Tarp care

[Armines]

So I have recently just gotten my tarp (superfly) and I did a night of backyard camping last night. There was a little light rain. My question is.... what do you do to the tarp before putting back in the stuff sac until the next trip? Do I need to fully dry it in the sun or wipe it down with a cloth or something?

[Shug]

Let it hang and dry completely then stuff it in the sack until the next trip.
Cary forth,
Shug

[Dave-O]

Dry your gear before putting it away for long-term storage or else you'll have to worry about mildew. My son's Scout Troop learned that lesson the hard way.

[Bubba]

When I return from a wet trip I hang my tarp in my work room to dry before packing it up for the next trip.

[ntxkayakr]

Many different opinions on this, not just one best method but:

If possible let it dry out before putting in a stuff sack or find a mesh stuff sack even a $1 mesh bag sold for washing women's panty hose will work and is useful on the trail for many other things like ridgeline bag, hang wet socks or gloves from your backpack while hiking to dry out etc. Obvious disadvantage of hanging mesh bag from BP is that it gets hung up on brush as you hike, so best to dryout and stuff in BP. Also you could use a synthetic loofah (python or snake skin) to stuff tarp into. Good threads on that.

At some point you may want to re-seal the tie out tabs and grosgrain ridgeline of tarp with silicon "sil-net" or similar product see this and many other threads on this topic:

https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/...erfly-pullouts

If you ever hang under a pecan tree or something like that and the Aphids drop that sticky sappy "dew" all over your tarp then I would try to wipe it off before stuffing it and avoid pecan or whatever the tree species it was during that season FOREVER! (personal experience) I was not a happy camper. Some people repack silnylon tarp with talcum powder to prevent it from getting all sticky in the heat, I have not tried that but it makes sense.

google.com site:hammockforums.net superfly+pack+stuff+seal

or whatever other search key words you can think of. Or replace superfly with silnylon tarp

Edit: Several vendors make very good "snake skins" for your tarp out of no-see-um mesh that should last a long time but if you want a slightly lighter one to try out read these threads (advantage is tarp can partially dry out while stuffed but still important to remove and spread out when you get back home.):
https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/...t=cheap%20skin

good photos of shower "sponge" on a trap.
https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/...hi-Snake-Skins

I am being Hotels dot com "Captain Obvious" here but often it's raining all day long, all weekend long and impossible to wait for a tarp to dry out. You must just sit under your tarp, pack up everything else, then your tarp last into a mesh bag of some sort, hang it on the outside of your backpack and hike on out of there enjoying the fact that the rain is cooling down the temperate and making everything grow green and reducing the possibility of wildfires. It's all good!

[Armines]

Thanks guys for all the tips!!