Has anyone used a 10-foot tarp while hammocking?

[JayS]

My son has an Equinox 8' x 10' tarp (from Campmor) that he has used for about 10 years without incident. He has an ENO double nest without a ridgeline. When he started using the tarp, he was probably in elementary or middle school and was less than five feet tall. Today he is 6'1" and still uses the same setup. In other words, the shape of the loaded hammock has changed considerably during this time but the tarp has handled it.

Weather wise, he's been in warm, dry summer nights, a "gully washer" in the Linville Gorge, windy, chilly nights in the Adirondacks and pretty much everything in between. He's hammocked down to 11 degrees but not with this tarp, IIRC. He only camps a time or two a year at this point due to other interests, work and college so I don't know how his skills are now but when he was mid-teens (he's 19 now), he actually impressed me when he set up quickly but then pointed out how he had determined the prevailing wind direction and selected trees perpendicular to the wind and behind a small windbreak of some sort. Knowing how to use a tarp is always paramount to a satisfying night's hang when the tarp is needed.

He uses an A frame setup, not diamond. By the way, I used the same tarp on a ground camping trip to the Catskills with my son and daughter when they were about 8 or 9, maybe 10 years old and we had no problem getting us, our gear and the dog under the tarp during a night and a day of rain.

Hope this helps you understand the capability of a 10' tarp.

[SilvrSurfr]

I ask, because you have no facts to back your assumption. It is just a theory. Perhaps you heard accounts of people who got drowned while using short tarps, and you no longer recall the details... The fact is, you have no personal experiences with such a setup.

Tarp coverage is tarp coverage; it really is that simple. There's nothing mysterious, unique or revolutionary about a 10 ft. tarp. It will be about 10% lighter than an 11 ft. tarp, and have a foot less ridgeline coverage. As Tendertoe said, "If the length of the structural ridgeline of your hammock is less than the length of your tarp ridgeline, the tarp will work." This is not theory; it's fact. You need adequate end coverage or you will get wet. It's an immutable, universal law of hammocking.

Is there some other deep mystery about a tarp with a 10 ft. ridgeline that we're all missing? If you want to use one, make sure that you have adequate coverage on each end. If you want doors for better weather protection, get doors.

You seem to think that "facts" will back up some kind of assumption you're making. By facts, you seem to mean that you only want to hear personal experience from people using 10 ft. tarps. There could be a thousand 10 ft. tarp users replying to this thread and all they could give you was personal experience and anecdotal evidence, but none of it could be construed as actual fact.

[Bubba]

I've used 10 x 8 tarp while car camping. It kept me dry in a moderate straight down rain. Never used it more than a couple of nights though. One thing is I set it up lower to ensure adequate end coverage.

[E.A.Y.]

I've used a JRB Winter tarp (10' by 11') sometimes with a 10ft ridge and sometimes with an 11'. I usually haul it along when I think there will be a lot of pesky wind to block.

[Tendertoe]

However, (and this is precisely why I started the thread) how do you know that in blowing rain or snow I'm risking getting wet?
And how can you judge the probability of this (for sure, very likely, somewhat likely, unlikely, etc.)?

I ask, because you have no facts to back your assumption. It is just a theory. Perhaps you heard accounts of people who got drowned while using short tarps, and you no longer recall the details... The fact is, you have no personal experiences with such a setup.

I was sticking to my direct lack of experience with a 10 foot RL tarp in my previous comment, but my thought process is influenced by using an 11 foot tarp and having negative experiences.

I owned a Spinn Mambajamba tarp (11 foot RL with no doors) a few years back. I set it up and things looked good. This was when I first began hanging and didn't think of the fact that things can change when you load the hammock.

We got a decent storm and the foot end of my hammock got wet as when I sat in the hammock, the foot end swung out enough to get wet.

Now, this was obvious user error but it was caused by a lack of extra "wiggle room" coverage that maybe a 12 or 13 foot tarp could have fixed. With a 10 foot tarp, that margin of error is even less.

Could I have setup my hammock in the same situation with the same 11 foot tarp and stayed dry? Yes.

Could I have setup my hammock in the same situation with a 10 foot tarp and stayed dry? Yes.

Would I have had to fuss with it more? Yes.

Would I have had less livable space under the tarp to cook, dress, hangout? Yes.


Another experience with snow and the same 11 foot tarp. I setup in a light snow storm at a local park. The wind was lightly blowing. After only an hour, my entire TQ was covered in a dusting of snow.

Granted, a set of doors would have solved this but still, a 10 foot tarp would have been even less protection.


