I've made a lot of tarps. I started out making rectangle tarps, then tried out some hex designs, with and without cat cuts. They all have their pros and cons. I'm about to make another tarp. It will be a hex shape with a very mild cat cut, maybe none at all.
My question is, what considerations do others make regarding the shape of a hex tarp? ie how big of a triangle to cut off the corners. I've made them where I wanted all 6 sides equal, but the others I just sort of eye balled what "felt right".
I'm wondering if there are some logical reasons to choose certain sizes or ratios. The first time I made all 6 sides equal length was so I could use the same pattern for the cat cut. It works well, but I think I want a little more coverage. My "go to" tarp for many year has still been one of my early rectangle ones. Mostly because it's the one that has my experimental net walls, but it's spoiled me with great coverage! I like the hex tarps though because they pitch tauter.
So I'd love to hear how others have decided on sizes of their hex designs. My ridge line will be around 12'. Maybe a tiny bit shorter, but I think 11' might be too short. My latest hammock body is 12' long and I usually adjust the structural ridge line a little longer than some folks, ~124-126". With a 12' tarp, that only leaves me ~9-10" covering each end. That's cutting it pretty close if I'm in a bad storm. If I went with an 11' ridge line, that would be reduced to ~3-4". That small amount makes me nervous. Especially since I'll be using this tarp to thru hike the PCT and expect to be rained on everyday for a couple weeks straight in WA. I've used rain gear and other items to affect a crude beak in bad weather situations. I can still do that, but I'll probably still make the tarp with a 12' ridge line.
So given all that, what size would you choose and why?
Thanks in advance for the feedback. I've put a lot of thought into this, but I know others will think of things I haven't.
Bookmarks