I made my first full-length cagoule, left, in 1977 for a snowshoe hike and later used it for winter boat cruising. This year, I decided it was time for a new one, right.
In a journal entry dated January 4, 1977, I wrote: “I made a cagoule last week,” but I don't now recall where I got the idea to make an oversized, full-length cagoule. A cagoule is a lightweight pullover rain jacket that’s usually only thigh length. There may have been something similar to my long version on the market 40 years ago, but I can’t find anything like it on the Internet now, which is unfortunate because it’s quite useful in cold and wet weather.My cagoule proved its worth on the outing that began on that cold day in 1977. My friend Mark and I embarked then on a snowshoe hike across the Cascade Range from Western to Eastern Washington. Temperatures dipped to 20 degrees, and the cagoule was especially valuable in camp when we weren’t warmed by hiking. In the evenings I’d sit with the bottom of the cagoule drawn up under my feet, the hood tight around my face, and my arms drawn in from the sleeves into the warm bubble of still air inside.
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Comments (25)
Nicely done. I have been considering making a new poncho, but I like this much better. The use of staples is so much more convenient than pins. Great project.
I think you’ll find the cagoule is a step above a poncho. I used an army surplus ponchos when I was kid backpacking with my father and recall that they were breezy and in the rain I couldn’t do much with my arms without getting them wet or having the poncho in the way.
Unbelievable, Chris, you never cease to amaze. Not only do you have the imagination to come up with these useful projects, but then you actually take the time to figure out how to do them right and then you apparently keep a journal or map them out well enough so you can actually reproduce them later. Again, all I can say is: unbelievable!
The crescent moon comes from the private signal that my second great-grandfather, Frederic Cunningham, and his cousin, Charles Dabney, flew over their merchant ships in the mid 1800s. The yellow moon was used to identify ships returning to Boston from the Caribbean, and a white moon on the blue field was flown by ships returning from the Mediterranean.
You might like to try the seam basting tape available from Sailrite. It holds pieces in place for sewing. I can’t imagine sewing a sail without it. I’ve used it for all kinds of projects, including leather. Plus the tape stays in the seam, no removal process.
Like you, I use the Sailrite double-stick basting tape for sewing sails. The other thing I use for holding fabric for sewing is Sulky spray. I use it for small projects like flag sewing. It disappears after a while and leaves no residue.
In the early 70’s I had a North Face cagoule. It was made from GoreTex for breathability. If I recall, it used Velcro strips to shorten the “skirt” look to a waist-long parka. On a fishing trip to Arivaca lake in southern Az., I got caught In a rain shower. No problem, just drop the skirt, find a large rock and sit in my personal “tent.”
Some jerk broke into my truck and stole the radio and the cagoule and I was never able to find another. Thanks for the how-to!
Cheers,
Ray
I’ve had North Face, Sierra Design, Sierra West and L.L. Bean cagoule since the 1970s; good ones are almost impossible to find these days. Also used a green one (similar to the DIY one here. Also wore it to Arivaipa Wilderness Canyon in AZ, and used it as a toboggan, tucking it under me and sliding down a snowy slope in the Cascades from a remote hot spring as it was getting dark, with a bear chasing us. They were indispensable in the 6 years I lived in Seattle & traipsed about all over the Puget Sound. I’ve got a yellow one (ugh, only one I could find online a couple of years ago, but wore in France & was mistaken for the Gilet Jaune demonstrators), & a black one rolled up in my car for emergencies.
An old paint-splattered blue one I wear on plein-air painting trips around N. California. But I’ve never been able to find as perfect a one as the dark green one (I think from L.L. Bean) that I used as an insta-sled that snowy night. It had armpit vents, the perfect-sized kangaroo front pouch, and was just right sized for tucking into (like your article) crouched under a tree in the rain.
A cagoule can indeed make a good toboggan. I used my original one on a climb of Glacier Peak during the descent to make a quick passage over snow fields in penguin fashion.
When I was at mid 20s, I was working at a prepress house 9 AM to 12:30 AM for six, seven days a week. I bought a old faded mariner jacket at midsummer for $3 and it saved my life, I got stuck in snow storm at 2:30 AM and I was middle of highway; the truck and the jacket saved my life. After the night, I learned one person had been frozen and died at the same location. I am still securing minus 42 Celsius degrees sleeping bag, two emergency shelters, and I will add the cagoule above to my collection.
Umut
Istanbul
I had one of those old cagoules also and I’m amazed they aren’t being made anymore.
I like the larger size of yours. It is far more functional than a trimmer cut.
Following the clothing cuts in the arctic, with a very loose fit, you should be able to billow heat and moisture out easily.
