Tarpidation

[conburn]

If everything falls into place I'm hiking the Appalachian trail mid-april and I would like to replace my standard hennesy backpacker tarp for something a little bigger. I realize the standard is very light, and it can totally be effective when setting up shop in a good spot, but I want that extra peace of mind and "living space". I'm pretty set on an OES standard....bigger but not too big and in my budget. I have a few questions about it though, what is the difference between silnylon and spinnUL? I can see that one is a bit lighter, but anything else that would make it important to spend that extra $50? Also if I get the standard is it necessary to have panel pull-outs? From what I understand they are usually in the middle to keep it from sagging in on the hammock...that right? Thanks a lot!


http://outdoorequipmentsupplier.com/maccat_tarps.php

[Cannibal]

Standard is an excellent tarp for a Thru. On the small side for fiddle room outside of the hammock, but it is a good balance IMO.

Two problems:
1. OES has closed up shop for the time. Brian got a real job using his college degree, so we all wish him well, but....
2. Spinn hasn't been available from OES for quite a while now. The quality of the produced Spinn fell below Brian's standards so for all intents and purposes, he dropped it.

That said, I love Spinn. It splits the difference in weight between sil and cuben and pretty much split the difference in price too. Plus, like cuben, it is actually waterproof. Sil will leak (very mild, not canvas kind of leaking) if you apply pressure to it. Spinn and cuben do not.

Panel pulls on a tarp that size are not at all needed. You start getting into panel pulls with winter sized tarps that have massive sidewalls.

[conburn]

I see, thanks Cannibal. That sucks. Any Spinn tarp you suggest of a similar stoke to the maccat standard?

[BearChaser]

Here is a bit of good news for ya though. I believe JRB still has some spinn tarps available & very close to the same size as the OES Standard.

http://www.jacksrbetter.com/HexTarps.htm

.

[Cannibal]

I honestly don't know if any of our cottage folks are still producing Spinn tarps. Warbonnet & Jacks R Better were both doing Spinn for a while, but I think they had experiences similar to OES's Spinn issues. Don't know if either have any left in stock or not. You might try starting a thread in the "Want To Buy" section and see if you've got any good luck on your side.

It will cost you many shiny pennies, but a cuben tarp would be a nice thing to have for a 2,000+ mile hike. I resisted it for a long time due to my happiness with Spinn, but once I made the switch I regretted not doing it sooner. NOT CHEAP!

[bigbamaguy]

The expense of a Cuben tarp is the only reason I have not switched. I have a Maccat Delux in Spinn and I am extremely happy with it. I am saving my pennies and one day I will have a cuben tarp in my collection.

[Brian]

Cannibal, keep in mind that while my custom orders are closed up, I do still have a healthy selection of silnylon MacCat's in stock for the time being. No Spinn, unfortunately, but Conburn, if you can find a used one on the FS/FT forums, it would be a great fine if you're looking to shave every ounce.

[Festus]

I beat myself up for nearly a week, deciding if I should pull the trigger and get and OES tarp before they become collectors items. Well, I finally did it and I'm happy bout' it.

I was ready to post a reply on this 'thread' but found the information I was looking for. I was going to ask if the WBBB would work well with the OES "Standard", then I realized Brian has this same setup. Just needed to look at his profile more closely.