Interesting idea! Thanks for sharing.
Interesting idea! Thanks for sharing.
Funny, you guessed it, it failed at the tie outs. Upon closer inspection today, the tie outs came loose from the polycryo, due to the cold and wet, but they stuck to the taped edges of the tarp, peeling away the tape. What I thought were shards of the tarp were in fact long pieces of the hem tape. I removed all the hem tape, as the material itself seems stronger than the tape anyway, and reattached the tieouts with 2" sqaures of clear duct tape, also used same to reinforce the seam along the ridge line. Patched one small hole with it, and now it's flying well again in 20 mph winds. It was a bear to set up in the wind, but I guess anything that light will be. It's been up for about an hour and a half.
I think the best thing about this tarp is the portable pole pockets. I used a 2.5 or 3 inch square of leather, poked four holes through it with the awl on my Swiss Army knife, threaded some Z-Line through leaving several inches on the tags; these I tied to the center tie outs and adjusted length to fit the pole. I think it's a 124 inch pole from a 2 man Walrus backpacking tent. The fabric is strong but once nicked badly it will tear. Repairs very easily with clear duct tape tho. Tie outs holding now, wind 10 mph.
Glad you are back in business! Thought it would be the tie-outs as the material is much tougher than it looks.
Lots of good grommet info on the above-mentioned thread from BPL. I'm diggin' the pole mod! Also, you're right about ease of repair - I recommend a small patch of tape as a preventative in the high-risk areas.
Please report back w/more results! Nice tarp.
"Do or do not, there is no try." -- Yoda
This may be the greatest DIY ever! Cheap (very) and being completely transparent passers by can see how dag blasted comfortable you are in your hammock. Except for the part about having a pleasant nights rest disturbed by the rising sun, this is a win-win.
"A bore is a man who deprives you of solitude without providing you with company." Gian Vincenzo Gravina (1664 - 1718)
Will certainly make changing your clothes at group hangs interesting.
Knotty
"Don't speak unless it improves the silence." -proverb
DIY Gathered End Hammock
DIY Stretch-Side Hammock
Stretch-Side "Knotty Mod"
DIY Bugnet
I've read a few threads on this on BPL and some are using it for tarps, many for ground sheets. To me, it's just too fragile and risky for weight savings. Kind of going too far for weight savings, IMO. Shelter is Survival Essential.
For a state park or car camping trip, it's a cheap alternative to a tarp, but I would not trust it for a back packing trip from what I've read. I've never even seen it.
I made another PC tarp yesterday and hung it today. I'm trying it out tonight. Thanks to John Sawyer's generous donation of some Tyvek Tape, I made this one in a hex shape using the tape for tieouts and hems. I found you can buy bulk shrink wrap, 84" x 25' from Ace Hardware, so I'm making two of these 12.5 x 7' hex tarps. Couldn't figure out how to use the tape hems with cat cuts, so I left the sides with a straight cut. Thanks again, John!
The Tyvek tape tie outs are too brittle. I had five of them snap at various points during the night. I easily repaired them with a bit of clear duct tape. Tyvek tape works okay for the hems. There are no seams on this tarp. The Gorilla tape I used on the first version works much better for tie outs, but JS and I thought that the Tyvek would work well and be much lighter. Clear duct tape works better, and Gorilla tape works best. With all of these tapes, you can peel them off pretty easily without damaging the polycryo and move them or reattach. Repairs are easily made, and the tarp only took a few hours to make. Cost was about $7. It was great to be able to watch the stars with! I'm waiting for the August meteor showers!
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