Snake Skins or Stuff Sack?

[Txfly]

What are the pros and cons on both set-ups?

[Kingsnake]

I got snake skins in December, and could not be happier with them.

Pros: Quick and easy set up, not having to fight the wind while setting up the ridgeline, tarp still packs down well, packs up easily the next day and again the wind is not an issue, very reasonable price

Cons: I can't really think of one. If the tarp is wet, it wont really dry while in the snakeskin, but it wont dry in a stuff sack either.

The first time I set up my tarp with the skins on it, I remember pausing and saying out loud "Whoever came up with this idea is a freaking genius."

[biggy]

I use skins and store it in the original stuff sack. Fits fine.

[SilvrSurfr]

I use skins and store it in the original stuff sack. Fits fine.

The gram weenie in me doesn't like it, but I do the same. I tried using just the snake skins and just never felt I could get the tarp compact enough. I store my tarp in an outside mesh pocket and it just never stayed put well enough using only snake skins.

[rhjanes]

I use mesh snake skins on my tarps and love them. But they also stay in the outside pocket of the pack. I can quickly set up the tarp in bad weather. In good weather, I still hand it, but don't deploy it. By that, I mean the tarp is up, but still in the skins. If it starts to sprinkle, I have to pull back the skins and stake it down.
I've also used snake skins on my hammock, but have quit. That goes INTO the pack. The skins don't pack down as well as the hammock in a bag, tossed into the bottom of the pack.

[Rolloff]

Skins for me.

Setting up in the wind and rain, w/o having the tarp sailing and whipping around willynilly.

[okhike]

Another vote for using both. Tarp with the skins on fits inside the stuff sack just fine for me.

[CoreyR]

I use the skins for my tarp and a stuff sack for my hammock. The skins let me deploy and recover my tarp quickly. I can then take my time, under the cover of the tarp, with the hammock, and get it right.

[jamaulwall]

I use skins and store it in the original stuff sack. Fits fine.

Same here, for my tarp anyway. I love the skins for set up in the wind and for having the tarp ready to deploy quickly on nights when I want to see the sky and don't think it will rain. I found they fit nicely in my original double sided stuff sack.

For my hammock I use a double sided stuff sack and it works pretty slick. I don't really see any advantage to snake skins on the hammock personally. I have, however, considered a Lazy Slug Tube for easy of set up/take down but I can't get myself to put hammock, quilts, etc. all together in one big blob... I guess I just like being more organized than that and the modularity of mixing and matching different equipment based on the needs of the specific trip is part of the reason I've been drawn to hammock camping in the first place. The Slug Tube makes that a little tougher to do. It does look pretty quick and easy to deploy/take down though.

[weaver2469]

Another vote for skins, for the same reasons as above. I don't use the separate stuff sack. I find that I can take the tarp in the skins, fold it in half, then half again, and again. This leaves me with a cylinder about the size and shape of a tennis ball can. I then wrap my end lines around and around, making the cylinder keep its shape. The lines are secured by biting them into my tarp flyz. This is why I never got the little line pocket options for my snakeskins. I use the lines to bind everything up. The cylinder shape fits perfectly into the vertical pocket on the sides of my pack, and it also fits horizontally in the outside back mesh pocket.