Setting up in the RAIN.

[FLRider]

I think saving weight by having a petit little tarp is one of the worst mistakes . We set up this spring in a driving rain snow mix and having an extra big tarp is worth having a few extra ounces .

Rain dripping off the edge of the tarp can easily get blown back under on your gear if your not careful .

Mmmm...going to have to disagree here, at least in part.

Using a tiny tarp without the knowledge or synergistic gear to work with it is, yes, a bad idea. However, one can definitely make a tiny tarp work in summer (or three-season, down here in the subtropics) fairly easily, given the proper skills and/or synergistic gear. Personally, I get by with an undercover/poncho and tiny asym tarp that has kept me dry and warm in a tropical storm with fairly consistent 20+ mph winds (gusting as high as 45 mph).

Now, would I try that in conditions where sleet is likely? Probably not; I've not slept in such conditions often enough to be confident of my skill level. But the key there is my skill level, not my gear. I'm confident that my gear can keep me dry enough that, given a skill set that would work with the possibility of getting a little (not a lot) wet at those temperatures, I would take my current weather protection set up.

YMMV, of course, and I am not advocating that anyone put themselves in danger. Know your own skill level and equipment's limits!

[ClayTurner]

I carry my tarp and suspension outside of my pack along with a square cut from a wally world blue pad that I use as a sit pad. This little pad works great to set my pack on while I am setting up. I use it like a little doormat as well. I keep my tree straps with my tarp suspension so I can set them up at the same time, plus they are wet if it's been raining. I want all the wet stuff on the outside of the pack.

[Miguel]

If you have the WBBB and the stock straps, just remember you can take the straps off.
This will allow you to leave the hammock dry under the shelter while you go out in the rain to run the straps around the tree.
You can also pack the straps separate from the hammock in your backpack, keeping the hammock from getting wet.
Also recommend drip lines, like cotton shoe strings.

This is a great tip...one I've used several times.

[used2fly]

I set my Superfly up last night in the blowing rain in my yard.I wanted to know how the doors worked when things were blowing.Once I got it up I was high and dry to get the WBBB up.One thing you need to make sure is that the tarp is high enough to get the hammock up.You can always drop it.It is much easier to deal with problems when you have your house to run back too if you screw up the first time.

[K0m4]

Great ideas mentioned already. I only have thing to add... practice the rain setup-take-down routine. I would go so far as to suggest that your routine be the same regardless of the weather. That is what I do. I set-up and take down as if it were raining so that when it is raining I don't have to think about it. In general, the tarp goes up first before the pack is ever opened. The reverse is true on take-down; the tarp is taken down last after the pack has been closed up. The pack is never open to the rain.

This is what I do as well. I always have everything that needs to be in waterproof stuffsacks, and I never separate the hammock and the insulation - it just all goes into the sack together. Lets me set up in a matter of seconds once the tarp is up. The waterproof sacks protect the gear from wet ground as well as the odd droplets that may be unavoidable. The tarp is always on the outside of the pack.

The only issue with this approach is that I'm a tall man, and it's sometimes difficult to get the tarp high enough for me to stand under it, making setting up slightly more inconvenient...