DIY Multicam All-Season Cat-Cut Rectangle Tarp (Intruder Cat Tangle)

[kitsapcowboy]

There's a special sense of dread that accompanies DIY hammock gear projects involving expen$ive fabrics and components.

It's a fear that every step of the build is an opportunity for mission-critical failure that will ruin my material and put me out lots of money.

I think that's because every step of the build is an opportunity for mission-critical failure that will ruin my material and put me out lots of money.



I got my hands on 8 yards of Crye Multicam 1.1 oz Intruder silnylon*, matching Crye Multicam grosgrain ribbon, and some choice Dutch titanium D-rings, so I replicated my DIY Cat Tangle 12' x 10' all-season cat-cut rectangle tarp design in this new fabric, which happens to be my personal favorite.

Here is my result...







Type: All-season rectangular hammock tarp (hex mode, full enclosure mode, and compatible with optional double internal pole modification)
Materials: Multicam 1.1 oz Intruder silnylon*, 300D pack cloth, Multicam nylon grosgrain ribbon, Mara 70 thread, Dutch 1/2" titanium D-rings and misc. hardware
Ridge Line Length: 144" (12 feet)
Width: 120"
Enclosed Footprint ("doors" shut): 36 sq ft (6' x 6')
Weight: 25.4 oz (720 grams)*





* For those of you not familiar with Multicam Intruder silnylon, it is not your typical 1.1 oz silnylon waterproof fabric. It is a 30D product with excellent strength, impressive abrasion resistance, and a formidable (almost waxy) silicone coating on both sides. It can withstand punishing downpours without wetting out or misting through like many silnylon fabrics can. Multicam Intruder silnylon is fairly expensive, at around $17 per (64" wide) linear yard, due primarily to a hefty licensing fee required to produce materials printed with Crye Precision's proprietary camouflage pattern. It is also heavy as cr@p for a fabric with a nominal weight (before waterproof coating) of 1.1 oz per square yard; while RBTR's standard 1.1 oz silnylon has an actual unit weight of around 1.2 to 1.3 oz, Intruder silnylon has a claimed finished weight 1.5 oz, and my sample came in at close to 1.7 oz, or nearly 3 oz per linear yard! Good thing it makes you invisible...

For overall utility, compromises on weight and pack space, and broad-range versatility, at this point I am favoring the latest this current version of the Cat Tangle, built with a folded grosgrain ridge line and a conventional roll-hemmed perimeter with reinforcement patches and two-way tie-outs....

* It is built from 8 yards of standard-width fabric (only one yard more than a hex tarp), so it is extremely cost-effective (when built with typical 1.1 oz fabric) for the area of coverage it provides.

* It packs almost as small as a hex tarp and weighs around one pound (when built with typical 1.1 oz fabric).

* It provides full-enclosure with "doors" in fall and winter and has internal pole compatibility for double poles.

* It provides superior wind-blocking with lots of options and a generous protected area from both sun and rain when pitched wide in warmer weather.

* It has a great porch mode, including a "floating" option with internal poles.

* It has a convenient "hex" mode ("doors" folded under) to provide weather protection with superior ventilation and views.

* It allows for tandem hanging with two 11-foot hammocks side by side using a 36" spreader bar.

* It works well with bridge hammocks.

* It is relatively easy to cut and sew.

Monster tarps like the my DIY Batwing 12' x 12' definitely have their advantages when considerations are different, as do small, efficient tarps like a standard parallelogram asym or my DIY K.I.S.S. 6' X 9', but for "one tarp to rule them all", the Cat Tangle seems like a very good jack-of-all-trades option.

Please feel free to inquire or comment below, and thanks for reading this project report.

PS: My plans and build report for the original Cat Tangle Tarp are here...

https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/...at-Tangle-Tarp

[rick417]

'Tis a thing of beauty! Wish I had some of those skills...love it!

[kitsapcowboy]

This DIY project report was submitted to this forum for ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY. Use any methods, ideas, or inspirations contained herein strictly AT YOUR OWN RISK. I accept no responsibility whatsoever for any injury or harm that befalls others owing to information presented here, and I accept no responsibility for any errors the post contains.

I do not in any way advocate that others should do anything I have presented here; this thread is strictly DOCUMENTATION OF FACT. Readers beware.

There is a lot of great information on Hammock Forums available from members with much more substantial experience, better ideas, and better methods than mine. SEEK IT OUT.

Thank you for your attention.

ADDENDUM:
The weight of this tarp on the scale in the photograph from the first post is correct 706 grams; the tarp body was complete and the ridge line and titanium RL hadware were installed, but the eight grosgrain side tie-outs (4 grams) and their associated hardware (10 grams) were not. Thus, the final weight of the fully completed tarp is indeed 720 grams, as it appears in the text of the specifications listed in my OP.

[kitsapcowboy]

'Tis a thing of beauty! Wish I had some of those skills...love it!

Thanks, Rick.

Looking forward to testing the ridge line seam for impermeability on Tuesday, when we are next expecting some rain. It poured most of the day yesterday, but I had work to do and couldn't work on this tarp until early this morning. Total build time from measuring and cutting through to sewing on the last tie-out was between 7 and 8 hours.

[geneaut]

That should be hanging in the Louvre. Beautiful work.

[kitsapcowboy]

All set up in porch mode over my Multicam Warbonnet Blackbird XLC, hoping to catch a break on the forecast 30% chance of rain overnight in order to test the ridge line seam...