Tarp ends in rain

[Peter_pan]

After several hundred rainy nights under tarps between the JRB 8x8 and more cavernous large tarps I can say I've never been wet or had blow in problems...It really is mostly site protection/selection and proper pitch for conditions.

I find it curious that the ground world, long a tent encased community, is migrating more and more to more open and lighter tarp tents and tarps....While hammockers are currently migrating the opposite to more enclosed tarps, additive end covers and even tents....Oh well... cycles are ever changing.

Pan.

[Meteor]

I find it curious that the ground world, long a tent encased community, is migrating more and more to more open and lighter tarp tents and tarps....While hammockers are currently migrating the opposite to more enclosed tarps, additive end covers and even tents....Oh well... cycles are ever changing.

I've noticed the same. Not that it's a bad thing, it's just interesting to see the trend in smaller, bottomless tarp tents and the trend in larger, door-enclosed tarps for hangers.

[angrysparrow]

After several hundred rainy nights under tarps between the JRB 8x8 and more cavernous large tarps I can say I've never been wet or had blow in problems...It really is mostly site protection/selection and proper pitch for conditions.

Same here.

I do like the enclosed tarps for true winter conditions. I have one for that purpose. But for 3 season use, I'll choose a smaller and more open tarp every time. I prefer carrying my wits instead of carrying doors.

[Barefoot Child]

bdonohue,
it seems that we have become convinced that in order to stay dry that we must be all encased in a closed tent. The equipment manufactureres have given the people what they wanted....good, closed tenting systems.
It may take some convincing but an open tarp that is smaller than you think is in fact enough to keep you dry even in a blowing all-day soaking rain storm. Think about all of the survival people telling us that a poncho is enough to provide shelter from the cold and rain. You can even get by with just a large garbage bag.
It takes some getting use to, but you don't need an enclosed system to stay dry, and you can see more of nature besides. Instead of closing one's self off from your surroundings you now can do what you originally wanted, and that was to enjoy the outdoors! HYOH/YMMV

Happy trails,
Barefoot Child

[Trout]

My DIY tarp kept me completely dry. I have a large tarp with doors, but the hammock is the length of the tarp and it did fine - I'm cutting it down several inches to solve the length issue.

[pizza]

I'm one of those that likes having doors all the time now. I had a few times where I did have some wind blown rain come in the ends of my MacCat Deluxe tarp last year. Not bad but enough to be a bit annoying. Pitch selection can eliminate rain from coming in the ends in many cases but winds can and do change and sometimes there are swirling winds to deal with too. I had doors added to my MacCat at 2Q & ZQ which are awesome. I also have a Superfly and I pretty much always use the removeable doors even if I don't need them. I kinda wish those were sewn on now since I've yet to pitch it without them. Just my preference I guess. The little bit of extra weight doesn't bother me since I'm not a gram weenie.

[Just Jeff]

You don't need doors if your tarp is big enough...and "big enough to keep you dry" may be drastically different from "big enough to make you think you're gonna stay dry."

I've got lots of rainy nights under the stock HH fly (tiny), the JRB 8x8 (only now considered minimalist, based on the cycle Pan talked about above) and the MacCat Standard (which is almost exactly the same effective coverage as the JRB 8x8). Windblown rain could be a problem with the stock HH fly if you don't have good site selection. I don't think windblown rain has every really been an issue for me in the MacCat or JRB 8x8, although I have zipped my rain jacket around the foot end of the hammock a few times b/c I didn't want to re-orient my tarp.

I've gotten some ground splash using the MacCat in really heavy rains...where it runs off the tarp, hits the ground, and splashes back up on to the hammock. Doors wouldn't help that, but a wider tarp would. It was never bad enough to make me get out of the hammock and adjust the pitch, though...that's why quilts are made from DWR.

I resist the trend to go towards larger tarps. I'm happy with the size of the JRB 8x8 and MacCat Standard for nearly all of my trips. In no-kidding-winter, it's nice to have a larger tarp to cut the wind, but certainly not necessary. That said, my next major purchase will likely be a Spinn MacCat Deluxe with sewn-on sil doors for winter trips (or a similar offering from another maker like Warbonnet). Not b/c it's needed, but b/c it's easier to get comfortable with the Colorado winter winds blowing dry snow around.

But for most trips, I enjoy the views of a smaller tarp. I go into the woods to be in the woods, not to be sequestered away in a nylon prison. In fact, I avoid hanging my tarp at all whenever I can get away with it.

[DavidWa]

I hammock camped this past Monday night and it was the first time I've been out when it rained. Well actually I've been out once before when it rained, sprinkled actually, but Monday night it was on/off storms. I was quit happy to find that I stayed completely dry during the thunder storms which came at various times during the night.

I was sleeping in a WBBB, with SWT, hanging at the edge of the woods next to an open field. I was close to being long ways to the wind, not perpendicular. But my set up was a little different than normal. I normally have a ridge line over top the tarp, connected to Klemheist hitchs to permit lengthwise adjustment. But in this case the two trees I found were to close together for use of the ridge-line. I had to tie the tarp ends directly to the trees with just enough distance between the two to pull the tarp tight.

I suppose the upwind tree did a good job of keeping rain from blowing in through the open end of the tarp. The SWT was plenty wide to keep rain from blowing in from the sides as during the storms the wind direction would sometimes change direction from the usual west wind.

I carry a rain wrap with the idea that should I ever have a problem with rain blowing in from the open end of the tarp that I could clip it to the tarp edge to enclose the end a bit and stop blowing in rain should it occur. But on my one outing in a storm I had no need to try this and find out how effective or ineffective it would be.

D

[Mountain Gout]

Very interesting thread.. Especially for a newbie like me.. I was thinking
on the terms of heat retention for the closed end setup.. How much of a difference does it really make?

[Just Jeff]

It makes a pretty good difference in blocking the wind, especially if you can't find a good spot where you're broadside to the wind or if the wind shifts during the night. That really helps keep the heat in the winter.