I live in NC and we get a lot of rain which I love, is it best to get a winter tarp or are these really just best for lots of snow? Being outdoors I'd like to see the beauty from my hammock, so I like the idea of porch mode. Just curious about coverage and comfort.
In part I think it comes down to preference.Originally Posted by WUGGIT
I prefer a full size tarp and use a Superfly year round. The extra weight I carry is part of the sacrifice I make to keep myself and all my down gear dry. So far I haven't found a trail where carrying the is extra bit of weight has stopped me from going.
On the other hand, many on here get by with smaller taprs. Part of that is site selection - i.e. don't pick locations on ridges with blowing rain. The other part IMO is experience. I get tempted to join the smaller tarp crowd but have resisted so far. If I was doing a long trail I'd probably reconsider.
Depends a lot on what you care to cart around. I mostly motorcycle camp. My 11' hammock under a 12' tarp got pretty "close" in 3 days of rain. I ordered a 16' Kelty upon return. Awesome rig. Very useful but I wouldn't care to lug it in my pack very far.
I'm in NC and have only been hammocking since June, but have gotten by just fine with a regular hex tarp up until now in wet and dry weather. I have about 12" overhang on either end and pitch it "tight" to the hammock in heavier rain.
Having said that, I have it in my mind to make a winter tarp, not so much for snow as for breaking the wind in the winter. A hex tarp can be airy with wind depending on what orientation you pitch it.
Caminante, son tus huellas el camino y nada más... - Antonio Machado
I think in wet conditions you really can't have too big of a tarp. Especially when it gets to blowing a little as it so often does when it rains.
If rain or wet weather is forecast the Winter Palace gets packed. If it is clear, not too cold or windy- I often don't even take a tarp.
Experience will help you find what works best for your situation(s) and desires but I would get a good size one to begin with and buy good quality.
If you find you want something smaller you can always sell it in a New York minute or buy a second smaller tarp.
I think it depends on how much risk you want to take. My 10' 5" hammock stayed dry in 30+ mph winds and rain at Kerr Lake with a 8x10 blue tarp. It was pitched very low and in the correct orientation. I was surprised and pleased (and a bit deaf from the flapping). However, the wind direction never changed and I pitched it carefully. My son also stayed dry with a poorly pitched 8x10 tarp in a smaller hammock, same trip.
If the wind had changed directions 90 degrees I'm sure I would have been wet.
I've been happy and dry with my Noah 9x9 but I'm very careful with site selection and all the trips have been inland => more sheltered than at the coast.
As far as porch mode, it's possible to do that with a winter tarp:
https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/...w-do-you-do-it
Generally speaking, a "winter" tarp (tarp with doors) is to block the wind, not rain/snow.
Generally the door's aren't adding much, if any, shelter, unless your getting significantly wind driven rain/snow.
The biggest benefit is blocking wind from making you cold.
yeah, in situations of high winds and rain they have quite an advantage and I think are worth the extra weight. By high winds I mean like 40+ mph. In this kind of wind a winter tarp would be desirable in dry conditions.
Wind just changes everything.
David
It doesn't take much wind to get wet with a skimpy tarp in the rain. I don't put much stock in site selection because I'm usually camping at a designated campsite that has amenities like a water source or maybe even a latrine.
I live in a coastal area with shifting winds, so a 4-season tarp is pretty much essential for me to stay dry. I especially like doors that keep the rain from coming in the ends.
"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." Ralph Waldo Emerson
I live out here in rainy Oregon and one thing to think about is condensation... The larger tarps with doors can hold the heat in if they're pitched to low and collect a lot of condesation... Obviously in porch mode thats not a concern and with the larger tarp you can tie it up a bit higher to get air circulation. I have a Warbonnet mamajamba so it's a bit more of a mid size tarp and it has worked well for me in the rain and I do have the option of adding doors if I want. In the driving rain you do have to make sure it's pitched close to the ridgeline on your hammock for full coverage from the ends. The only problem I've found is with splashing but as long as I find a place to hang over soil that's not completely compacted than it soaks up the splashing pretty well. I finally have an UQ on order and I have also ordered an UQ protector to deal with splashing.
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