How close does your hammock hang to your tarp?

[chknbone]

My first tarp was a Kelty Noah 12'x12" on a solid ridgeline. I could hang that thing up high enough that I could walk under it standing straight up with no concern of hitting my head (5'10") then I would just hang my hammock under there at a height that I could sit in it with my feet just barely off the ground.

I decided to cut over half the weight by upgrading to the Tadpole by Wilderness Logic. Soooooo much lighter. Sooooo much smaller when packed in its bag. I love that thing.

I set it up for the first time last night at the normal height as the Kelty (high enough to walk under standing up) and set the hammock up at the same height as well (feet almost touching the ground). Then I realized just how much more exposed the lower part of my hammock was beneath the sides of the tarp. I knew my butt would be feeling every breeze that came my way. I also felt like the ends of my hammock weren't covered as well by the tarp if it were to rain. The three options I saw were:
1. Raise the hammock
2. Pitch the sides at a steeper angle (less room inside)
3. Lower the tarp

I went with #3 and lowered the tarp (mainly because I like to be able to reach my shoes in the morning while still sitting in the hammock).

The lower part that I felt was exposed before looked better covered and the ends also looked better covered (my hammock ridgeline is 115" and the tarp ridgeline is 132"). However, what I notice this morning while packing everything up is that my head was constantly rubbing up against the tarp as I moved around. No big deal this morning since it was nice out but what I kept thinking was what would be the results of that if it were raining out? I've not had to pitch, sleep, or take down in the rain yet and I just remember the olden days where it was a cardinal sin to touch the top of a tent in the mornings because it would accelerate/allow the water to come through the fabric.

I didn't expect the Tadpole to have the same type of coverage that the 12'x12' tarp did so I know it's just a matter of getting used to the look of the smaller tarp and continuing to use it to gain more confidence that the smaller tarp will be more than sufficient for my hangs. I guess my questions are:

1. How close do the ends of your hammock hang in relation to the tarp for these "normal" sized tarps to have good coverage from wind/rain? (ie "my hammock ends are about 2" below the tarp" or "my hammock ends are a good 10" below the tarp")

2. Is it still a no-no to touch the tarp from the inside when it's wet outside with today's fabrics/technology?

Thanks.

[MAD777]

My small Cuben tarp is a few inches above the hammock. Just enough so that the tarp suspension & hammock suspension don't rub against each other.
If it's not raining, I throw one side of the tarp over the ridgeline. If it is raining, I just deal with it.
If I need to cook under the tarp in the rain, I tie the hammock over to one side, out of the way, and cook while sitting on my stool.

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[GearJunkie_1307]

1) depends on what tarp I'm using, but I typically hang mine such that the tap is at most 1-2" from the ridgeline of the hammock. My fair weather tarp is 10', on a 10' hammock (RL is 100" on a 10' hammock assuming the normal ratio), that makes it so the tarp has a roughly 10" overhang on each end. Coverage in this configuration is narrower than what you'd get with an 11' tarp, but with careful setup + drip lines it works.

2) it shouldn't be, but I suppose it depends on material- if using DCF, I'd expect no trouble there. IDK exactly about silpoly/silnylon

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[Cory Hess]

1. It depends on the weather. Sunny skies and calm winds I have that tarp strung high. Stormy, windy nights it's snug down to the hammock. Here's a picture from a rainy day without much wind. You can see that the tarp is maybe 6 inches or so above the hammock, maybe a little bit more. I was ducking to get in and out, and I'm 6'. I don't do a lot of standing under my tarp, so it doesn't bother me too awful much to be ducking a bit.



2. Touching the underside of your tarp shouldn't cause any issues. Not touching the inside of a tent was a rule when tents were made of canvas. Those old canvas tents worked because the holes in the canvas were small enough that the surface tension of the water wouldn't allow drops to form on the inside of the canvas. By touching it you broke that surface tension and it would start to drip. Even modern canvas tarps and tents use treated cotton that alleviates this issue. Lightweight hammocking tarps are treated with silicon that seals those pores and thus those issues don't exist to begin with.

[Carrico]

It depends on the weather for me, if it's nice enough I keep mine up as high as I can and put it in porch mode. If I think it's going to get nasty I batten down the hatches and just deal with having to hunch over, or a lot of times I put down my ground sheet and just move around on my knees under the tarp. A tadpole, while certainly big enough to keep you dry in most weather, isn't a very big tarp. it might be worth taking your Kelty out when you know it's going to be raining or getting a larger lightweight tarp for winter or as I did get a winter sock to help protect your hammock from wind and Blowin in moisture.

[IRONFISH45]

Where we primarily Hang, normally we have rain, blowing rain. I learned with my HH, how to use a minimal tarp and keep dry.

10 inches and drip line on each end.

Tarp really close to hammock but not touching when I am in the hammock.

I touch bump and rub against my tarp, I use seceral types of fabric, touching has not caused leaks. Sometimes moisture forms beads on the inside of my tarp because of the humidity not a leak. The moisture forms because I did not vent properly.

[OneClick]

This is a pretty typical setup for me no matter the season or weather. I'll skip the porch mode if it's raining moderate-heavy.



I'm guessing 10" between the ridgeline of the tarp and ridgeline of hammock.

[Two Speed]

Mine is usually fairly close but I don't do any standing under my tarp and the width is a little small at 8'6" and I find I can get the sides lower to prevent any blowing rain when the tarp is a little lower close to the hammock. I usually set the hammock up and get the height where I want it. I like my feet touching the ground but do what ever you prefer and then put the tarp on accordingly. The only time I put the tarp up first is when its raining. In regards to your material question it depends on what material your tarp is. With my cuben fiber tarp one night I set it up and the tarp was touching my face when I slept and it was fine.

[curtiseddie]

Does the placement location of tree straps & ridgeline affect the interaction of tarp and hammock? I've seen tree straps higher than ridgeline (post #4 appears to be like this); tree straps at same height as ridgeline (post#5); and tree straps lower than ridgeline. Obviously having tree straps lower than ridgeline should eliminate any rubbing or interaction between tarp and hammock, but are there any thoughts on the other two configurations?

[Cory Hess]

My tree straps are just about always above my tarp's ridgeline and I've never noticed any issues with it at all. Some people like to keep a V in the ends of their ridgeline by having it loop back as far away from the tree as possible before connecting to their tarp or hardware. They then run their hammock suspension through that V to avoid contact between the two. I've hung with and without this V and haven't noticed any difference at all. It's a non-issue in my mind.