Tarp suggestion for covering 2 hammocks

**lama3646** · 01-10-2010, 13:37

I have been trying to recruit my teenager to try hammock camping with me. Her biggest concern is that she is afraid to hang separate from me, under her own tarp. She loves to camp, but somehow feels "safer" in a tent.

She wants to hang beside me, under one large tarp. I currently have a WBBB and a MacCat Deluxe. Does it make more sense to buy a second single tarp and layer with my tarp, or buy a large tarp to cover the both of us? I have no idea how I would pitch the combination of two tarps.

Suggestions and photos would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

**opie** · 01-10-2010, 15:21

Are you going to be doing the camping in the cold, or more moderate weather?

In the cold, you best bet is probably two tarps. That way you can get the sides down to the ground yet still have enough room under them to move around and such.

In more moderate weather, 1, 11x10 or 12 x10 would work fine. You may even be able to convince sclittlefield to make you up an 11x12 or 12x12.

**lama3646** · 01-10-2010, 16:05

We usually camp 3 seasons in PA/NY. Temperature range 80's to 40's. If there is a high chance of rain, I usually go by myself without kids. (nothing extreme for us) Not worried about the weight.

**gargoyle** · 01-10-2010, 16:18

A big tarp will do the trick. Hang one hammock to the left side of the trees and one from the right side.

Or hang them bunk bed style, one above the other. Think Gilligans Island. Plowhorse has some good photos of the bunkbed hang in his gallery.

Or find the "just right" 3 tree hanging location. Both hammocks tied to one tree at one end and the other end is tied to seperate trees, kinda a 'v' configuration.

**opie** · 01-10-2010, 16:21

Originally Posted by lama3646

We usually camp 3 seasons in PA/NY. Temperature range 80's to 40's. If there is a high chance of rain, I usually go by myself without kids. (nothing extreme for us) Not worried about the weight.

1 larger tarp would probably fit the bill then.

**sclittlefield** · 01-10-2010, 16:30

I think Brian at OES has a design for a huge 15x12 tarp. That would be ideal for two hammocks.

Also- the Guide Gear 12x12 from sportsmansguide.com is a great priced tarp. Heavier than silnylon, but reasonable at approx. 2lbs. You can't beat the price.

And finally, check out this thread a little ways down this sub-forum. This Chinook 14x12 would work great for two hammocks.

**Mustardman** · 01-10-2010, 16:40

As long as you aren't trying to block the wind from a temperature standpoint, a 12x10 winter style tarp ought to work. I ordered a custom 12x10 from Brian at OES, with some extra tieouts added:

In its main configuration, it's like the Speer Winter Tarp, where you can close the doors. However, the extra tieouts in the middle of the cat cuts give you extra pitching options for various setups.

For example, a two-hammock hang... (clicking on these will load larger versions)

In this configuration, I have the foot (windward) end pitched off the center ridgeline tieout, as you would in a normal tarp pitch. The head end is pitched off the two tieouts in the middle of the cat cuts, with the extra staked down towards the ground as somewhat of a wind block.

Later that night, we got hit with a pretty severe downpour. I tied the suspension lines of the two hammocks together with some of the extra suspension strapping, to pull the hammocks close together under the tarp and protect them better from the rain. There was some small amount of splashing on the underquilts, but overall we stayed very dry.

**Mustardman** · 01-10-2010, 16:42

Also, I would consider carrying the one large tarp, but carrying the smaller hex MacCat as well. That way, if you get setup in a way that there is wind blown rain hitting you, you can use the MacCat to make a wall and block that wind.

We didn't use it, but my fiance had her own tarp with her on that trip, so we could have gotten it out if the wind blown rain had turned out to be an issue. It wasn't, so we were fine.

**drewboy** · 01-10-2010, 16:50

Here's a picture of a 2 person hang under a 10x12 Kelty Noah's Tarp (using the patented Mustardman 3 tree hang technique :-) ). This tarp is a little heavier than others at 2 lbs, but at ~$65 is cheaper than the other options already mentioned. It actually worked pretty darn good for my wife and I. Sportman's Guide also makes an even more economical 10x12 tarp with the extra tieouts to enable this pitch configuration, but last I heard they were out of stock of that particular model.