So, for you experienced kitchen roof guys, are sparks an issue? Will they damage silnylon? Spinnaker fabric? Cuben? I MIGHT be interested in carrying my 4 oz spinn tarp, but I'd hate to do something stupid(er than normal).
So, for you experienced kitchen roof guys, are sparks an issue? Will they damage silnylon? Spinnaker fabric? Cuben? I MIGHT be interested in carrying my 4 oz spinn tarp, but I'd hate to do something stupid(er than normal).
"A bore is a man who deprives you of solitude without providing you with company." Gian Vincenzo Gravina (1664 - 1718)
It only takes a 5x7 for 1 or two folks to shelter out of the rain. Not much weight in Sil.
OTOH Black bears do significant damage and may kill more people than Grizzly bears. That leaves me thinking that for most folks who travel in temperate climates where rain is common not carrying a dining fly is asking for trouble. OTOH I keep hearing from folks who evidently live in places with no, or few, bears and not much rain that my ideas are silly.
I carried a basic urethane coated nylon tarp wrapped around my Thermarest in my ground dwelling days. Since then I have other tarp options but I cannot see traveling without one. It just seems that in the Dak's or Canadian shield country there is always rain at some point and falling stuff otherwise. ;-)
YMMV
HYOH
Free advice worth what you paid for it. ;-)
sparks are an issue so keep the tarp away from the flames. You really do not want it over the fire anyway as it traps smoke.Originally Posted by CrankyOldGuy
YMMV
HYOH
Free advice worth what you paid for it. ;-)
All my tarps are SilNylon, and I've always kept them far from the fire. I use my gear, but will happily pass it all on to my sons and grandsons by taking as good of care of it as I can. That's something passed on from my dad!
I use my bushbuddy boiler all the time with my tarps, though it's low spark.
On a number of occassions we've hung the tarp directly over the fire up about eight feet, and tapering down to seven feet at the edges. I've found that there'll be a thick cloud of smoke for about a foot below the tarp and then it just billows out the sides. Sitting or walking hunched in this setup poses no smoke problems. On another occassion we created a tarp hut over the fire and it was a major smokehouse, but it was that or a really cold, rainy, windy night.
Pin holes are always an issue for synthetic tarps, so my advice is don't use a tarp you don't want to part with. The blue poly tarps are virtually throw aways, so we'll hang those closest to the fire. You can always patch up a beater tarp if you want. Going with a canvas tarp might make more sense but is much heavier. I haven't bothered.
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I always liked to pitch my ponco as a porch on my backpacking tent when going by myself. You're out of the rain but still out of the tent.
For my new venture with hammock camping I've not thought of needing but the one tarp so just sank a lot of money in materials for one.
Hammocks don't make very good chairs IMO so I got a nice Alite on ebay and plan to tie the hammock up and sit in the chair under the tarp.
Fire under a tarp? That's not something I've ever seen (except in a Shug video) or would think about doing. I'm kind-of puzzled by it, to tell the truth. Just figured that an alcohol stove would function like my old white gas ones under the tarp when needed. But I'm new to this and have not been able to get out much lately; so, will see in due time, eh?
That 4 oz. spinntex tarp that Cranky mentioned above would make an ideal extra/remote one. I'll probably kick myself some day for not getting one.
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Mike
Learn to survive and thrive in any situation, for you never know what might happen. Love family and friends passionately. Suffer no fool. Know your purpose in life and follow it with all your heart.
So far on group cannoe trips I have brought a second 8x10 sil tarp to be used in conjunction with other tarps for the group area if the weather is bad. I also used it one trip to cover the cloths and gear drying line. I also bring a second hammock for lounging and sitting as well as for gear storage so a second tarp is good to keep all that dry and off the ground.
It's also handy to have a spare in a group setting in case another hanger has a catastrophic tarp failure and needs it.
For solo backpacking I only bring my primary tarp. If my wife came backpacking with me and the forecast was not favourable I'd probably bring it though to keep her as comfortable as possible since she is not an outdoors person.
Don't let life get in the way of living.
It's amazing how close this post is to what I would have posted. I like your style FLRider.
"We're the Sultans of Swing."
I've gone the other way! I have just bought a 4 x 4m DDHammock tarp as my only tarp cover over the hammock and provide an admin area. I hope it works as I want it to, otherwise I will go back to the HH Hex tarp.
Alan
Well there's "cooking" and then there's "cooking."
At one extreme, there's frying bacon on an open fire, at the other extreme there's boiling water over an alky stove to pour into your freezer bag.
Being a backpacker, I am trying to minimize my weight and volume which means freezer bag cooking with a tiny alcohol stove. Therefore, I'm not worried about odors or sparks getting into my hammock & tarp. So one generous sized tarp over my hammock is the way I roll.
Granted, this works due to my cooking methods. I still have to be careful not to spill food in my hammock and I bear bag my food at night, far away from my hammock.
Last edited by MAD777; 05-17-2013 at 15:50.
Mike
"Life is a Project!"
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