I'm a very happy camper!!!

[Woods Walker]

Just got back from a Nebraska turkey hunting trip, slept in my NX-250 through some of the nastiest weather I could imagine.

We had cold, wind, rain, hail & some crazy lightning storms... a tornado happened a few mile south of us. I stayed warm, dry & happy in my hammock.
2 of the tents got wet & when we packed up, it was still raining... the tent guys had wet dirty nasty tents & gear to pack... only thing of mine that went in the truck wet was the rain fly

HAPPY, HAPPY CAMPER !!!!

I have the vortex fly, but think I will be looking for one that is a little bigger to allow more head room when standing next to hammock & possibly with end flaps for when it gets nasty & you don't want to be in the hammock.... any suggestions???

[DemostiX]

Well, there's the very latest Vertex, bigger at the foot end than last year's model.

But, to be serious, responding to your story, go to www/jacksrbetter.com and look at the photos of their 11x10. Among them, these






Others in other forums could tell you whether other 11x10s with fewer tie outs can offer that much flexibility.
That's a solid, --not stolid -- company. That's a maximum coverage tarp w/o pretensions that weight can be saved except by way more expensive materials or large swaths of coverage disappeared.

[H27790]

That tarp intrigues me, but something confuses me. The pictures all show the brown/green two tone, but ordering asks you to pick one?

[molawns]

That tarp intrigues me, but something confuses me. The pictures all show the brown/green two tone, but ordering asks you to pick one?

That may be a demo model just to show what both colors would look like, but I don't know that for sure, so I could be way off. Just a guess.

[DemostiX]

Two tones? I just see that half the tarp is in shadow.........

Call the Jacks. I'm sure someone there will not regard you as a tire-kicker for service and conversation about one of their products.

[gaijin42]

Its clearly two different color fabrics.

[BillyBob58]

That may be a demo model just to show what both colors would look like, but I don't know that for sure, so I could be way off. Just a guess.

Right, I think that was just for early demo purposes. But, I have used this tarp for many years and I consider it a winner. Please notice that picture of the Baker Hut set up, and by turning it on the short ridge line the "hammock hut" pretty much fully enclosing if your hammock is not extra long. ( Even if it is it is still easy to make a mod ( with garbage bags even ) making a sleeve just for the very end of your hammock. Both of these set ups might not be easy to do with most hex cut tarps. This tarp is very close to a rectangle rectangle than Hex. I have had or now have Mac Cat Deluxe ( not quite big enough for JRB Bridge mostly due to hex cut), the HH diamonds, Claytor Diamond, Hennessy Hex ( both Sil Nylon and coated nylon) and the JRB. The JRB pitches as tight as any of them, and provides better coverage than most and as good as any. It has more pitch flexibility than all the rest.

It is not the lightest and weighs proportionate to it's 10x11 rectangular size.

[Passinthru]

I could be wrong here but it looks to me - from Clark's and JRB's website information - that the dimensions of the Vertex and the JRB 10x11 are very nearly the same (JRB is 10x11 & Vertex is 10x10'7").
The main differences are that the JRB has double catenary cuts on the long sides and straight hems on the short sides. The Vertex has double catenary cuts on all sides. Looks like the JRB also has more tieouts on the short sides and a tieout on the ridgeline.
As far as coverage, it doesn't look like much advantage in the JRB. With a few added tieout points on the Vertex the same versatility of pitch modes could be acheived.
As I consider upgrading to a Clark, the Vertex is looking pretty good to me.

[DemostiX]

Was I dismissive of the Clark Vertex? A bit, when I wrote "to be serious"; but that was fully respecting the quality of Clark sewing and materials, diminishing the value of a tarp that was only slightly larger at one end than what you have and fully respecting your field needs and experiences as described in your fine and textured initial post. I have a Clark Vertex fly, and if it weren't for the fact that HF member lowclass sold it to me without disclosing the cinder damage -- about 20 small holes and more burns all near one edge, during his girlfriend's limited use -- I'd like it even more.

"To be serious" was a reflection of the high price of Clark tarps compared to alternatives, leading me to believe they were really meant for bundling with their hammocks. When I asked Clark about replacing my Vertex, I was quoted $179 + shipping. (But, brand loyalty counts for something.)

And it was also an appreciation -- which BillyBob better expressed from experience than I can -- of how fine JacksRBetter products are, what with the inclusion of tie-outs for flexibility that other tarps do not have. I doubt JRB includes them for glitz and glamour, as "featuritis." As a hunter, not a decorator of your gear closet with yet more nylon, you are not likely someone who would cut off half the tie-out loops and brag here about the 1/4 ounce saving you'd achieved. (Had to get that in. There are more fine old bike frames ruined by dudes who just have to hack-saw off braze-on tabs put there for mechs and fenders.)

The Jacks are not the cool guys, but a working piece of gear doesn't need to be cool. JRB and Clark have more in common than many might suppose.

And, yes, I know the tarp in the JRB pix is of two colors. Jacks are old enough they remember when that was called "two-tone". I just don't do smilies. They are all implied.

[Woods Walker]

Upon further review, it seems that the other tarps I was looking at are only 4" bigger than the vertex, so the only benefit would be the doors... I think I will just use what I have for now, it kept me plenty dry in a Nebraska thunderstorm.