Page 3 of 5 FirstFirst 12345 LastLast
Results 21 to 30 of 43
  1. #21
    Peter_pan's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    virginia
    Hammock
    JRB BMBH
    Tarp
    JRB 11x10 Cat Tarp
    Insulation
    JRB UQ of season
    Posts
    2,850
    Images
    7
    Quote Originally Posted by riverkeeper View Post
    Most of us over 40 have learned that '' For every problem there is A solution which is nice, neat, easy, plausible and WRONG."

    The PROBLEM is wind with rain, sprinkle or heavy fog which can readily dampen the spirit and more.

    I am ready to buy a SWT or JRB (I like the door thing) but a comment on the forum by someone who experienced the PROBLEM revealed a winter tarp might not be the real Full Meal Deal. The wet got in cuz the ''doors'' couldn't be closed well enough.

    There are of course some limitations where site selection and/or orientation can mitigate the damage.

    I realize most of us (I suspect) do not consciously head out into the maw of a substantial storm to test ourselves and gear.


    Any other real life EXPERIENCES by members with a winter tarp....good or bad .... in really bad weather ?

    I like things simple and prefer not to gear up with lots of hammock accouterment: storm shelters, end caps, hammock bivies, bottom shields and attendant fuss to get a great night's sleep. I hoped a WT possibly with one other light piece of hammock gear will do the job.
    Riverkeeper, et al,

    HC4U has a pretty good take on the few differences between the two tarps... As he notes, either could be modified to approximate the other with the addition of 2 or 4 tabs.....But without mod there are subtle differences and as Ed is fond of saying, "It is nice when customers have choices"... A point in which JRB and I agree.

    FTR the JRB 11x10 was not concieived as Winter tarp.... Far more general purpose... The details of how it came about and how it fits with the full JRB hammock tent program are in another thread.

    The only point I wish to make is that your comment that "someone said" end closure etc. is a bogus comment/reason not to consider.... either.

    First, if you make the walls steeper and use an extra peg to overlap the ends either can be pretty well closed up on the ends.

    But second, Single wall tents suffer badly from condensation when they are closed up or inadequately vented.... Winter condensation is a problem to be avoided.... Hence the door opening ovals serve a very important function, by design.

    Pan
    Ounces to Grams.

    www.jacksrbetter.com ... Largest supplier of camping quilts and under quilts...Home of the Original Nest Under Quilt, and Bear Mountain Bridge Hammock. 800 595 0413

  2. #22
    Senior Member FreeTheWeasel's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    Portland, OR
    Hammock
    Hennessy Hyperlight
    Tarp
    Hennessy Poly Hex
    Insulation
    DIY and JRB quilts
    Suspension
    Whoopie slings
    Posts
    188
    Images
    45
    Quote Originally Posted by warbonnetguy View Post
    hey guys, i just sent my superfly to a manufactuer to look at this week. should arrive there on monday then maybe i'll have some kind of time frame for production if all goes well. i had a good pic, but my fiancee erased the pics off the dig. camera.

    ---


    sorry i don't have a pic. hopefully it won't be too long before i have some for sale.
    Greetings,

    I just posted a message about my making a superfly tent based on your design but I just saw in this thread that you are looking to sell them. If so, please expect that I will be one of your first customers. There is no way I could make one so well or cost effectively.

    FreeTheWeasel

  3. #23
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Wichita, Ks
    Posts
    656
    Images
    14
    Quote Originally Posted by Peter_pan View Post
    But second, Single wall tents suffer badly from condensation when they are closed up or inadequately vented....
    My single-wall Black Diamond Lighthouse made of Epic didn't have condensation problems almost every friggin' day of a three week trip in Colorado...oh wait, yeah it did! It was like waking up in a straight jacket every morning trying to avoid touching the walls! However, in retrospect, I could have probably (in some cases) found a better campsite for us. I am sure with more experience, I will be able to avoid such issues.

