Some time ago there was a thread here about hammock specific tarp ideas. Somebody mentioned a hybrid with a hex on one side to block the wind and a and diamond on the other to reduce weight, stakes, easier porch mode, etc. I went ahead and made one.
I first drew it out on a grid to decide the dimensions I wanted. I decided on 11' x 11' using 1.1 oz silpoly XL from ripstopbytheroll.com. This results in 13 oz of fabric, about 1.6 oz less than a similarly sized hex tarp.
Then I realized that turning the tarp 90 degrees would give more coverage over the head end which would be an improvement for hanging two hammocks side by side with a spreader bar at one end, which I do from time to time with my daughter but have never had the best tarp setup to go with it.
At some point I also realized that this could make a pretty good ground shelter by attaching the peak of the diamond side to a tree or pole and staking out the remaining 4 corners. It could feasibly fit two average sized adults inside, but with limited room for gear.
With the ideas flowing I printed out a scale drawing and started folding it around to work out a few more kinks. I wanted two perpendicular seams to take the ridgeline load in either single or double hammock modes, so I decided to make it out of four panels. This was extra good because it allowed me to cut the whole tarp from only 5 yards of fabric with virtually no scrap.
I just finished the tarp today. It works in all the ways I planned it to, except that the panel pull-outs on the hex side don't to hardly anything for increasing room in ground shelter mode. But since those still work in regular hammock mode I'm glad I included them.
I'm quite happy all around. I'll be taking it on it's first overnighter later this month, but it's certainly passed the back yard test.
Even more pictures here.
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by Trail Troll
Bookmarks