Beak made of Robic 1.0

[Billy Goat]

Is Robic weather resistant enough for a tarp beak? I've got two hammocks made from Robic XL 1.0, one that has failed, and one that will. RBTR says it's got a DWR coating, and I've had it get wet before, and it dried absurdly fast. Would it be appropriate for a tarp beak? There is a good deal of usable fabric on the one that died, and the other is also very usable if it would be decent for this purpose. A bit of a wind break and some protection from blowing rain would be nice to have on my cat cut hex tarps on some of the colder days ahead. Thoughts?

Cheers,
the Goat

[hutzelbein]

I would imagine that as a tarp beak, it keeps the rain out. But it will get soaked and probably dry slower than waterproof tarp fabric.

I would rather make a wind sock or top cover from the Robic, if the tears are not inconveniently located. If I remember correctly, it was not easy to blow through the fabric. That's why I thought I might try it for a sock.

[Billy Goat]

Thanks for the input. I really hate to toss the fabric. I could make stuff sacks and whatnot from it, but I'm mostly full up on those, for now. I just thought it would be neat to try it out. I sure don't expect it to be waterproof, but a wind break would be nice, and something that *could* stop blowing rain from getting at us would be good too.

[Billy Goat]

Tried it out this weekend. Being cut and hemmed diagonally, the hypotenuse stretched a good deal and turned into a radius and there was no good way to make it snug against the tarp. Lesson learned. The remaining material will be relegated to stuff sacks.

Cheers,
the Goat

[Don P]

That's sad news to hear the Robic XL 1.0 failed for you, what happened if you don't mind me asking? I'm currently looking for a material for an UL DIY Rig and after looking on RSBTR I was hoping the Robic XL 1.0 would be a good choice.

[Billy Goat]

They both got runs in them right in the middle. Mine dropped me as I went straight through it when sitting in it after setting it up for the last time. The wife's Robic hammock has very similar runs in it, so we beefed up our rigs before it dropped her, too. The fabric is super comfy, easy enough to work with as long as you're dealing with squares and not trying to hem diagonally. We probably had somewhere on the order of 35-40 nights in them each, so it wasn't an immediate failure. We did try to treat them as nicely as possible, realizing that ultralight does not mean robust and bombproof. I did like the fact that my hammock and suspension all tucked it the stuff sack was 12.8 oz. It's a neat fabric and I loved it while it was functional. It's just not for us.

Cheers,
the Goat

[ndstephens]

Wow, that's pretty scary. Glad it didn't drop you while you were sleeping. Didn't realize it could happen so easily. Going to go check my hammocks for runs....