Hey guys,

Newbie to hammock'ing and just tried my first night with one! It was pretty comfortable, but it was different but so far I'm loving it.

I was using the grand trunk ultralight hammock, some cheap sleeping bag, whoopie slings, and a wallie world "blue tarp." It was an 8' by 10', and I found that it would give some pretty good protection if it did end up raining.

However the **** thing is heavy as hell. With ridglines and tie outs it's a 2lbs 5oz!

So I'm looking for a lightweight alternative. I only really camp in the spring-fall. Mainly the high sierras in California. (which is my "grail" trip that i try to do every year.)

So I like both of the tarps mentioned. The only thing they need to keep out is rain, basically. I've gone through several threads looking for info about these two tarps. (I keep seeing this "cannibal" feller come up. He sure likes his small tarps ) I am leaning more towards the Asym-Diamond, just because it only needs two stakes, and will be light/small. However I don't know if it would give adequate rain protection. All the pictures I see make it seem like if there was any sideways wind, it would kick the rain into your hammock.

I also like maccat, as they seem to be a pretty great company that pays alot of attention to detail.

Can anybody help me out?


Thanks,
-Richard.