    I am interested in the comment about using heavier materials in four-season applications. Perhaps including a provision for a couple of poles in your tarp design could make a three-season tarp convertable to a true four-season.

  4. #24
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    fort collins, co
    Posts
    4,648
    Images
    47
    heavier fabric is not the answer, something with less stretch would be. cuben comes to mind, but i don't see anyone making a production cuben winter tarp. silicon coated polyester would be the obvious choice, i've looked a little, but mainly only found the spinntex and it is pretty pricey as well.

    as for condensation, i've often had it bad on a regular tarp, no ends at all, if the conditions are right for condensation, partially open ends won't solve the problem. the thing is, when you really need full closure is in moderate wind. in a situation like that, a fully closed tarptent should vent itself, there has to at least be an opening at the top for the ropes to exit, and remember, it has no floor, if it's windy, there will be airflow underneath. if it's calm, you don't need to setup in tarptent mode anyway. if a tarptent has full closure capabilities, you still have the option to open the ends partway to vent in order to limit the condensation, but you also have the option to fully close if it's really windy or stormy. i would say circumstances where full closure would be best are not uncommon.

  5. #25
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Wichita, Ks
    Posts
    656
    Images
    14
    Do you think adding poles to the tarp to make it more like a tent would add enough strengh to the structure to justify the weight? Or can you pitch a tarp without poles in a manner that would make it...as they say, "bombproof?"

    As a side note, I read the thread about your tarptent...I was literally salivating! It just looks so good, man. Congrats!

  6. #26
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    fort collins, co
    Posts
    4,648
    Images
    47
    i don't think poles would do enough to justify the weight, although you could easily rig a single pole under a tarptent with almost no modification, maybe just a small loop on the center of each edge and one on the underside of the ridgeline to keep it from falling over, you wouldn't really need a sleeve or anything, just something to hold it still. might be worth trying, i don't know if i would want to carry a 10 foot tent pole around on a hike though.

    as far as my tarp goes, i feel the tieouts are plenty strong, and wind damage for the most part is no longer a concern. the panel pull outs keep the tarp away from the hammock in wind even when it has stretched and loosened due to moisture. as far as snow and ice goes, i don't have too much experience with that, i did have it set up in the backyard for a few days when we had 6" or more of snow, it mainly collected at the bottom of the sides, pushing the bottom edge in, which doesn't seem like too big a problem, i was able to push from the inside to remove it although it was quite heavy. when you say bombproof to what are you referring? seems like wind would be the biggest threat to a big tarp although i guess an ice storm might not be too friendly either. the regular snow didn't seem like it was too big of a deal. not sure it would hold up to the tornados from your neck of the woods (or lack therof) though.
    Last edited by warbonnetguy; 04-12-2008 at 00:19.

  7. #27
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Wichita, Ks
    Posts
    656
    Images
    14
    Quote Originally Posted by warbonnetguy View Post
    i don't think poles would do enough to justify the weight.
    as far as my tarp goes, i feel the tieouts are plenty strong, and wind damage for the most part is no longer a concern. the panel pull outs keep the tarp away from the hammock in wind even when it has stretched and loosened due to moisture. as far as snow and ice goes, i don't have too much experience with that, i did have it set up in the backyard for a few days when we had 6" or more of snow, it mainly collected at the bottom of the sides, pushing the bottom edge in, which doesn't seem like too big a problem, i was able to push from the inside to remove it although it was quite heavy. when you say bombproof to what are you referring? seems like wind would be the biggest threat to a big tarp although i guess an ice storm might not be too friendly either. the regular snow didn't seem like it was too big of a deal. not sure it would hold up to the tornados from your neck of the woods (or lack therof) though.

    I don't use the term "bombproof;" I think it is silly. But I think the marketeers are referring to the ability to stand up to essentially any weather condition you are likely to throw at it. I wouldn't think hurricane or tornado, but I am sure some of them could convince a salesman that it is true!

