Guide Gear Tarps...New stock. Anybody tried them?

I know that this has been covered in many other threads, but since Sportsman's Guide has new stock lately, I was wondering if anybody had tried them lately. I KNOW that there have been issues with quality issues and some people have good ones. I figure that this was a QQ issue that may or may not have been rectified.

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/cb.aspx?a=1141062

They have 8.5x and 11x styles in stock.

MY REASON FOR ASKING IS VERY IMPORTANT:

We are in the process of starting a "Hammock Camping 101" Class at DeSoto State Park and Little River Canyon National Preserve, and we are having major funding issues for obvious reasons. I want to get this started immediately and this low price point would help tremendously, but I do not want to sacrifice the safety of the kids over a tarp that is not waterproof....even though we will most likely not camp in the rain.

I REALLY appreciate the help and info if anybody has tried one lately.

i seen a GG tarp survive 7+ inches of rain in a 4 hours span on top of a mountain ...
it was the most rain i ever seen is such a short time... there were a few other forum members there that can vouch for this ;)
it didn't leak once and it was not seam sealed the GG Tarp is a very solid tarp so yes buy one ;)

Thanks! My main fear was the MIXED reviews. It seems like there were several bad batches that leaked and had quality issues, along with some awesome ones that had no issues. They have been out of stock for a while, so I figured that this was a "new batch". I wondered if it was a good batch or a bad batch this time. I was planning on buying 10ish, so I want a good batch. :D

The GG tarp was what I started out with. I only used it in the rain a couple of times with no leaks. I use it as my winter tarp now. I have the old 12x12 version from 2011.

OK, I went ahead and pulled the trigger and got one of each, to hopefully donate to the cause when the time comes. I will try to find time to do a review when I can. I am so excited about getting to teach folks about hammock camping!

If I recall, it was last spring's batch that had lemons. Mismeasured, not seam sealed, poor coating that made the fabric eventually leak. Generally poor quality from their manufacturer on many of the tarps. Make sure to measure and inspect whatever you receive this time around.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by halfastronomical

OK, I went ahead and pulled the trigger and got one of each, to hopefully donate to the cause when the time comes. I will try to find time to do a review when I can. I am so excited about getting to teach folks about hammock camping!

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That is the best part. You get to change someone's life forever. Does not matter what you teach if one person learns than it was well worth it. Look forward to your review. If they are not half bad I may order one to keep in my loner pile for friends and family

I will! I will try to do it as fast as I am able and post the results ASAP. It is about the cheapest tarp available, so I am not expecting perfection. I have 5 gallons of nikwax, so I can make it work if I have to!!!

I have one of the older GG tarps and love it.
Your are right there were issues with size and quality with last years batch.
Please report back on size and quality for this year.

For your class you may want to also look at the chinook.
I have one of those too. Similar in cost, weight, size etc.

I like the GG a little more bc I have decided I like the square better than the rectangle. The GG walls will almost reach the ground w ridge line at 6'. The chinook is about a foot longer but the side walls do not come down as far.

I have one of the older GG Tarps and have not had any issues with it other than it is on the heavy size and bulky so I only use for car camping.

Like the others, waiting to hear what you find out.