Check with all the known tarp makers that are always mentioned on here for tarps with blems. They are just cosmetic blems and you can save some money.
A good tarp can be worth the extra cash.
These can be had for under $100
Hennessy hex tarps
http://hennessyhammock.com/catalog/p...70d_polyester/
Wilderness Logics Tadpole
http://wildernesslogics.com/Tad-Pole-Tad-Pole.htm
Arrowhead equipments Toxaway
http://arrowheadequipment.webs.com/a...s/show/1869837
Last edited by spaceweaseal; 09-16-2012 at 13:56.
I started with a 9x11 Harbor Freight camo tarp. It's heavy and noisy but it works. Now I use a 9x10 tyvek tarp (not quite as heavy and not quite as noisy). I get that (in the long run) it's best to front load some money into your gear, but sometimes it's best to hang NOW rather than waiting for a windfall--it's been two years, and I'm nowhere close to getting an underquilt; not because I've spent all my money on my cheap gear, but because it is just not possible for me to drop $100 all in one fell swoop. I hate to think of all the hanging I'd have missed waiting to amass what I'd need to hang high-speed.
You are you, so ultimately you'll do what works best for you for whatever reasons you may have--but I certainly feel ya... the funnest/coolest things always cost the most
You're gonna need a bigger hammock
As far as an UQ goes, I pulled the trigger on a PL last night off Ebay.
I've never had a poly tarp blow out on me. The Sun eats 'em, apparently.
I'll buy a Katadyn ceramic water filter before making a cuben tarp. Until then it is blue poly. This one looks nice, too, if I can find a deal on one: http://products.unbeatablesale.com/w...1014424412.php
Mike
8x10 would be well worth the extra $5 to me.
I ordered a 12' tarp from Sportsman's Guide a couple months back - then found out they measure that on the diagonal and it's really an 8.5x8.5, so I never even opened the box - meant to return it, but then life got in the way and I forgot - now I have a 10x10 I picked up on another forum.
another thought - pick up one of the big taffeta tablecloths and spray treat it with waterproofer.
I've used a Kelty 12x12 & 9x9, the 12x12 is a better all around tarp from what I've seen. If you really want out cheap, check out REI
9.5' x 8' under 2#, $47.
http://www.rei.com/product/831455/ou...ts-coated-tarp
or the Kelty 9x9 for $44 online only from REI.
It might help to look at it this way. Pretty much any good silnylon tarp on the market today will come in at less than a night in a hotel. Given that it serves the same purpose, namely to spend the night in while I am on vacation, I figure the price of a tarp is really a steal. If you spend $130 on a hotel room for one night, that money is gone forever. If you spend it on a good tarp, it can serve as your "hotel room" over and over again.
And what of the circumstance where you simply can't afford to make the investment in a reusable hotel room?
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