With a belt of cord, it should tame the potential of taking off in the wind like you’re in a wingsuit.
This article is a great service. Thank you for it.
I’ll be making one.
Fantastic. The cagoule looks like it would be really useful in Australia, both for sailing and also hiking in winter. The plans and description of each step are detailed and easy to understand. I’ll be making one soon. Thanks a zillion, Christopher.
You can stick you hands out of the sides of a poncho, but it’s a loose and long opening that doesn’t seal the sides from the weather. When you reach out in rainy weather, you either get your coat sleeves wet or you pull the sides of the poncho over whatever you’re handling. The Hilltrek has a way of joining the left and right sides around in front for a cozy seal, but it’s a tight fit and limits what you can do.
Condensation has never been a problem with my cagoules. There is plenty of open space inside and enough air circulating to keep water from condensing. One layering trick I use is to wear a waterproof/breathable jacket under a waterproof/non-breathable outer layer. If I’m then active enough to create a lot of moisture, it migrates away from me and accumulates between the two outer layers where it’s not a problem.
One of our readers asked about a cagoule that could be purchased. I haven’t been able to find a manufactured version of the cagoule on the web. The closest thing is Exped’s Exped BivyBag Duo UL. It is longer and would need to be hiked up with a belt for walking. The sleeves are shorter and the hood is a tube. The US branch of Exped no longer has the Biybag Duo on its website but the Austrian branch has it on their website. Amazon lists the Bivybag for sale for $129. Neither of these links will lead to good photos of the Bivybag Duo, but you can get a good look at it on an Exped Youtube video.
My spouse subscribes and he described this garment to me this a.m. He couldn’t remember what it’s called and I made a stab using my creaky French – ‘Is it a cagoule?’ – thinking I knew the term from somewhere. Still don’t know how I knew, but was excited to see that the machine you used is a Husqvarna Viking 6000 series red model. I have one and when the sailor/rower in the family asks for his own cagoule, I’ll have no problem making one. Funnily, I’ve made a voluminous flannel nightgown and also a black muslin Grim Reaper cowl using an almost identical pattern!
Chris – what a treat to see this! I am another who favored a cagoule in the early seventies. Mine was ankle-length, from Holubar Mountaineering in Colorado. A simple drawstring in the bottom hem facilitated shortening to mid-thigh length for hiking, and climbing, although on warm rainy days I often let it hang loosely full length and simply wore nothing underneath. I can’t count the number of alpine bivouacs I made in it – hands down the best multi-function bivy-sac I’ve owned. And it was generously enough fit that I did in fact use it as a bothy once when caught in a summer rainstorm on a wall climb in Zion canyon in ’75. Unfortunately, it was equally effective as a body-bag, and ended its career in the late seventies on a mountain rescue mission turned body retrieval. Your article just may have convinced me to break out the ole sewing machine again. I am mystified that alpinists these days meander along blissfully unaware of such a fabulously functional piece of kit. Feel stupid for not having made another decades ago. Certainly now that modern waterproof/breathables have largely resolved the issue of condensation, it seems a no-brainer. Thanks for the inspiration!
I fell off the stern of a boat in the San Francisco Bay one summer in a cagoule over a pile jacket and it kept me warm until I was fetched out of the sea, then (after getting dry clothes on) it was a windbreaker on the way back to shore, keeping me from hypothermia. The good old ones (unavailable anymore) had waist cords sewn in so you could pull it up & tighten the waist, then let the top flop over so the length was mid thigh +/- if you liked, freeing legs for hiking up & down steep slopes. I’ve often thought I should start a company making them to the high standard they used to be. Anyone want to go into business?
I’m amazed I have to keep telling people how versatile and wonderful they are, useful in so many situations. Most people think they’re maybe just for kayakers, or have never heard of them.
I am writing with thanks for your article on the DIY Cagoule. It was a central inspiration and reference for a cagoule that my friend Daniel W. Fletcher made for my music video.
Daniel is a menswear designer and used your pattern to make the cagoule you can see in the YouTube link below. (I asked him to customize it to be double headed.)
Brilliant article. You’re so right, the ’70s cagoule was a sensible bit of kit for all the reasons you state. You also strike me as a thoroughly practical person who knows what he’s talking about.
I like using my big d.i.y. ponchos for the very same reasons. Instant bothy bags. I tame them with attached belts & snaps, etc., but have often thought about making a cagoule for constantly windy conditions.
Just found your plans, thank you so much.
Now, if only I could buy material again from in Germany. (Can’t cuz of Brexit).
