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  1. #1
    New Member Mr. X's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    Hoover, AL
    Hammock
    WL Light Owl
    Tarp
    WL Bullfrog
    Insulation
    WL Full Underquilt
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    Whoopie Slings
    Posts
    6

    Tarp selection help

    I'm having trouble deciding which tarp and which options to order from wilderness logics. I'm certain I want a wilderness logics tarp because I'm so happy with my light owl and the service I received last time. I wrote Marty and he helped some, but it's just not clicking for me. So I'm coming to the forum hoping the wisdom of the group can help me.

    Let me tell you a bit about how I plan to use the tarp. I primarily canoe camp. That means weight and space are not of much consideration for me. When we get to camp it means primitive camping without an easy option to bail out if the weather gets rough. My camping is primarily in the southeast us, so snowfall while camping is a rare thing indeed, but real thunderstorms with very heavy down-bursts of rain are fairly common. One of the things I like about hammock camping is the ability to be in the hammock but still able to look around and enjoy the view. I think that pushes me towards a hammock that is easy to use in porch mode or a more minimalist tarp, however I like the idea of doors to cut out some draft.

    I think that is pushing me towards a bullfrog with a pole option, but I'm very unsure. I don't understand the pros and cons of external vs internal poles. The bullfrog would need dual internal poles.

    I've read here that one person that seems to know his stuff said if he only had one tarp it would be the OMW with doors. I don't understand the advantage of this over the bullfrog.

    This tarp will be my primary tarp for all weather, but I could always buy a tadpole for backpacking if I wanted to cut some weight. So what do you guys suggest I buy now?

  2. #2
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Sep 2013
    Location
    knoxville
    Hammock
    Dream Hammock Thunderbird 11 ft.
    Tarp
    12 ft Tadpole
    Insulation
    EE TQ & UGQ UQ
    Suspension
    Full Whoopie Hook
    Posts
    149
    Tadpole 11 or 12 ft ridgeline, tie-out pocket option (keeps all the lines clean and untangled. You could also add a door set (one end) which would completely close off a single end of the tarp (or two sets to fully enclose the whole thing.) Additionally, the pole mod is nice too . . .all options offered from Wilderness Logics. Great gear, great people and bullet-proof.

    Dave
    Dave "Tbird911"
    Knoxville, TN

    Any Day Above Ground . . .

  3. #3
    Senior Member Bubba's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    SW Ontario, Canada
    Hammock
    WBBB 1.7 SL
    Tarp
    WB Superfly
    Insulation
    WB and UGQ
    Suspension
    Whoopies or Straps
    Posts
    7,184
    Images
    248
    I think an Old Man Winter would be good for you. The built in doors allows you to enclose yourself in bad weather and have a bit more internal room and coverage than the rectangular Bullfrog would give you with its corners tied in. The outside poles might be easier for a quick set up.
    Don't let life get in the way of living.

  4. #4
    canoebie's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    Edwardsburg, MI
    Hammock
    Blackbird XL
    Tarp
    UGQ Winter Dream
    Insulation
    HG UQ and TQ
    Suspension
    straps and buckles
    Posts
    2,823
    I like the OMW option. Big storms call for big protection, and paddling, the extra weight is not a big deal. I too like to have visual contact and you can come up with creative porch options and ways of opening the tarp up when the weather is good while being able to completely wrap up in those big storms. Just some thoughts.
    “Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?”
    ― Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

  5. #5
    New Member Mr. X's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    Hoover, AL
    Hammock
    WL Light Owl
    Tarp
    WL Bullfrog
    Insulation
    WL Full Underquilt
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    Whoopie Slings
    Posts
    6
    Thanks guys. Marty indicated most people go with external poles. What is the advantage of that over internal?

