How close should the tarp be to the hammock?

[ADVWannabe]

I am reposting the image from the sticky in this forum below for reference. If you look at the side view in the image, you see the tarp ridge line below the hammock's tree straps. Does the tarp need to be this low? I had planned to attach the tarp ridgeline to the carabiners that will hold the tree straps but will that be too high up?

FWIW, I have an ENO hammock and a Kelty 12x12 tarp. I am waiting on my tree straps to be delivered from Arrowhead Equipment tomorrow. Maybe this weekend I will get a chance to hang everything and see for myself.

[chickenwing]

I like to pitch my tarp where I can stand up without ducking too much (I am 6' 1" tall) so I set my tarp at about the 6 ish feet high point. I pitch my hammock so that it's ridgeline is about 5 ish feet high. but that is just me. It also really depends on the size of the tarp and the severity of the weather expected (ie - small tarp + Bad weather = close together)

[krugd]

The simple answer is no. Its really weather dependent - in bad weather I tend to hang as shown, in better weather I hang lower (or hang the tarp higher.)

With a 12 x 12 tarp you can probably go quite a lot higher in any weather.

[dejoha]

+1

The tarp is a variable that can be moved to suit your needs. When weather is good and wind is low, pitch it high for the best head room, etc. Pitch it low and tight when weather is poor, wind is high, and precipitation is a problem.

On one backpacking trip this February, the wind was the biggest problem, funneling down the canyon in the same direction all night. I pitched my tarp like a wall on one side to deflect the wind.

I hope this helps, and I'm sorry if the illustration was misleading. I expanded the illustrations in my book to show these tips with more detail.

[Bubba]

As others have said it depends on the weather conditions. A lower tarp allows you to stake down the sides low to groung for protection from wind or driving rain. Higher up allow porch mode and nice views of your surroundings. I've always liked attaching the tarp to the trees rather than the hammock suspension because of the movement of the hammock and I like being able to pitch my tarp first for rainy days so I can get under and set up my hammock while covered.

[SmokeBait]

Generally speaking, the side view is correct with the tarp attachment to the trees being below the hammock attachment. Having them equal might be ok in a light, straight down rain but if it's windy you will more than likely get wet.

[Two Tents]

I usually have the trees straps over top of the ridge line ( up higher) This is no big deal in nice weather but if it going to storm I will load the hammock with weight best I can so I can get the tarp even closer to the hammock. Get out and use your stuff and you'll find out the whys and what for's of it all. I think it would be real high if you attach to the biners like you mentioned. Suffering builds character if you make a miscalculation on something. You''l get it. Practice and keep asking questions.

[lazy river road]

The other thing to take into consideration is that once you get into your hammock you are going to be lower to the ground then the perceived height of the hammock with no weight inside. So if you hang your hammock at the same level as your tarp then most likely once you get inside you will be hanging below the tarp walls or the lower majority of you hammock will be hanging lower then the edge of the tarp wall. So if their is any side to side wind or rain blowing in diagonally their is a possibility of getting sprayed with water or having the wind steal your heat. Since I've started using cuben tarps with 4.5 ft walls I hang my tarp much lower then I did when I was using 10 ft sides. It all depends on the weather and season.

[nothermark]

One other thing worth noting is that the way the diagram looks the hammock could swing into the tarp ropes. This may or may not be an issue depending on what you want to have happen. If you have a big tarp and are pitching high it is not a problem. If you are using a small tarp pitched low it might make more sense to anchor your tarp ridge line to the Hammock hanging lines the way Hennessy does.

[rip waverly]

i attach my tarp at the tree above the hammock connections.

letting some slack in the tarp's ridgeline tieouts allows you to control
how high the tarp is actually hung. =more slack=lower ---less slack=higher.
once you tighten up the rest of the lines to their corresponding stakes.... the ridgeline stiffens up.

this helps to avoid any 'collision' between the tarp lines & hammock suspension. and also mimics the 30* angle rule of the hmmk.