Mark Bonanno, left; the author, right
Nicely done. I have been considering making a new poncho, but I like this much better. The use of staples is so much more convenient than pins. Great project.
I think you’ll find the cagoule is a step above a poncho. I used an army surplus ponchos when I was kid backpacking with my father and recall that they were breezy and in the rain I couldn’t do much with my arms without getting them wet or having the poncho in the way.
Unbelievable, Chris, you never cease to amaze. Not only do you have the imagination to come up with these useful projects, but then you actually take the time to figure out how to do them right and then you apparently keep a journal or map them out well enough so you can actually reproduce them later. Again, all I can say is: unbelievable!
Looks awesome. Whichever model I build, I’ll def have a moon on it!
The crescent moon comes from the private signal that my second great-grandfather, Frederic Cunningham, and his cousin, Charles Dabney, flew over their merchant ships in the mid 1800s. The yellow moon was used to identify ships returning to Boston from the Caribbean, and a white moon on the blue field was flown by ships returning from the Mediterranean.
You might like to try the seam basting tape available from Sailrite. It holds pieces in place for sewing. I can’t imagine sewing a sail without it. I’ve used it for all kinds of projects, including leather. Plus the tape stays in the seam, no removal process.
Like you, I use the Sailrite double-stick basting tape for sewing sails. The other thing I use for holding fabric for sewing is Sulky spray. I use it for small projects like flag sewing. It disappears after a while and leaves no residue.
In the early 70’s I had a North Face cagoule. It was made from GoreTex for breathability. If I recall, it used Velcro strips to shorten the “skirt” look to a waist-long parka. On a fishing trip to Arivaca lake in southern Az., I got caught In a rain shower. No problem, just drop the skirt, find a large rock and sit in my personal “tent.”
Some jerk broke into my truck and stole the radio and the cagoule and I was never able to find another. Thanks for the how-to!
Cheers,
Ray
I’ve had North Face, Sierra Design, Sierra West and L.L. Bean cagoule since the 1970s; good ones are almost impossible to find these days. Also used a green one (similar to the DIY one here. Also wore it to Arivaipa Wilderness Canyon in AZ, and used it as a toboggan, tucking it under me and sliding down a snowy slope in the Cascades from a remote hot spring as it was getting dark, with a bear chasing us. They were indispensable in the 6 years I lived in Seattle & traipsed about all over the Puget Sound. I’ve got a yellow one (ugh, only one I could find online a couple of years ago, but wore in France & was mistaken for the Gilet Jaune demonstrators), & a black one rolled up in my car for emergencies.
An old paint-splattered blue one I wear on plein-air painting trips around N. California. But I’ve never been able to find as perfect a one as the dark green one (I think from L.L. Bean) that I used as an insta-sled that snowy night. It had armpit vents, the perfect-sized kangaroo front pouch, and was just right sized for tucking into (like your article) crouched under a tree in the rain.
A cagoule can indeed make a good toboggan. I used my original one on a climb of Glacier Peak during the descent to make a quick passage over snow fields in penguin fashion.
When I was at mid 20s, I was working at a prepress house 9 AM to 12:30 AM for six, seven days a week. I bought a old faded mariner jacket at midsummer for $3 and it saved my life, I got stuck in snow storm at 2:30 AM and I was middle of highway; the truck and the jacket saved my life. After the night, I learned one person had been frozen and died at the same location. I am still securing minus 42 Celsius degrees sleeping bag, two emergency shelters, and I will add the cagoule above to my collection.
Umut
Istanbul
Do you find that waterproof cagoules have a problem with moisture condensing on their insides — especially when you’ve pulled your head inside?
Also, I wonder if using a seam basting tape would make the subsequent sealing of the seams more difficult?
Mais uma roupa de E.T. Embora esta seja “home made”
[Translation from Portuguese:
Another E.T. outfit. Although this is “home made”
I had one of those old cagoules also and I’m amazed they aren’t being made anymore.
I like the larger size of yours. It is far more functional than a trimmer cut.
Following the clothing cuts in the arctic, with a very loose fit, you should be able to billow heat and moisture out easily.
With a belt of cord, it should tame the potential of taking off in the wind like you’re in a wingsuit.
This article is a great service. Thank you for it.
I’ll be making one.
Fantastic. The cagoule looks like it would be really useful in Australia, both for sailing and also hiking in winter. The plans and description of each step are detailed and easy to understand. I’ll be making one soon. Thanks a zillion, Christopher.
Cool! Though curious about condensation.
