well as the title says, i'm buying a tarp. i'm just not sure what to get. what kind of material to look for, shape, size etc. it's for my GT UL which is right around 9.5 ft long. weight isn't an issue, but i would like it to be able to pack down some. i'm sorry if this has been brought up before.
there are a bunch of good tarps to choose from.
i own a great little Tadpole and a great big Oldman Winter.
(imho) you can't beat any of these, check'em out.
Silnylon for weight and packability. Those Guide gear 12X12's are a great starter tarp if you can get ahold of one. I don't think they are Silnylon but still pretty nice.
"He who makes a beast of himself, gets rid of the pain of being a man." Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
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You really can't go wrong with any of them. Some are lighter, some are larger, some are cheap and others are more costly.
The cat cut hex tarps are a good balance between weight and good coverage. I prefer a more shallow cat cut vs a deep cat cut. I've made about every shape, doors, no doors, diamond asym and almost always just grab the hex. Sometimes if if there are several folks going, I'll take along " big blue" in addition to my hammock tarp. Big blue is 11x12 rectangular (and my first diy tarp) and I'll use it to set up as a group area for eating, sun shade, wind preventer or whatever.
Mild and clear weather expected, I may carry my diamond asym. Although the smallest, it has proven itself more than the others. It withstood a terrible thunderstorm with buckets of rain and 30-40 kt winds and I stayed dry.
There are plenty of people using a blue wallyworld tarp. Although, not the "coolest," they keep you dry too. Gearguide or preferably a cottage manufacturer here should have no trouble selling if you want to upgrade later.
Go with one of the cottage industry guys on this site: you won't be dissappointed. I prefer a large tarp, and love the versatility of the Jacks 10x11 cat tarp.
+1. Here is the tadpole stuffed.Originally Posted by flatline
Cheers
thank you all. i will probably get one of the guide gear tarps. do they pack down relatively small? and what's the general rule on tarp size? like x amount longer than your hammock?
My rule of thumb is that I want the tarp to go at least a foot out from both ends of my hung hammock. Since most folks hang their hammock at about 83% of its total length, that gives you a hung length of about seven and an half feet long with the GT UL. So, you'll be wanting a tarp that's at least nine and an half feet long--probably more like ten, to give you some wiggle room on how tightly you hang the hammock.
Now, that's just a rule of thumb: diamond asym tarps need to be a bit longer, due to their reduced end coverage; and full-up rectangular tarps with doors can be a little shorter, since you can close off the ends. Also, remember that a too-long tarp can hurt you on trees spaced closer together when you have a relatively short hammock that would fit.
Hope it helps!
yes it does. thank you very much. i will probably get the 12x12 guide gear like HamMike suggested. and then later upgrade to something better if need be.
Be aware that this year's Guide Gear tarps are 12' on the diagonal, not across the ridgeline. So, you'll have to hang them like a diamond tarp to get 12' of coverage.
Just an heads-up.
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