Standard vs Palace?

**steveflinn** · 12-19-2018, 05:19

Getting ready to upgrade my tarp.

Standard Hammock Tarp with doors (8.5 ft wide )
Or
Winter Palace (10.33 ft wide)
?

What do ya think (pics if you got em)?

Thanks in advance

**gbolt** · 12-19-2018, 07:58

Palace for a Thru Hike or section hikes that you can’t “bail” should the wind and precipitation become an issue. Standard if the cost is an issue and if number of nights on Trail don’t / won’t warrant the expense. The Palace does allow less worry with set up and a greater error factor in the wind. I was happy to have the lightweight coverage for my Thru Hike and never suffered negatively after the initial cost. It was my most expensive piece of gear.

**michigandave** · 12-19-2018, 08:25

I've got a standard w/doors and hike with a buddy who had the WP. The amount of coverage is like night and day! But, I've been out on some nasty weather, multi-day hikers with my standard and had no issues. It's all in how you pitch it, plus I always use a UQP for extra protection down below.

I came across this thread in one of the subforums that has some good info:
https://hammockforums.net/forum/show...r-Palace/page2

**SilvrSurfr** · 12-19-2018, 15:48

I started with the standard and found it to be too skimpy on coverage. While some say the Standard coverage is fine if you use site selection and pitch the tarp really low, I did not find that to be the case. The Palace just has a lot more weather coverage without jumping through hoops to try to get the standard to cover you.

**Brooklyn** · 12-19-2018, 16:55

The WP takes up a lot of space in your pack if that matters to you. Personally, I think it's too much. Others are not bothered.

**TrailSlug** · 12-19-2018, 16:55

Originally Posted by SilvrSurfr

I started with the standard and found it to be too skimpy on coverage. While some say the Standard coverage is fine if you use site selection and pitch the tarp really low, I did not find that to be the case. The Palace just has a lot more weather coverage without jumping through hoops to try to get the standard to cover you.

I couldn't have said it better. The standard is narrow and unless you want the tarp in you face go for the Palace.

**ScooterB** · 12-19-2018, 17:17

Bigger is better. I'm a tall guy and like my tarp up very high (don't like ducking under) and I also don't want wind/weather blowing underneath and soaking my UQ so I asked hammock gear to enlarge the winter palace. They did an awesome job. The modifications included: 12' 2" wide, 12' ridge line, 2 ridge line tie outs, 3 panel pullouts on each side instead of 2 (spaced appropriately) and 10 perimeter tie-outs on the bottom edge line (spaced appropriately).

The extra tie-outs were a huge help this fall when I was in Woodland Caribou Provincial Park. See my short video excerpt here:

**Apollo** · 12-19-2018, 17:18

I sort of go with a hybrid approach and use my DCF Standard w/doors for 3 season and the WB Superfly for winter camping, but I also had the SF first. If you were buying just one tarp, the WP seems like a nice, lightweight option for 4 season.