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hey all. just curious as to which tarp all you BIAS owners prefer and find gives a nice balance of coverage and weight :) As of now I own WB superfly, love the thing, it has so much room , but looking at something a little smaller for less severe weather :) thanks for the input and thoughts
I really like the Toxaway.
I also have a Superfly and really like it but the Toxaway gives great coverage and packs down a lot smaller than a Superfly.
The Toxaway has kept me dry in some pretty good rain storms..
Hey Barlutti,
I went with the tadpole to cover the BIAS, good coverage, low weight, and packs down to about a softball. That being said, I know have some cuben goodness on its way from HG, offers doors, works with my Ridgerunner, and my gathered ends.
Cheers:)
ya those two and the edge from WB have been what I was looking at so far. Can not do cuben yet, maybe next year. So does that mean then Callahan that you are selling the Tadpole? heheheh
You never know ;) The cuben should arrive this week. The Tadpole may be hard to part with...the kids figure that every time I get new gear, that somehow they get new gear!Quote:
Originally Posted by Barlutti
May thin the herd soon...will keep you in mind.
Cheers
I know, I know, everyone is tired of the GoLite Poncho tarp, but here's my BIAS under the 2012 model. :)
Do I use this tarp in the winter. Nope.
http://www.hammockforums.net/gallery...5/img_1573.jpg
Very cool.Quote:
Originally Posted by dejoha
I have the GoLite Poncho tarp but have never used it for a tarp yet but I will give it a shot after seeing this.
[QUOTE=dejoha;861010]I know, I know, everyone is tired of the GoLite Poncho tarp, but here's my BIAS under the 2012 model. :)
Do I use this tarp in the winter. Nope.
nice, plenty of room under there :)
And here I was about to say, "Barely covers the thing." :laugh:Quote:
Originally Posted by Barlutti
no, look the bug net looks almost covered :) I was really impressed when I started to think of how little you would actually have to carry. I know I am a wuss though, and I figure if the weather is bad enough to need a poncho, its bad enough I want a little more coverage from my tarp when I am hanging I guess. But for mild , no rain kinda nights, even in fall around here the poncho would suffice.Quote:
Originally Posted by JaxHiker
Is that an 11' hammock?Quote:
Originally Posted by dejoha
Yes, that is the 11-foot BIAS hammock. The golite poncho tarp works great in the rain. This photo is on the AT this summer. I've got a lot of trail time and rain time under this poncho. I've got a post on mcblog that shows the coverage of this and other tarp types. The poncho offers similar coverage as a stock Hennessy asym tarp, which people use is all kinds of nasty weather conditions. The trick is in how you pitch it and how you snug up the hammock to the tarp.
http://theultimatehang.com/2012/09/c...for-a-hammock/
from my brief experience in a hennessy I remember the tarp seeming small, but offering decent coverage. did not have a storm or rain to deal with but lots of wind and I remember not complaining in the morning so it must have worked. it also attached to the suspension ropes onto little sliding clips I believe. That must help in keeping the hammock and tarp close... forgive the ignorance here,my tarp skills are VERY limited(but improving)
for 7oz and 60$ it is worth looking at. always was a fan of ponchos, just my never had a new fancy one, the old one weighed a ton, it now keeps the ground cleanish under my turtledog stand :) I do like the dual use idea as well....
Asym tarps like the poncho or the Hennessy have their drawbacks and I won't deny it. Good site selection and pitching skills help out a lot, especially in stormy conditions. I learned the hard way about site selection in my Hennessy, but those experiences have made me a better hanger and tarp pitcher.
There are some other threads that discuss the virtue and vices of ponchos so I won't go into them here suffice it to say you'll need to hone your pitching skills. Not that pitching the tarp itself is hard--an asym tarp is the easiest, quickest kind of tarp--it's the relationship between the hammock and the asym that takes skill.
Just one old fart's opinion ... I went the minimal tarp route when I started Hammock Camping back in 2001 and learned very quickly that you had to work at site placement & rigging the tarp to the hammock to keep everything dry ... but even in best case scenarios ... which rarely exists in the woods ... something is going to get wet. Even in a slow vertical rain. It just is ...
To me ... getting into your hammock under a minimal coverage tarp is no better than trying to get in your tent in a downpour ... you are going to get wet and you're going to take that wet in with you. That's why back in 2003 I got an Equinox 9x12 tarp and haven't looked back on anything smaller since. OK ... I did carry an 8x10 a couple summers but it was far from those minimal little "wings" covering the tarp.
