Need tarp help. Maccat standard Vs. WB Asym-Diamond

Hey guys,

Newbie to hammock'ing and just tried my first night with one! It was pretty comfortable, but it was different but so far I'm loving it.

I was using the grand trunk ultralight hammock, some cheap sleeping bag, whoopie slings, and a wallie world "blue tarp." It was an 8' by 10', and I found that it would give some pretty good protection if it did end up raining.

However the **** thing is heavy as hell. With ridglines and tie outs it's a 2lbs 5oz!:scared::laugh:

So I'm looking for a lightweight alternative. I only really camp in the spring-fall. Mainly the high sierras in California. (which is my "grail" trip that i try to do every year.)

So I like both of the tarps mentioned. The only thing they need to keep out is rain, basically. I've gone through several threads looking for info about these two tarps. (I keep seeing this "cannibal" feller come up. He sure likes his small tarps :cool:) I am leaning more towards the Asym-Diamond, just because it only needs two stakes, and will be light/small. However I don't know if it would give adequate rain protection. All the pictures I see make it seem like if there was any sideways wind, it would kick the rain into your hammock.

I also like maccat, as they seem to be a pretty great company that pays alot of attention to detail.

Can anybody help me out?


Thanks,
-Richard.

I personally prefer a hex shaped tarp over a diamond. It gives me more side coverage. When I used a diamond tarp (Kelty Noah 9), I always felt like the head & feet ends of the hammock didn't have as much protection. I love my MacCat Deluxe. As far as quality, all the cottage folks (OES, WB, AHE, etc.) make excellent products.
KJ

I have OES and Warbonnet tarps and both are great. I would go with a hexcut tarp over the diamond for the extra bit over coverage and stability in wind. Either a MacCat standard or WB Edge would be my choice. I have read good things about Paul's Alpine tarp from AHE as well.

Firstly I'd easily recommend a hex over a diamond. I have both the Standard and Deluxe OES MacCat versions and prefer the Standard by a slight margin, but I do tend to be a minimalist.

it all depends ... if your going to be doing more summer camping the diamond tarp will do fine...if you plan on doing some camping in bad weather i would go with the Hex tarp i used a diamond tarp in bad weather with no problems so it's really up to the user and there needs

both are great tarps and well made ..... you really can't go wrong

I personally have been looking closely at the Ogee 11. It looks very intriguing.

I have a MacCat Deluxe, Warbonnet Asym-Diamond, and a Kelty Noah's Tarp 9.

They are three radically different tarps, IMO. A hex, rectangle and diamond.

When folks speak of diamond tarps, I picture the Noah. To me, the Asym-Diamond name is misleading, or at least leads you to assume a standard shape, which it is not. It's hard to tell from the photos, but as Brian states on his site:

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The Asym-Diamond is our smallest most minimal tarp, offset side corners are oriented the way you sleep (on the diagonal). It's a one-piece design (no ridgeline seam).

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The Asym-diamond does not look like, nor pitch like a standard diamond, it is asymmetric. It pitches more like a rectangle (parallelogram?) supported at opposite corners with points that cover the footbox and head area of my WBBB. It is quite minimal, and stuffs to a very compact size. I'd carry it when not expecting rain, or at least not wind and rain. Even pitched close to the hammock, there is not much margin for error. I'd like to test that margin, but close to home if things didn't go well.:eek:

A hex cut like the MacCat (or similar) should give better coverage, but at a weight & stuff size penalty.

The Noah was a carryover from tent (gasp!) days. The coverage was OK, but left the head and foot ends a little more exposed than I felt comfortable. Conversely, the elongated side points seemed like extra material (hammock-wise) with little purpose or coverage.

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Originally Posted by EDDAKA

(I keep seeing this "cannibal" feller come up. He sure likes his small tarps :cool:)

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That's mostly cause I don't know how to 'shut-up'. :D

I do like small tarps. The funny thing about that is I was one of the early adopters of the really big tarps. This hobby has a way of coming back to full-circle given enough time. These days, I pick my tarp based on the trip and predicted weather.

