Got my brand new Alpine Asym Tarp in the mail yesterday from Paul at Arrowhead. I was in the market for a minimal tarp set up for the almost always sunny Arizona weather and had been eyeing a OES Micro for some time. My main reservation with the micro was the coverage length. The 120" ridge line would work okay if I was using a small hammock like my GT UL but I was concerned that the Traveler or Blackbird would be a little too long for it if and when I got caught in a violent but rare Arizona monsoon storm. When Paul announced his new tarps, the Alpine looked like it was going to be a great fit. A couple more ounces than the Micro but an 11' ridgeline and almost 12' of coverage on the diagonal.

I was right. This tarp is tiny when packed in it's stuff sack. About the size of my extended hand and super light at only 11oz.



I threw the tarp up in the backyard over my GT UL to get a feel for it and it really surprised my in the ample coverage that it supplied. I think I really made a great choice with this. It seems like it is going to offer just enough coverage that even if I get stuck underneath it on a rainy day, I won't go stir crazy. Plenty of place to fire up the mini-Atomic for some breakfast from the hammock.