Fire under tarp?

[BanjoPicker]

Canvas... maybe. Synthetic… no way.

[alifeoutdoors]

I think I remember seeing a fire under a tarp in on of Shugs latest videos, I think it was the frozen butt one.

That's actually a parachute.

[Monkeyboy42]

I've been close to a fire with a polyester polyurethane sealed tarp (kelty Noah 12). Polyester is flame resistant, although it still will melt. The polyurethane adds another level of flame resistance.

It was a brutal summer day in Algonquin when I had 8 prehypothermic college kids with me. I put the tarp up, so that we could sit protected while sitting around the fire. Some sparks did land on the tarp, but they just left some ash marks.

I would not recommend putting a fire under the tarp, but a heavier polyester polyurethane tarp near the fire is ok in my experience.

[gregsplett]

I am going to experiment with it some hear in a week or so.My thought is to use a box store poly tarp as a protective Front porch to protect the nylon hammock tarp.Set up the nylon tarp in porch mode and then set up the disposable box store,flat over the front,extending out another four feet from the ridge of the nylon tarp.I am going to rig the sacrificial tarp independent of the hammock tarp so that i can drop the hammock tarp out of porch mode at night.I Made a 2 mill plastic drop cloth tarp,to replace the nylon for the experiment. I Might do a practice pitch today in the rain for practice.This may just become my winter steel head trip set up.I am also going to try to experiment with a Dakota fire to keep the sparks down.We will see, the mission is fishin though. Hoh river steelhead baby!

[alifeoutdoors]

We actually do have a tarp over the fire when canoeing in the Boundary Waters. I would never carry it backpacking but for paddling trips I have an old 1.9? or thicker Cooke Custom Sewing 11 x 10 that is our "fire" tarp. I don't give a crap what happens to it, if a spark flies creating a hole I just patch it. By some miracle, probably because I don't care, I've never had it get a hole. Even when bringing it a little lower for cold, rainy days. I just keep the fire within reason.
tarpOverFire.jpg

[ocnlogan]

I think it really just depends on the size of the fire.

I would never put a "campfire" sized fire under a tarp, at least not at any normal height for a tarp that I'd also want to be sleeping under. However, I'd be totally fine with a tea candle, or even a fire that might fit in some of the smaller emberlit style wood stoves depending on the situation.

And for reference, here are two examples of what I was mentioning before in my previous post about "scout" fires and survival blankets.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/sh...am-shelter-kit



Cheers .

[Valley Scout]

Forgot to mention in the previous post that I do have a small candle lantern that I put a reflector on (made out of a can lid) and do use it with bees wax candles in the shelter. It is not extremely warm but puts out the same btu as a human body. It helps if the wind is cut and the shelter will hold heat.

[buckstopshere]

Anyone ever try a fire hole under a tarp? I've made a few for cooking in the woods and never really noticed much hot ash floating around which I am assuming because it burns so hot inside the hole. It doesn't radiate much heat but I've often wondered if you could pull it off without ruining the tarp and/or is the warmth being generated enough for the effort.