Torn tarp during rain storm?

I'm trying to run through various scenarios in my head to see if I'm safe and can handle different emergency situations.

One I realized might be trouble is if I were in a harsh rain storm, and a branch fell and pierced my tarp.

How would I repair it?

My duct tape wouldn't seal with the water present. The water might also be enough to get my bag wet.

I if it were small enough I guess I could take my rain jacket and tape it to the inside of the tarp but what if the tarp wear ripping or the whole was too large.

Anyone thought about this scenario?

First... relax. You can "what if" yourself too much.

A quick fix could be using a rain jacket or poncho to cover the area from the outside, as you'll need to cover over the hole, until the situation allows you to make better repairs.

If this isn't possible, you could go to rigging something underneath as a means to divert the water flow away from you. If you used a CRL for your tarp your ridgeline will be of great value here, depending on if it's under or over the tarp. If not, a quickly tied line, say from your bear bag, would work.

There are small "repair kits" available for tarp materials - could carry one for patching small tears. Just get the right kit for your tarp's materials (cuben, silnylon, etc.). Or you could make your own kit and carry that. For large tears your rain gear or your tyvek "floor mat" may suffice temporarily.

Also, tenacious tape has replaced duct tape in my gear. It can even be used as a fire starter (butane-based glue).

I carry some Tear-Aid...

Gather the fabric around the hole and tie a cord around it, much like a gathered end hammock. Not pretty, but it would help until the tarp was dry enough to tape.

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Originally Posted by Detail Man

Gather the fabric around the hole and tie a cord around it, much like a gathered end hammock. Not pretty, but it would help until the tarp was dry enough to tape.

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This is the method we used on equipment tarps around the farm. I've never applied it on a lightweight camping camping tarp but I'm sure it should work fine.

I think it would depend on the size of the tear and where on the tarp it was located... but you could use the small sewing kit you have with you to repair it.

Yes. First consider your tarps material. If its silnylon, carry seam grip and some silnet with a little sil patch. If its cuben fiber, carry some repair tape. I know all of Hammock Gears cuben tarps now come standard with some repair tape.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Detail Man

Gather the fabric around the hole and tie a cord around it, much like a gathered end hammock. Not pretty, but it would help until the tarp was dry enough to tape.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by LandoCommando

This is the method we used on equipment tarps around the farm. I've never applied it on a lightweight camping camping tarp but I'm sure it should work fine.

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Excellent suggestion! That would have helped a buddy of mine who had a branch through his tarp in a snow storm. But I have another bud whose ridge line seam tape sprung a leak during an all night rain. All I can think to do for that is drape your rain gear over the hammock RL, if you have a RL. It might be a little trickier if you don't.