Something similar here, but a bit (!) pricier:
Hilltrek Ventile Poncho
You can stick you hands out of the sides of a poncho, but it’s a loose and long opening that doesn’t seal the sides from the weather. When you reach out in rainy weather, you either get your coat sleeves wet or you pull the sides of the poncho over whatever you’re handling. The Hilltrek has a way of joining the left and right sides around in front for a cozy seal, but it’s a tight fit and limits what you can do.
Condensation has never been a problem with my cagoules. There is plenty of open space inside and enough air circulating to keep water from condensing. One layering trick I use is to wear a waterproof/breathable jacket under a waterproof/non-breathable outer layer. If I’m then active enough to create a lot of moisture, it migrates away from me and accumulates between the two outer layers where it’s not a problem.
One of our readers asked about a cagoule that could be purchased. I haven’t been able to find a manufactured version of the cagoule on the web. The closest thing is Exped’s Exped BivyBag Duo UL. It is longer and would need to be hiked up with a belt for walking. The sleeves are shorter and the hood is a tube. The US branch of Exped no longer has the Biybag Duo on its website but the Austrian branch has it on their website. Amazon lists the Bivybag for sale for $129. Neither of these links will lead to good photos of the Bivybag Duo, but you can get a good look at it on an Exped Youtube video.
My spouse subscribes and he described this garment to me this a.m. He couldn’t remember what it’s called and I made a stab using my creaky French – ‘Is it a cagoule?’ – thinking I knew the term from somewhere. Still don’t know how I knew, but was excited to see that the machine you used is a Husqvarna Viking 6000 series red model. I have one and when the sailor/rower in the family asks for his own cagoule, I’ll have no problem making one. Funnily, I’ve made a voluminous flannel nightgown and also a black muslin Grim Reaper cowl using an almost identical pattern!
Chris – what a treat to see this! I am another who favored a cagoule in the early seventies. Mine was ankle-length, from Holubar Mountaineering in Colorado. A simple drawstring in the bottom hem facilitated shortening to mid-thigh length for hiking, and climbing, although on warm rainy days I often let it hang loosely full length and simply wore nothing underneath. I can’t count the number of alpine bivouacs I made in it – hands down the best multi-function bivy-sac I’ve owned. And it was generously enough fit that I did in fact use it as a bothy once when caught in a summer rainstorm on a wall climb in Zion canyon in ’75. Unfortunately, it was equally effective as a body-bag, and ended its career in the late seventies on a mountain rescue mission turned body retrieval. Your article just may have convinced me to break out the ole sewing machine again. I am mystified that alpinists these days meander along blissfully unaware of such a fabulously functional piece of kit. Feel stupid for not having made another decades ago. Certainly now that modern waterproof/breathables have largely resolved the issue of condensation, it seems a no-brainer. Thanks for the inspiration!
I fell off the stern of a boat in the San Francisco Bay one summer in a cagoule over a pile jacket and it kept me warm until I was fetched out of the sea, then (after getting dry clothes on) it was a windbreaker on the way back to shore, keeping me from hypothermia. The good old ones (unavailable anymore) had waist cords sewn in so you could pull it up & tighten the waist, then let the top flop over so the length was mid thigh +/- if you liked, freeing legs for hiking up & down steep slopes. I’ve often thought I should start a company making them to the high standard they used to be. Anyone want to go into business?
I’m amazed I have to keep telling people how versatile and wonderful they are, useful in so many situations. Most people think they’re maybe just for kayakers, or have never heard of them.
Dear Chris,
I am writing with thanks for your article on the DIY Cagoule. It was a central inspiration and reference for a cagoule that my friend Daniel W. Fletcher made for my music video.
Daniel is a menswear designer and used your pattern to make the cagoule you can see in the YouTube link below. (I asked him to customize it to be double headed.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUPpJTWfUsQ
I hope this is a welcome if somewhat unconventional adaptation.
All the very best,
Orlando
Brilliant article. You’re so right, the ’70s cagoule was a sensible bit of kit for all the reasons you state. You also strike me as a thoroughly practical person who knows what he’s talking about.
I like using my big d.i.y. ponchos for the very same reasons. Instant bothy bags. I tame them with attached belts & snaps, etc., but have often thought about making a cagoule for constantly windy conditions.
Just found your plans, thank you so much.
Now, if only I could buy material again from in Germany. (Can’t cuz of Brexit).
Kokatat have their Hydrus storm cag and Hilleberg have their Bivanorak…
Rivendell Mountain Works does make a cagoule.
https://www.rivendellmountainworks.com/shop/heritage-cagoule/
Using your mouse, highlight the page under where it says Description, or Select All. For some reason, they used white text on a white background.
It looks great. But I will probably make my own.