First there was the Batwing, a prodigious 12'x12' widebody winter tarp with vestibule doors, which I designed for maximum protection about a year ago.
Next came the Cat Tangle, a cat-cut rectangular 12'x10' all-season tarp made with standard-width fabric and corners that could close to form "doors" for full enclosure as well as provide coverage in vulnerable areas for bridge hammocks and tandem hangs; it was designed as "one tarp to do it all".
Soon thereafter, the Bat Tangle was hypothesized, and later a prototype was built: a 12'x12' square widebody version of the Cat Tangle -- because if 10 feet of width is good, wouldn't 12 feet be better? (Eventually, I explored this concept further and optimized the size to an 11'x11' tarp with special modifications for a wider variety of applications, called the Trail Boss (project report forthcoming).
Following the "bigger is better" theme I responded to an entreat from a fellow HF member to create the biggest, baddest tarp of them all -- greater wingspan than the Batwing, more width than the Cat Tangle, and more ridge line than the Bat Tangle.
The Super Bat Tangle: the biggest tarp I have ever built, and probably the biggest tarp I'll ever build.
Here was my result...
Type: All-season rectangular hammock tarp (hex mode, full enclosure mode, and compatible with single, double, and triple internal pole modification)
Materials: Wide Silpoly waterproof fabric, 300D pack cloth, 1.5", 1", and 5/8" poly grosgrain ribbon, Mara 70 thread, misc. hardware
Ridge Line Length: 168" (14 feet!)
Width: 140"
Enclosed Footprint ("doors" shut): 48 sq ft (8' x 6')
Weight: 26.8 oz (759 grams)
The SBT has a stretch version of the trademark Cat Tangle ground edge profile with five tie-outs per ground edge (two main, two corner, one auxiliary midpoint).
I think it turned out pretty awesome. We will have to see how it does in the field this summer. More to come...
Thanks for reading, as always...
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