Square vs. Diamond Tarps

[S3ymour]

Okay, so I recently rec'vd my Skeeter beeter Pro and my funky forest tarp as a father's day gift from the in-laws. Really happy with it, but I was curious as to what the benefit of the diamond shaped tarp is as opposed to a square tarp. I can potentially see that coverage to weight you are getting more for less, but at the same time it leaves your ends pretty open to heavy rains, etc. Do majority prefer the diamond shape or do you switch to square shaped?? I guess this could also bring up the benefit to cat cut tarps as well?? just looking for suggestions and advice, as I may decide to make a second tarp to try out. Thanks!

[headchange4u]

Diamond shaped tarps are just square tarps turned on the diagonal Are you talking about rectangular tarps vs. square tarps pitched on the diagonal?

[S3ymour]

Understanding that most diamond shaped tarps are square pitched on an angle, however, on travel hammocks funky forest tarp, they did not place tie out lines on the center marks of the square so the only way to pitch it is on the diagonal...does that make sense?? Anyways, I would think that the rectangular shape pitching would allow for more coverage being able to effectively build a shelter around the hammock closing off the ends as needed. As an inexperienced hanger, I'm not sure if there is that much difference between the two styles as from browsing the photo gallery I see about half pitched one way and half the other??

[Ramblinrev]

I don't see the advantage to a rectangular tarp on the diagonal after messing withthe ATHH in tarp mode. Am I missing something?

[headchange4u]

You can sometimes get issues with the tarp not getting good tension on the sides when you are using a square tarp pitched on the diagonal, using only 2 tie out points on the bottom.

[S3ymour]

This is the feed back I am looking for thanks guys.

[Peter_pan]

Hold it folks.... not all diamonds are square.... Claytor for example is a diamond.... Diamonds have longer ridges but narrower end coverages.

Pan

[cavscout]

I chewed on this same question before opting for this Equinox 10'x10' tarp $40



Mainly because of the size, price and tie out options (in that order).

Others I considered were the 13'x10' Big Rain Fly from Mosquitohammock $55


and

this other one from Campmor $38.99


I can see where a diamond shape would be good for a lot of ventilation and the open feel, but I could not justify the potential for blowing rain to find it's way in under the edge. Admittedly there could be other benefits to diamond tarps that I'm not aware of yet, so to keep my options open, I made the choice to go with a square tarp.

The size of that square was selected to maximize coverage without getting too large for packing and setting up in some spaces. I would have loved the 12'x12' for peace of mind, but at $20 more and having to buy 2 to outfit my oldest son also I chose to drop down to the 10'x10' as this would still allow me to close off the gable ends for more coverage and privacy.

The final criteria of the multiple tie out options was simply to allow me more configuration options and the ability to pull the sides out for more space.

All the other tarps on the market I saw were quite a bit more $$ for all the options I'm getting with this tarp.

[fin]

Who makes that 10 x 10 you bought?

[Preacha Man]

I have made both a diamond tarp and rectangular cat tarps, I have even made a diamond cat tarp. To me, I like the extra coverage that a rectangular tarp brings, but there are numerous others who like the diamonds. I have used my Claytor Diamond tarp (JH Tarp) in a moderate rain, and it kept me plenty dry, but I was worried all night. I have used my 10X12 Cathedral Cat tarp in a torrential down pour, and was snoring away perfectly dry. The Diamond tarps are easier to set up though only having 2 tie out points, my cathedral cat tarp has 8 tie outs, and they can be a pain some times. I can always close in the ends of my rectangular tarps to keep me fully dry. It really just comes down with what you like and can live with.

Dwight