What this allows me to do is set up the tarp and be out of the rain. Then I can set up my hammock ... out of the rain ... I can shed my wet clothing/gear ... out of the rain. I can get in my bed/hammock all nice and dry. That's awfully nice to me. I sleep better dry myself ;)
After years of crawling in a tent in a down pour this is as important to me as the comfort of sleeping in a hammock. I tend to think of it this way ... it's nicer to sit under a porch roof in the rain than it is to go out in the rain and sit on an open patio! That's what a larger tarp does for me ... but hey that's just my slant on it. I just know I'm enjoying my time when it rains now much more than I did before switching to larger tarps. Rain during a trip is not as big a factor as it once was to me.
But hey if you want to go minimal ... I think that's fine. The important thing is you're getting out there.
And if we ever share a campsite ... you're always welcome to come sit under part of my big old tarp to have a cup of coffee and enjoy the rain instead of swearing at it! :woot:
sooo many options.
I have to agree with, and to thank for the offer of coffee and shelter from Hawk-eye :) I will take you up on that one day. Going into bed wet is not fun. I really like the space provided by my superfly. Had two dogs in there last night and we all had plenty of room. The options it gives me are very nice, and in reality, it does not take up ALOT of space, nor does it weigh alot. but it is overkill in many situations.
Dejoha, I like the idea of the poncho for certain situations, and also like the challenge and lessons it would give me. never a bad thing to learn and improve skills . for summertime i think that will be a good option, and for sure a nice piece of kit to have available. living in the mountains, weather changes all the time... But for now i am looking for something in between. Not too big, not too small :) at this stage in purchasing, I have to look for something I would get a lot of use from. It may be in my best interest to wait and get to a group hang down south of the border and get a look at all these great options from our vendors....
All these options makes my head swim! :)
I like to throw out the ol' poncho tarp option when talk turns to "which tarp" simply because it shows one side of the spectrum. On the other side are the amazing walled hammock tents (via YoungBlood):
http://www.tothewoods.net/ImagesStay...Youngblood.jpg
I, too, agree with hawk-eye. To find the right tarp, you really need to ask a series of questions such as 1) how you intend to camp, 2) how you intend to use the shelter, 3) what are you primary objectives (e.g., coverage, weight, packing, cost, simplicity/complexity), etc., etc.
The more you know about what you want/need, the better able you are to filter out the chaff.
Maybe what we could work on as a forum is a way to better classify tarp or hammock styles like tents (it may not be possible). At least for the layman, it was much easier to sift through all the tent options based on these categories:
Summer, 3-Season, 4-Season, (and possibly "mountaineering" as a category)
To anyone who's been tent camping before knows that these categories oversimplifies tents. For example, I own a few "family" tents that are classed as either "summer" or "3-season" but are equipped with a "bikini" rain fly that hardly provides any coverage. And some of those single-wall tents leak at a given PSI.
Yet, those classifications at least provide a framework.
I don't have an answer right now because classifying tarps is so contingent on pitching style and hammock type, etc.
thanks dejoha, it helped to write down a few of my wants with the new tarp.
right now I have a superfly, and a HH tarp I got from their sale. I was hoping that would be my go-to tarp for most occasions, but it is extremely heavy , doesnt pack down small, and loses all its flexibility in the cold. So it is now resigned to car camping,when weight and size are not a concern. having said that...
I want a large enough tarp to cover hammock, man and dog, plus a backpack. I dont really cook under the tarp, but want a big enough one to be able to have porch mode and enjoy the scenery, and maybe make a spot of tea. does not need doors, and I prefer a decent, yet not bank breaking material. My experience with the silnylon on the SF is pretty good, so I can go with that. I do like ease of set up as well, but am willing to tie out a few more guylines to get better coverage if needed. weight and pack size are a concern, but i realize most tarps by our vendors that would fit this bill are going to be light and packable enough for me. I guess I would like a little length on the sides in case I want to pitch low and keep the dog contained. it is a little hard for me to compare, I got a good idea from Dejoha's book, and decided to rough sketch all the tarps iam considering and place them so I can see a good size comparison. not ideal like seeing them all in person, but will have to suffice for now...good thing I have time and patience ;) thanks again for all the thoughts
oooooooopssss
I agree. The Toxaway from Arrowhead Equipment does a good job covering my BIAS Weight Weenie. Big tarp and lightweight!Quote:
Originally Posted by spaceweaseal
I really enjoy my tadpole.