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  1. #31
    Senior Member Rat's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Bertram, Texas
    Hammock
    DIY 126 x 60 Tablecloth
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    JRB 10 x 11
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    First we used tarps, square and rectangular...
    Then some one cut the tarps and made them three dimensional, with a floor, using poles...
    Then we built geodesic tarps, and added floors to them as well...
    Then we started using tarps again, square, rectangular, hex, cat cut, multiple panels; but without the floors and the poles (trees excluded...

    I have spent many a dry night/day under a stock Hennessy asym fly. Small, yes but more than adequate to keep me dry. My only complaint was that the asym fly was not very adaptable.

    Several DIY tarps utilizing rectangular and hex designs with cat cuts proved to be both more spacious and more adaptable.

    I finally settled on the JRB 10 x 11 tarp which incorporates both cat cuts and straight sides. I have found that this design offers me the most adaptability in set up. I bought the JRB tarp instead of making my own for the two reasons:
    1) JRB thought of it first
    2) My cost to make it would be very close to the purchase price
    I have not once regretted the JRB tarp purchase.

    As you can see, tarp evolution is very personal. Roz wants the biggest tarp for no other reason than complete privacy; so that is what she has!

    Gage could care less as long as he is dry when he sleeps.

    Most of the time my tarp is suspended but furled, waiting to be deployed if needed. I do not sleep under a tarp unless it threatens rain.
    "I aim to misbehave." - Capt. Mal Reynolds
    Mind of a Rat Youtube Channel

  2. #32
    Senior Member bowl-maker's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Location
    Knoxville, TN
    Hammock
    Hennessy Explorer UL
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    DIY Winter Dream
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    WS/MSH
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    575
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    I started out with the HH asym, and it was OK. I also have a HH Hex. But, I decided to make the Backwoods Daydreamer Winter Tarp and I LOVE IT. OK, OK...it weighs slightly over 2 pounds in it's sack with all of the lines. And it is large. But I have thoroughly enjoyed hanging under it, a lot more than the other tarps.
    Attached Images Attached Images

  3. #33
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Location
    Atlanta
    Hammock
    11ft argon
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    MacCat Ultra
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    HG 20 incubator
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    whoopies & huggers
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    166
    Great thread. I'm not as wise as most of you guys here, but I wanted to share my thoughts as a relative noob. I bought my first non-poly camping specific tarp just a couple years ago, and I too was a little leery about which size, material, brand, (even color) etc to choose. After much deliberation, I pulled the trigger on one. At first I had second thoughts, was it too small? too heavy? too thin? should I have added doors? etc. BUT after using it a couple times and seeing some other folks's set-ups, I can say that I made a good decision and my tarp is perfect for me. That's when I realized something...

    Tarps are all about personal comfort.

    If you are okay hiding from the weather under a small tarp, then great. If you want to be closed in from the elements with doors and windows and a chimney, then great. I prefer a tarp that lets me get out of the hammock and move around a little without getting wet. I use a OES Maccat ultra which is a 12x10 cat cut style sil-nylon tarp. It's got plenty of tie-outs for finding just the right shape. Plus the pull-outs on the sides are super useful because they really make the space feel bigger. The only drawback to my tarp is the sil wets out in a long storm. So maybe cuben is my next step. I guess my point is you really won't know what you want/need until you get out there and use it for a while... and getting out there is really the point of it all anyway.

  4. #34
    Senior Member bowl-maker's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Location
    Knoxville, TN
    Hammock
    Hennessy Explorer UL
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    DIY Winter Dream
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    575
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    Dickstarbuck - I completely agree...the point is to get out there, and the fun is learning what works best. I love being out in the woods and figuring out that something didn't work like I want it, because it starts the creative process and I love fixing or making something better.

  5. #35
    Senior Member J.Andersons's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Location
    Riga, Latvia
    Hammock
    TTTM single
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    MacCat Ultra
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    sleeping bag
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    rope and straps
    Posts
    417
    Quote Originally Posted by dickstarbuck View Post
    Great thread. I'm not as wise as most of you guys here, but I wanted to share my thoughts as a relative noob. I bought my first non-poly camping specific tarp just a couple years ago, and I too was a little leery about which size, material, brand, (even color) etc to choose. After much deliberation, I pulled the trigger on one. At first I had second thoughts, was it too small? too heavy? too thin? should I have added doors? etc. BUT after using it a couple times and seeing some other folks's set-ups, I can say that I made a good decision and my tarp is perfect for me. That's when I realized something...

    Tarps are all about personal comfort.

    If you are okay hiding from the weather under a small tarp, then great. If you want to be closed in from the elements with doors and windows and a chimney, then great. I prefer a tarp that lets me get out of the hammock and move around a little without getting wet. I use a OES Maccat ultra which is a 12x10 cat cut style sil-nylon tarp. It's got plenty of tie-outs for finding just the right shape. Plus the pull-outs on the sides are super useful because they really make the space feel bigger. The only drawback to my tarp is the sil wets out in a long storm. So maybe cuben is my next step. I guess my point is you really won't know what you want/need until you get out there and use it for a while... and getting out there is really the point of it all anyway.
    I bought in may month this year exactly same model tarp only without panel pulls but this are my first tarp because I'm relatively long time are full time sleeper indoors but as of sleeping under the tarp outdoors I got idea much later and soon after googling about hammock tarps and soon stumbled on HF.
    Glad I found this forum and seen those great reviews about MacCat series tarps and decided to pull trigger on this and never regretted my choice.
    My tarp fortunately but may by call it unfortunately are seen only light rain but no rainstorm, only one storm that it seen had been without rain.
    Ride fast
    Live fun

  6. #36
    Senior Member Cadenza's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2012
    Location
    Nashville, TN/Lakeland, FL
    Hammock
    Dream Thunderbird
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    UGQ Hanger 11WB
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    138
    I have never once been wet inside my hammock since I started using a hammock back in the 1990's.
    And that includes the small 3D integrated rain fly on my first Clark Ultralight.

    But along the way,....I did learn to appreciate a bigger porch. I always carried a spare tarp that I would string up near the campfire ring, giving my buddy and I a place to cook or simply sit, stare at the fire, and drink whiskey.

    On one particular trip we had planned to hike a loop in the Cherokee National Forrest. We got to the halfway point as it was getting dark. Not a particularly appealing campsite, but what the heck. We strung up the hammocks and spent the night.
    When we awoke the next morning it was raining. We didn't really want to pack up everything wet, so we started trying to make the best of it. The view overlooked a big hog wallow mud hole!

    There were no other trees close and convenient for setting up the spare tarp, so I opted to string it up over the top of my Clarks rainfly as a sort of SUPERFLY. I was using the now discontinued Golite Cave.

    It worked like a champ! We were content to sit in our Slinglight chairs, stare at the fire, and sip George Dickel. We ended up staying in that spot for three days.

    I now use a cuben tarp from HG with the hammock. It has a more coverage for less weight than the Clarks fly.
    But I still carry that Golite Cave as a separate lounge area in case of bad weather. There are good memories associated with it.

  7. #37
    Senior Member fallkniven's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2011
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    neature
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    ha, I definitely didn't find the smaller tarps appealling. My Superfly is my small tarp, using my Smokehouse when it really gets cold.

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