    However, my friend does have one of these shelters...very nice: http://www.mountainhardwear.com/Prod...&viewAll=False As you can see, the tent has 6 pole crossings. I think I have heard that more pole crossings add structural strength. I do know that they use domes in high altitude mountaineering which have many pole crossings...

    I am totally inexperienced with tarps, so I am not sure what they are capable of yet. Perhaps a more taught fabric, as you said would provide rigidity-compensating for the lack of poles? I am interested to find out!

  8. #28
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    fort collins, co
    Posts
    4,648
    Images
    47
    yes, more poles would give more support and would put less load on the seams of the tarp (where it would fail) 2 poles crossing might give a decent amount more strength, but you're starting to add alot of weight when you talk about multiple poles. these tarp tents are larger than most ground shelters so you are looking at much longer poles as well. i have added a smaller amount of weight and done away with traditional corner pull tabs and use a design that spreads out the wind load to more stitches, resulting in what i feel is a tarp that can handle higher wind loads. how much, who knows. i did have it out in some pretty strong wind a few times and it didn't seem like the corner stitches were overly stressed even during gusts. i don't know if i would set it up on top of mount washington, but i feel pretty confident in good wind. only lots of testing will tell just how much it can take, but i feel confident with the few wind tests i've done.

    other options are to avoid open areas, camping deep within the forest will lessen the wind. avoid the tops of hills. people also have luck with setting up on the other side of the hill, so the hill itself blocks some of the wind. site selection can definately help, but you can't completely avoid heavy wind if you are out in stormy weather, just try to hide from the wind if possible.

  9. #29
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    Olympic Penninsula, WA
    Hammock
    HHBP or Expr summer, diyMutts other
    Tarp
    HH Explr or HH Hex
    Insulation
    IXUQ+NeoAr
    Suspension
    Rings+Static line
    Posts
    283
    Thanks for the thoughtful replies....esp from those with real experience and design insight.

    Like Pan and the guy a few pages back said these are not really 'winter' tarps for heavy snow and wind loads ... that would be an entirely different critter. My old pet Mega Mid is the only tarpish hardcore winter creation I've used ... excellent only if you know how to use it and that is not necessarily intuitive.

    I planned to order one of these 'winter' macro tarps earlier this week. As I contemplated the concept ... determined more knowledge was important.

    We're headed out with friends for 4 days late next week in what now appears to be some wetness. The HH Hex will do the job and the HH Ex fly is on the Bpr body or a short Speer-type....spousette may go with a single tent and mooch the tarp as usual.

    Even tho the IRS is getting a smaller paycheck that originally thought .... gonna wait a bit.
    "There's no accounting for other people's taste in love, fiction and huntin' dogs." ---Mark Twain

  10. #30
    Senior Member nickelanddime's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    Raleigh,NC
    Hammock
    DIY parallelogram/speer
    Tarp
    guidegear camo 12'
    Insulation
    garlington style
    Suspension
    webbing
    Posts
    213
    Images
    18
    Warbonnetguy - that's a pretty sweet tarp, I hope the manufacturer comes back with a good price...
    "nickels and dimes, yours and mine, did you cash in on your dreams? You don't dream for me no" Third Eye Blind

  • + New Posts
  • Page 3 of 5 FirstFirst 12345 LastLast

    Similar Threads

    1. DIY Gear Supply Is The Real Deal
      By Wood in forum Do-It-Yourself (DIY)
      Replies: 8
      Last Post: 03-26-2013, 16:54
    2. Finally found the real deal
      By Bearcat in forum General Hammock Talk
      Replies: 9
      Last Post: 09-07-2011, 18:53
    3. A real deal on toggles
      By SmokeBait in forum Whoopie Slings
      Replies: 84
      Last Post: 02-07-2011, 21:06
    4. real deal, hh or wbbb,
      By fred1diver in forum General Hammock Talk
      Replies: 5
      Last Post: 03-28-2010, 09:00

    Bookmarks

    Posting Permissions

    • You may not post new threads
    • You may not post replies
    • You may not post attachments
    • You may not edit your posts
    •