack. It's never blown off.
 
Anniesantiago said:
When I am walking, and as usual in Spain it is raining, stopping, raining, stopping, raining... I just leave it zipped a tiny bit at the bottom, take my arms out and let it hang on my pack. It's never blown off.
Click to expand...
Very windy this winter so after one or two near poncho escapes, I adopted the tie the sleeves method...
 
yes mine came with a bag and i'm able to stuff it back in. maybe while you're out and about you can get a little plastic bag and just shove it in there. anything will work. the bag it came with is tiny and handy but replaceable.
 
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The Altus poncho is like the bottom fitted sheet on a bed…one can spend their entire life trying to figure out how to fold the d@#$ thing!

My Osprey pack has a built- in rain cover with its own pocket, soooo; since the Altus covers the pack as well, I don’t need both. The built-in cover is removed and the Altus is stuffed into the pocket in its place.

Alternatively, if you roll up the Altus as the engineer suggested, it fits well into a side pocket of a backpack (the pocket usually reserved for water bottles.

Buen Camino
 
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Yes the ideal way to carry all jackets. I was going to post this but you beat me to it
 
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Bothydave said:
Indeed it does and the mesh bad also allows the garment to dry if wet.
Click to expand...
I was very glad of mine a couple of weeks ago. I tried to stick some self adhesive reflective tape to it (in the shape of a scallop shell) for safety, but that did not survive being stuffed back in its pocket.
Does anyone know if there is a reflective fabric paint that will not affect the waterproofing?
 
If the hood has size altering loops on it consider slipping hi viz reflective tape through the loop and stick the tape to itself, not the jacket.
This tape catches headlights as it moves and changes angle. In addition it is in my case bright yellow and visible. If on the hood it should be high enough to be above your rucksack. I have it on poles and back of rucksack. The one on the rucksack is on a loose loop and swings as I walk.
My poncho as well as being bright orange has a large reflective strip to the rear as per the manufacturer.

Having scraped people off roads (literally with a shovel) I know what vehicles do to flesh and bone. Be careful out there
 
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Agreed!!! I do this with most of my clothes. Use women’s hair ties to hold the roll. Also to hold collapsed Z poles
 
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