Update 2: Just got the replacement tarp in and this one looks a lot better. The surface seems a bit stronger and no pulled threads or light seepage. Now to seam seal it, add some strength to the tieouts, and hope for the best.
Update 2: Just got the replacement tarp in and this one looks a lot better. The surface seems a bit stronger and no pulled threads or light seepage. Now to seam seal it, add some strength to the tieouts, and hope for the best.
"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."
- Albert Einstein
Well I just read all 56 pages of this (slow day at work) and It just so happens I knowingly ordered a 8.5 X 8.5 tarp a couple of days ago. It has an additional description that the tarp has a 12 foot diagonal measurement. The ad copy still says factory taped seams and something I don't think I've read any one else comment on. A 1000mm coating is 1 meter thick! (or is that a measure of water repellency?)
Today I got a confirmation email and it says a 12 X 12 tarp.
Yes, the "1000mm" is a rating of how waterproof the coating is. Something like it will take the pressure from a 1000mm head of water without leaking. I suggest you take the rating on this particular tarp with the same "grain of salt" as the "factory taped seams".
I'm stubborn, so now I'm undergoing round two of testing. This time I'm hanging the tarp under the tarp ridgeline. Also, instead of using a Dutch-style whoopie hook suspension (with inverted whoopies) and a BIAS hammock, I'm using tree straps, Dutch buckles and whoopies with my HH hammock.
I'm beginning to suspect that my previous problems were related to water coming down the whoopies. Then the moisture spread out on the underside of the tarp. Of course, it was raining cats and dogs when I set everything up, then immediately stopped raining. Then the fog rolled in - I hate fog. There's no tarp in the world that can stop fog - it goes wherever it wants.
The weather report says I should expect plenty of rain to arrive in a couple of hours. Hopefully that will clear the fog. I'm gonna go out and sleep in the hammock and see if I stay dry with the new setup.
How did it turn out?Originally Posted by SilvrSurfr
"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."
- Albert Einstein
We camped in a fog bank once. We could hardly see each other the whole evening and night. The funny thing was we saw some old friends through the cloud. But everything remains moist!
So did the GG tarp hold or leak? My son and I both used ours again but it was so nice that we only put the tarps up to keep the dew off of us. Folks in the tent that left off the flys got damp.
Turns out if you put lipstick on a pig, you still have yourself a pig...
I wanted this tarp to be waterproof-ordered back in March, when they first became available. Put a slight cat cut on the bottom, gave it 2+ rounds of seam sealing, d-ring reinforcements on the tie-outs...and it's still a POS.
Finally had a chance to give it a test in a good backyard rainstorm and the fabric saturated through in places, resulting in water running down the inside. FAIL.
Sending the other two that haven't been modified back. It was a great learning experience in regards to sewing tarps, and this will probably be the last rain until October here in California, so it will make a nice sunshade.
It's too bad these tarps are such crap this year- I liked the size after cutting it down and it wasn't too heavy or hefty...
I guess I am just a sucker for a pig in lipstick-
I keep experimenting with this tarp because many people have said they've had the tarp in torrential downpours and it hasn't leaked. It must be me, right? However, I'm beginning to think that people have different definitions of "torrential downpour." Where I live in NJ, the ocean is a block away on one side and there's a river behind me. We just don't get straight down rain - there is almost always wind - a minimum of 20 mph gusts. There is no way to set a tarp up in my backyard so you take the wind broadside - it comes from all directions and shifts constantly. The miserable conditions in my back yard are what made me start experimenting with GrizzBeaks and ultimately wanting a tarp with doors.
As a testing ground, my back yard is quite possibly the worst possible place to test a tarp. Out on the trail, I have never ever seen conditions that even came close to being as bad as my back yard. So take what I say with a grain of salt. I'm putting this tarp through the worst possible conditions and you may never see the likes of my back yard.
I've tested this tarp extensively. The tighter the pitch, the better it performs. And it seems to pitch tighter if you don't do "door mode." However, the ability to have doors is why I bought the tarp so I don't use that configuration much. Moderate rains, moderate wind - the tarp does fine. Even heavy rain for short duration does fine. However, torrential downpour with wind causing the tarp to flex and rub, its performance is dismal.The wind causes the ridgeline to rub against the fabric and it leaks. With tarp under the ridgeline, it really leaks for me - I just can't get a tight enough pitch.
Based on the positive reviews of this tarp that I've read, I again go back to "maybe I'm the problem" and maybe I don't know how to pitch a tarp, or perhaps the issue is not leakage but condensation 'cause I'm a heavy breather or hot sleeper. In my own mind, however, I've ruled that out entirely. I have four other tarps that don't leak, that have survived the SilvrSurfr back yard test (well, except the driving, blowing rain), and while sometimes I get a little condensation, the condensation does not result in an indoor shower every time the wind pops the tarp.
I won't be using this tarp for anything other than backyard or car camping - and I'll be sure to bring a backup tarp. There is no way I would take my family or friends camping and give them this tarp. It would turn them off hammock camping and hiking forever.
With that said, the leakage isn't that severe - usually the water just drips down the inside and down to the edge of the tarp. However, if the wind pops the tarp, I get a little shower inside as the droplets are flung to and fro. In moderate weather with a synthetic sleeping bag or top quilt, I could probably deal with it, but I wouldn't ask anyone else (my family) to put up with it.
All I can say is that my son and I pitched our tarps in diamond configuration. As I said on taht first trial, "It rained quite steadily all afternoon and through the night. Sometimes it was very heavy. The wind also was very gusty. I sealed every seem on my tarp with seam sealer. Both sides were sealed.
I will state that my tarp was pulled tight. I have a continuous loop on each end of the tarp which is hooked to a size-0 s-biner on one end and another loop on the other which is prussik hitched to the ridge line. I may simplify that setup but it has worked well.
The rain we experienced was steady as stated above and we were in an open area. The camping area near the shelter did not have a large canopy to protect it. It was raining hard enough to put out our stoves several times.
I'm guessing that the cheap Chinese fabric these tarps are made out of has had such a minimal, inconsistent job of applying the PU "waterproofing" done, that some tarps simply have areas that are not waterproof.
While the Chinese are capable of producing first rate products, if you provide minimal specifications, ask for bottom dollar and don't self-perform quality control, this is what you get.
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