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Gortex rain fly
Hey there,
I new to the forums and only sort of new to hammock camping. This is my first time trying to make a shelter for while I'm sleeping in my hammock.
I have come into possession of 4x9ft of gortex material and was wondering if I should use it for my rain fly. I love the fact that it is really tough and packs up small. I planned to put some grommets in is and add some other securing straps.
I just want to know what you guys think because I've never used gortex for anything before.
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i think your hang up there will be width... 4 feet of width will yield 2 feet of coverage on each side... you'd have to have it snugged down on top of your hammock to keep it dry...
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Might have a better application as part of a hammock sock than a tarp. I believe Goretex needs a temp differential to work so it needs to be closer to your body.
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I'd agree with Wags, it's too small for a tarp. Maybe make a poncho out of it? Or if you're into DIY, make some rain pants or a jacket out of it. Or a bunch of down camp shoes. Or use it in the top 1/4 of a top quilt to keep the condensation down.
I suppose you could always see if anyone wants to trade for a fair amount of silnylon..
PF
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A waterproof/breathable fabric like GoreTex would really be better as raingear or a poncho or a hammock sock, as stated above. There's no benefit from having a breathable tarp, it's well ventilated as it is. Also, as mentioned above, 4' x 9' wouldn't give much coverage.
Jerry
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Thanks for the replies. So what's the recommended width for a hammock rainfly? I like the ideas of using it for something else. I could really use some rain pants. I'll search to find out what a hammock sock is.
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anything less than 8 feet wide is too skinny for my liking. in fact, i think that's the perfect width for me here in pa. i can use that all year long. i guess you could get pretty skinny if you went with a diamond tarp, but i had an encounter with sideways rain 2 years ago that made me rethink things.
some guys who are very experience here use very small tarps regardless of weather. just jeff comes to mind
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you could probably make some sort of badass serape/cape/packa out of that!
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As for a good length and width for a fly, I would take a look at some of the dimensions of tarps made by some of the cottage industries on here. It's gonna depend on what kind of conditions you're using it in, but here are a few designs.
Backwoods daydreamer winter dream
Warbonnet Big Mamajamba
Warbonnet Edge
Backwoods Daydreamer fair-weather friend (an asymetrical diamond tarp)
These are roughly in order of decreasing coverage and decreasing weight.
Good Luck and post if you have more questions! Post pictures of your progress when you get around to making one.
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