Not at all, I like the extra coverage. I found it's enough overhang that I was able to ditch my tarps with doors.
Not at all, I like the extra coverage. I found it's enough overhang that I was able to ditch my tarps with doors.
Some days I can't tell whether I found a rope or lost a horse...
I use a 12' Toxaway on the 10.5 custom hammock and recently used it on a 10' Bonefire. If you're not married to having the suspension lines go through a V in tarp tie outs, then there is no effect, or its the same effect as with a shorter tarp. But I have always hung my large tarp high because, well, its large so what do I care about weather coverage and being pulled down on me? So my V (stingers) is sufficiently high enough for the suspension to go through without issue.
"I wonder if anyone else has an ear so tuned and sharpened as I have, to detect the music, not of the spheres, but of earth, subtleties of major and minor chord that the wind strikes upon the tree branches. Have you ever heard the earth breathe... ?"
- Kate Chopin
I say, half tongue in cheek, that you can't have too large of a tarp. The limiting factor, as mentioned above, is for full extension, you need a greater distance than you would otherwise need to hang a shorter tarp. I'm not a gram weenie; but, I cut weight in other areas. With the weight of modern tarps, I always go for as much coverage as I can get. Of course I prefer, weather permitting, hangin out in the wind with a clear view of the stars.
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“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.”
John Steinbeck
My tarp is 12x10 and I have a 10' hammock. A couple of times the tarp ends were very close to the tree, but I figure if I need too, I can rotate it 90 and use the 10' side between the trees.
- Clyde
For me, it's all about the doors, not the length. Even a small flap like the Warbonnet Minifly makes a world of difference leaving you much less exposed.
I have one 12' tarp and that extra foot is really noticeable when setting up. Thinking back on some trips, there would have been several occasions where I couldn't have fit it properly.
Originally Posted by OneClick
This ^^^^ is one of the reasons I moved away from 12' tarps. No doubt they were caverns, but tree selection became so critical, the trade off wasn't worth it. At this point, I have two tarps, both with doors. The weight penalty for the doors (very little given they are both cuben tarps), make it almost senseless to consider adding a doorless tarp.
Yes, my pack weighs 70lbs, but it's all light weight gear....
Bob's brother-in-law
I use a UGQ Winterdream 13’
Love it. Never an issue, nor is finding trees in Michigan ... different story in the lower elevations in Arizona.
Back again to mention length. I had my 11' Superfly out recently and that 1' less really makes a difference. It's not a matter of finding trees; it's the height at which you have to hang your hammock...which is then dictating how low you can hang your hammock.
With the 11', I was able to pitch it very low and the hammock still hung nicely since the trees were rather close together. My 12' Winter Haven wouldn't have worked...but being a wider tarp it would have made up for that on different trees.
If you have doors, it almost doesn't matter how long the tarp is as long and you can fit the hammock completely underneath.
Clisby Clark and I spent a cold windy night at Millers Gap a few months ago.It was time to hang the tarps and we passed by several spots looking for adequate trees/safety etc.
The two I hung between accommodated my 11' HG Standard with about 2 inches of clearance on either end and I did not see any other tree options anywhere close by.So as much as I love my 12 foot tarps,and I mean I really do love'em,it's usually an 11 footer in my pack unless I have a good idea of where I am headed.
I only use 13 ft'ers for the WW RR. I have a 13 ft SuperFly and a 13 ft Old Man Winter. I do love to set up in porch mode and just "walk in" to my shelter and hammock. That's a good point that the longer tarp needs wider spaced trees and the wider spaced trees need a higher attachment point. When I started out I decided how high I wanted to (or could) reach up in a tree. Then I used the hammock calculator to determine the max tree distance that wouldn't require reaching too high.
But most my "issues" have been when the trees are too close. Or - that infuriating situation where there are two near perfect trees but then there's another off to the side, between them, that would interfere with the tarp.
Here's a 12 x 10 JRB Universal. Sometimes I bring my GPS so I don't get lost under there.
tightfir.jpg
Last edited by cougarmeat; 11-12-2019 at 13:17.
In order to see what few have seen, you must go where few have gone. And DO what few have done.
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