The WB Asym-Diamond will give you plenty of coverage. Like jtruslow, I haven't had the opportunity to really see what it will and won't do in a storm. I'll say this though, it provides more coverage that the HH stock fly and I've been through some good and hard storms using a stock fly from HH. I'm quite confident the Asym-Diamond will keep me dry in all but the worst of storms. Helps to be practiced with your tarp, but it gives plenty of coverage for the hammock.

Hex tarps are much, much, much more beneficial if you need a place to work, cook, etc during a storm. They just leave a larger footprint. If you are already a lightweight kind of hiker and accustomed to camp being just camp, then the Diamond is an excellent and lightweight choice. If, OTOH, you like to spend some time in camp and want generous shelter, a hex is easily your best bet. All about the preferences.

Don't be concerned with the coverage of the Asym-Diamond. I can't say for sure since I haven't been in a storm with it, but I've logged lots of hours in hammocks watching rain and I don't see a reason why that tarp won't do a magnificent job. :cool:

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Originally Posted by Cannibal

That's mostly cause I don't know how to 'shut-up'. :D

I do like small tarps. The funny thing about that is I was one of the early adopters of the really big tarps. This hobby has a way of coming back to full-circle given enough time. These days, I pick my tarp based on the trip and predicted weather.

The WB Asym-Diamond will give you plenty of coverage. Like jtruslow, I haven't had the opportunity to really see what it will and won't do in a storm. I'll say this though, it provides more coverage that the HH stock fly and I've been through some good and hard storms using a stock fly from HH. I'm quite confident the Asym-Diamond will keep me dry in all but the worst of storms. Helps to be practiced with your tarp, but it gives plenty of coverage for the hammock.

Hex tarps are much, much, much more beneficial if you need a place to work, cook, etc during a storm. They just leave a larger footprint. If you are already a lightweight kind of hiker and accustomed to camp being just camp, then the Diamond is an excellent and lightweight choice. If, OTOH, you like to spend some time in camp and want generous shelter, a hex is easily your best bet. All about the preferences.

Don't be concerned with the coverage of the Asym-Diamond. I can't say for sure since I haven't been in a storm with it, but I've logged lots of hours in hammocks watching rain and I don't see a reason why that tarp won't do a magnificent job. :cool:

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i was the same way C-bal .... i think it comes with time too...after you learn the in's and outs of how to use a hammock setup you rely more on your know hows and less on your gear in a way .... i hope that came out right
:rolleyes:

but i find it just as easy to use a small tarp as i do a large tarp in most weather ..... i had a JRB 8x8 that i used alot and loved ( i wish i never sold it ) and learned alot from that tarp
what to do and what not to do with a small tarp ;)
if the WB diamond tarp is anything like the JRB 8x8 and it looks about the same size it should be fine in most weather ... along with heavy rain
you just won't have alot of room like you will with a Hex tarp for cooking and gear storage

Wow I appreciate all the replies in this thread!

I think cannibal posed a good question: do you make food under it,
Or just sleep?

And the answer is that I just sleep under the tarp...I almost always hike/camp with other people. So shelter that just protects me from rain while I sleep like a baby is all I really need...

Now I kinda want a oes micro in spinn ul....ugh.:rolleyes:

If anybody still has an opinion I would really love to hear it :)

I honestly don't have experience with either. I have a standard in the mail now and a hennessy stock tarp. My hennessy tarp for me doesn't work well. There is such little coverage. But its small for the smaller hennessy hammock. The warbonnet is made for a warbonnet hammock which is bigger. You're using a smaller hammock so I can imagine it being plenty efficient enough.

I wanted a micro really bad. And aside from the hennessy stock tarp I have a superfly. I didn't want to tote around the superfly if it were say spring and its storming and felt the micro may be to small for that. So I opted for the standard. A foot more of coverage on each side for less than 3oz of weight penalty should take me much further than the micro can.

Seeing the micro in person last week though really made me feel it was more than enough for most warmer weather appliclations so I will deffiently eventually get one. Though if I had to have one 3 season tarp I'd go for the standard, or the edge first. Or even bigger.

Worry about enjoying your outting first, even if that means a few extra ounces, later after feeling it out with a bigger tarp you'll know more where you can cut corners and weight. You can sell most gear here if its to big for you for almost the price you paid. So by buying a bigger tarp first, you're really not paying much to test it out.

And go to hangs, that's the best way to see gear you don't have.