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As much as my gut instinct is screaming that cloaks are a bad idea for hiking, that they'd get damp and muddy at the bottom almost instantly, that they'd be heavy when dry and much heavier when wet, that they'd get snagged on pretty much every plant you hike past... there are other non-conventional types of gear that have seen an underground surge in popularity in the backpacking community in recent years, like down quilts and hiking kilts. Cloaks could be the next big thing. Let's look at this objectively.
First, I don't think that people who use wool blankets for camping are serious backpackers because wool cloth is incredibly heavy, thin, wind-permeable, and bulky compared to down or even synthetic sleeping bags. It's not as warm for the weight as virtually all the other options on the market, and I think any serious backpacker will consider these factors first. I want to look at cloaks from the perspective of this kind of backpacker.
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