In my first example above, a 10 foot tarp would have worked, albeit with more fussing.

In my second example above, an 11 foot tarp was not even sufficient, so a 10 foot tarp would have also been insufficient.

Can you use a 10 foot tarp and stay dry? Yes.

Are there people using 10 foot tarps and staying dry? Yes.

Physically speaking, it can be done and I'm not entirely sure what further confirmation you're looking for.

However, there are scenarios where an 11 foot tarp would fail (and there is a documented factual event that occurred to me) so a 10 foot tarp would also fail in certain scenarios.

It's all preference and what people can afford or what they value.

Some folks may want a SUL 10 foot cuben tarp.

Some may want a 14 x 14 canvas tarp.

A sports car and a truck both carry two passengers, but each has their own pros and cons.

A 10 foot and 11 foot tarp both cover you from the elements with different features.

Can a silver dollar in your shirt pocket stop a bullet? Yes.

Some people would prefer a full Kevlar vest instead, though.

[IK_]

By facts, you seem to mean that you only want to hear personal experience from people using 10 ft. tarps.

It seems you have grasped it.

You seem to think that "facts" will back up some kind of assumption you're making.

No!
That's my point - I have made NO assumptions whatsoever. Once I collect the experiences, I would be able to draw conclusions, and then I could perhaps make (more reasonable) assumptions which I could test and play with until I kill them all, or make one of them work.

There could be a thousand 10 ft. tarp users replying to this thread and all they could give you was personal experience and anecdotal evidence, but none of it could be construed as actual fact.

Umm....? Now you have me doubt your understanding of the term "fact".
I am not a "construing" type. I am a "soaking" type. I collect evidence and facts for a living as I am in the engineering business.

Dakotaross and Bubba - thanks a lot for sharing!

JayS - Many thanks! The A-frame hammocking tarp configuration is precisely what I thought of, and such a tarp is a gem to use in a ground-dwelling setup as well when neededl.... That's exactly what prompted me to start collecting some insight from the HF members.

[IK_]

Could I have setup my hammock in the same situation with a 10 foot tarp and stayed dry? Yes.

Would I have had to fuss with it more? Yes.

Would I have had less livable space under the tarp to cook, dress, hangout? Yes.

Tendertoe,

You are an experienced hammocker. I trust your judgement. And agree with your assessment I quoted here, although it is based on experiences with Hex tarps.
And you have perhaps guessed already that all my current exploration on the subject is about is the probability of risk. How likely is it that I would get "burned". In a rainstorm with 40 mph wind gusts, side-wise (site selection gone wrong), what is my chance to get my TO or UQ wet?... 30% to 90% as the bookends. This is what I am looking for the answer to. I believe the HF members' experiences would get me close to a correct answer.
A few details though:
I am willing to accept the "fussiness" factor. Faff, as the Brits call it.
The livable space under the tarp is of little concern to me, as I get in there after a long hiking day only to sleep in my hammock, and then once I wake up - I get on with my hiking. I am not a hammock "camper" by nature.
The 10-foot tarp set up in an A-frame configuration, where its 4 cornes could be used as "doors".
How about that?

[SilvrSurfr]

Umm....? Now you have me doubt your understanding of the term "fact".
I am not a "construing" type. I am a "soaking" type. I collect evidence and facts for a living as I am in the engineering business.

I'm in the engineering business too, and can't see the slightest difference between a 6 ft. hammock and 6 ft. tarp, versus a 10 ft. hammock/10 ft. tarp combo. The engineering aspects are the same no matter what the length you use; only the scale changes. The challenges remain the same; do you have enough end coverage? Would doors provide more end coverage?

[Oms]

I like my OES 10x10. It happens to be my winter tarp. I do close the ends off making them into doors. I do the same thing with a 8x10. The doors will draw inward, but it works fine. The one thing that it seems people are missing is the longer the tarp, the lower the hammock hangs. Then the walls need to be longer for wind block. Now you need a larger tarp for effective wind block. With a 10x10 the hammock hangs higher and the walls are now an effective wind block. You need to center the tarp properly to protect from rain. I have never gotten wet under this tarp. There does need to be 4 tie-outs for doors to be drawn in. Here are a few pictures of the tarp.

[kayak karl]

Youngblood told me on the top of Springer years ago "Location, location , location." If you don't want to get wet learn how, where and in what direction to hang in a storm. as far as the 10' with corners pulled it will work, but since my hammocks are 11' and 12' I use a 11' x 8.5' tarp. i have seen people get soaked with larger tarps then mine. good luck on your research. PS i'm 6'3" makes a difference in tarp length.