McCat design history

[DemostiX]

I gather from old threads in other forums that Brian was an important proponent and developer of tarps of the kind he makes.

Will someone tell about the development of the edges of the McCat tarps? They look cool, but come with some fabrication cost and weight penalty, but not so great as for the hems to be plain.

[pulsemod]

Yes, do tell. I don't know how utilitarian these tarps really are. Though, from an aesthetic design perspective, their geometry is very elegant and eye catching.

[ExPXGUY]

Some leads....

First time i saw a hex tarp with grossgrain edges was was in Blackbishop351's instructions which are archived here:

http://teamgunnparker.com/downloads.php?cat_id=1

I think they got deleted from the forum at some point. Most people seemed to use grossgrain as edges back then. I am not sure when Brian started making his tarps...before or after the article was published.

[exup]

I think the grosgrain adds strength and takes some of the strain off of the nylon. Brian just builds bomb proof tarps.

[angrysparrow]

I think they got deleted from the forum at some point.

No, it's still here.

The BlackCat is a DIY copy of the MacCat design, though, rather than the original. That tutorial was published after HF started...but Brian was making tarps well before.

[DemostiX]

I think the grosgrain adds strength and takes some of the strain off of the nylon. Brian just builds bomb proof tarps.

Is the first a hunch, from analysis, or a recollection that that is the engineering issue addressed back then* -- that nylon edges stretch and flutter and a no-stretch polyester hem controlls that. Or something along those lines?

*I gathered that someone by a trail name who was part of a discussion, subject not on this aspect of the design, was Brain.

[pulsemod]

I think the grosgrain adds strength and takes some of the strain off of the nylon.

Does it?

One thought... If silnylon stretches more than polyester, that means the silnylon's stretch would outpace the polyseter edging's stretch over time, thus causing slack in the silnylon. When joining materials, if properties vary widely, issues occur at the joins.

Tarps tend to be handled more at the edges? Yes? No? The only benefit I can think of edging a tarp is sudden yank/pull protection. If the goal is to spread out the force of tensioning through the edging, then edging makes sense. But that doesn't explain the lack of a ridge edge.

I'm thinking it's mostly aesthetic. This tarp has a definite cool factor other minimalist tarps lack. It has a lot to do with the color contrast of that edging.

To be clear, is that edging material polyester? It does appear thicker than nylon. I've found some close up shots, but not close enough to tell for sure.

[ExPXGUY]

AS- I stand corrected. Thanks