  6. #6
    Senior Member Big Sweets's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Location
    Chicago Area
    Hammock
    WL Night Owl
    Tarp
    WL Tadpole
    Insulation
    WL Summer/ Winter
    Suspension
    Birch Buckles
    Posts
    301
    I recently ordered a 12' Bullfrog with side pullouts and I believe that its all the tarp I'm ever going to need. I plan on making the external pole mod myself as it's quite simple with just 2 tent poles, some poly strap with a grommet and a key ring to attach it to the side pullout loop. I couldn't be happier with the Bullfrog and my Night Owl.
    Formerly McBlaster
    The Tent is a Lie

  7. #7
    Senior Member olddog's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Location
    Lakeland, Fl
    Hammock
    WL Snipe
    Tarp
    WL Tadpole
    Insulation
    WL SS UQ, WL SS TQ
    Suspension
    Dutch speedhooks
    Posts
    4,323
    Images
    3
    I received my Tadpole just before heading to Maine for the summer last year. Unable to hang in the RV I was relegated to the great outdoors. Once hung the Tadpole stayed there for 2 1/2 months and it rained almost every day for the first month and even thru the nastiest thunderstorm I had ever experienced in Maine. The only time I was wet was when a heavy sea fog rolled up the Penobscot and collected in the bugnet. Most of the time I hang the Tadpole it is in some type of porch mode and I use different length guylines which are changed to fit the conditions so the pockets weren't necessary. The first photo is from Maine last summer, 2nd from last weekend and 3rd from last month. As you can see I don't really need the pole mod. I do have a 5'x 7' mini tarp which is part of my swag & dilly pack system which worked great to close off one end at this years Florida Hang with temps down into the low 20s.

    100_0250.jpg100_0444.jpg100_0432.jpg
    Most of us end up poorer here but richer for being here. Olddog, Fulltime hammocker, 365 nights a year.

  8. #8
    Senior Member 2ply's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Soco Gap, NC
    Hammock
    Clark DLX, ENO SN, BIAS WWM
    Tarp
    OxPalace,Big Squid
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    Oxgear, KAQ, WL
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    Whoopies/Dutchware
    Posts
    1,798
    Images
    3
    The external pole mod opens up the interior of the tarp space.


    The interior pole mod opens up the tarp area in porch mode and gives structural support when pulled down in storm mode or snowy weather.
    Everyone ought to believe in something....I believe I'll go set up the hammock!

  9. #9
    Senior Member _jstevens2010_'s Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Location
    Charlotte NC
    Hammock
    DH NightHawk and Clark NX-250
    Tarp
    Clark Vertex
    Insulation
    UGQ 20 UQ and TQ
    Suspension
    Whoopie and Python
    Posts
    232
    Go for as big as possible. I got an 11foot tadpole. Love it but I wish I would have gotten the 12' or the old man winter, or the super fly. I simple want to have as much space as possible w doors to boot.

  10. #10
    Senior Member JLeephoto's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    TRIAD, NC
    Hammock
    Wilderness Logics Light Owl
    Tarp
    WL Tadpole
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    Down SB, WL UQ
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    Whoopies
    Posts
    185
    I haven't used the big tarps with door options. I also canoe/kayak camp in the SE but only in warm weather. For me that means that I may need to make a quick set-up on a river bank to escape a storm and I may have less than ideal amount of space to work with. Trees may not be well spaced and undergrowth is sometimes thick. It also means, I have all the dry storage I need with either dry bags or interior of the Kayak. I don't like the thought of dealing with anything too large or time consuming to set-up.
    So, in my opinion, a Tadpole with at least one set of doors, and a the single external pole mod represents a near perfect set-up. It's flexible in that it can be rigged quickly in an emergency or fully kitted out for a long lay up in inclement weather. 11' or 12' is up to you. I use a 11ft with the 11ft. LO. With the sag of the hammock I have a few extra inches of coverage on each end. The only time I had issue with blowing rain, I hung my raincoat from that end to block most of it. But, it would have been nice to have doors or an extra foot of coverage that night.
    Good luck and let us know what you decide.

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