Tarp Selection spreadsheet

**Swamp_Stomper** · 08-29-2011, 10:26

After agonizing for months over which tarp to get for my new BlackBird hammock I think I finally found a good fit with the Big Daddy tarp from Wilderness Logic. My reasoning was as follows: Of course a cuben tarp was at the top of my list but having just bought the BlackBird I didn't want to lay out the money right now for cuben. A spinn tarp would have been my next choice but apparently they are having production problems with the material right now. I wanted something with a little extra size due to the frequent horizontal rains we get here in Florida. I have a Hennessy with an Asym tarp and the coverage is not so great in a storm. While the Big Daddy isn't the lightest tarp on the block for the price it can't be beat and when the price of cuben tarps comes down some then I'll look to trade up. Below is a link to the spreadsheet with some accumulated info that I used to make my decision. Hopefully this will help someone in their decision.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/...1PTGc&hl=en_US

**more** · 08-29-2011, 10:50

That's a pretty nice collection of data you've put together. Thanks for sharing.

**olzeke** · 08-29-2011, 11:06

May I ask why you left off the OES Deluxe and the Ultra? Given your need for a larger tarp, I would have thought these 2 were closer to what you were looking for. They are more $ than the Big Daddy, but also have more tie outs, and more scallops in their Cat Cut. I have a predecessor to the Ultra, and have been most pleased with it.

**Swamp_Stomper** · 08-29-2011, 11:48

To be honest I did strongly consider the OES Deluxe and if I was able to get it in SpinnUL I would have jumped on it. I could see from other postings and pictures of their tarps that OES sells a high quality product. Another consideration was lead time. The hiking season starts in another month down here and I just didn't want to take a chance of not having a tarp. So that with the price difference made the big daddy the right path for me. The sil weights of the two were basically the same. The list wasn't suppose to be a complete list of everything that's available. Ok I just added the Deluxe and the Ultra in because I did consider them.

**Nighthauk** · 08-29-2011, 16:55

Originally Posted by Swamp_Stomper

To be honest I did strongly consider the OES Deluxe and if I was able to get it in SpinnUL I would have jumped on it. I could see from other postings and pictures of their tarps that OES sells a high quality product. Another consideration was lead time. The hiking season starts in another month down here and I just didn't want to take a chance of not having a tarp. So that with the price difference made the big daddy the right path for me. The sil weights of the two were basically the same. The list wasn't suppose to be a complete list of everything that's available. Ok I just added the Deluxe and the Ultra in because I did consider them.

I was also curious why you left off the Cat cut cuben fiber tarp from Hammock Gear. That ones seems to be popular?

**Swamp_Stomper** · 08-29-2011, 17:26

I looked at the hammock gear tarp and doors really aren't something I was looking for. It's a nice light Tarp and I'm sure if I was hiking up north the doors would come in handy but down in Florida I find myself pitching my tarp almost flat so I can catch even a slight breeze. I would probably be pinning the doors back most of the time.

**Beast 71** · 08-29-2011, 17:58

Nice spread sheet! Not to long ago the spread sheet would have had to have a section for PU-coated tarps, in order to have such low prices and variety to choose from.