Poncho tarp over hammock

[GrandCanyonWildflowr]

Love the privacy of a tent, but sleeping on the ground is too uncomfortable.
Need to know best/cheapest tarp. Is the poncho tarp sufficient? Big enough to keep the rain out?
Is MYOB better?

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[G2outdoors]

I'd suggest the Wilderness Logics Tadpole as your first Tarp. There are a TON of opinions on this topic over at Hammockforums.net

Sent from my Hammock.

[StichBurly]

Love the privacy of a tent, but sleeping on the ground is too uncomfortable.
Need to know best/cheapest tarp. Is the poncho tarp sufficient? Big enough to keep the rain out?
Is MYOB better?

Sent from my SCH-S738C using Tapatalk

It can be done. You have to use a smaller hammock. Also there is a learning curve so you won't get wet. I wouldn't use one for a hike longer than a few days.

[tarditi]

Could be done... a larger tarp would be better, IMHO I consider 9x9 the smallest I would use personally.

[bigcranky]

I have a mid-size hammock and my poncho tarp is definitely too small for good coverage. Or any coverage really. I use a Maccat Deluxe hammock tarp, which is big enough and not too expensive.

[The Old Boot]

Love the privacy of a tent, but sleeping on the ground is too uncomfortable.
Need to know best/cheapest tarp. Is the poncho tarp sufficient? Big enough to keep the rain out?
Is MYOB better?

Sent from my SCH-S738C using Tapatalk

Even if it was big enough for your hammock, I always question the viability of some dual purpose things. If I've got my hammock hung and it's raining, what happens when I want to be somewhere other than laying in the hammock...like a midnight trip to the bushes? What happens if it's raining when you're setting up camp for the night...you don't want to be setting up the hammock without the tarp in place first, you don't want the tarp to be set up and you running around in the rain getting wet.

The logistics of it just don't work for me.

I guess it's a maybe to have a rain poncho do double duty as a tarp but only if you're only ever going to pitch the hammock and tarp right at the moment you're going to bed and never plan on leaving the shelter of your tarp/poncho during the night (and don't mind getting wet at some point).

[Drybones]

They're real easy to make if you have a sewing machine.

[GrandCanyonWildflowr]

Thanks for the good input! Prefer to learn from someone else's mistakes. :) Certainly don't want to get wet while I'm sleeping! Tarp + Poncho sounds like the way to go.

[Pendragon]

I hauled along a Warbonnet Superfly tarp for my Blacbird hammock on my section hike from Springer to Damascus last year and I never regretted one ounce of it, especially after watching a hapless young fellow hiker get drenched trying to tear down beneath his tiny little diamond tarp in the driving rain (I think his desire to go ultralight at all costs was re-examined after that fiasco).

[hikergurl]

I agree, I carried rain gear plus an asym tarp on my hike and this system worked great for me. The only times I got wet from a storm (all of two times) were from when I didn't pitch the tarp correctly because I was lazy or too rushed, and during some hard, driving rain (found out later there were tornadoes in the vicinity. That said, I just pitched the tarp tighter to the hammock and the wetness, if any, was more from the drips that were flying in from the rain, not necessarily the lack in tarp coverage.

[kayak karl]

i have the zpack (http://www.zpacks.com/shelter/tarps.shtml) 11-8.5. light and simple. its 4 years old and never a problem.

2655626557

That's a WB Superfly behind it.

[DocMahns]

I've used my military issue poncho as a tarp for my hammock, I hung the ridgeline low and didn't get wet in light rain. I couldn't tell you how it works in bad weather though. There is definitely a learning curve, as I began to get wet until I readjusted everything in the middle of the night.

[GrandCanyonWildflowr]

i have the zpack (http://www.zpacks.com/shelter/tarps.shtml) 11-8.5. light and simple. its 4 years old and never a problem.

2655626557

That's a WB Superfly behind it.

The photo is very educational. Never could figure out how the underquilt attached previously. I love the "doors" on your tarp, but I think I want something a little less pricey...but I sure don't want to get wet!

[SouthMark]

I have slept through several torrential downpours and thunderstorms with a 10x10 pitched like a diamond and have never been wet.

[Captn]

I slept through a torrential downpour one night in Maryland on the AT with a golite poncho tarp and a 9 ft GT ultralight .... I was dry, but the splash got my underquilt and pack soaked .... I switched to an Edge tarp for a little extra coverage.

[Captn]

Responding to old threads .... Geez

[Wise Old Owl]

That's OK we have all have done it. By Sharing a Poncho tarp as a dual use - you save ten ounces.

28328

[overthinker]

I've got a big old 12' tarp with doors from Hammock Gear. It's cuben, so no weight penalty, but I'd honestly still carry it if it were made of sil. Your tarp is everything in a hammock set up, and I've spent enough windy cold nights in my hammock to appreciate serious coverage.

Also, bigger tarp means more space in porch mode, which is always a good thing.

[xrayextra]

I thru-hiked using a tent but there were quite a few locations that were just a little too steep. I now use an ENO hammock with an Equinox lightweight tarp (8x10) and bought some noseeum bug netting that I drape over the hammock (sealed the ends with velcro strips). Currently the netting touches the ground to seal that end but I may attach velcro to the sides of the hammock and the netting to cut down on the weight of the netting.

Here's a link to the tarp I use: http://www.campmor.com/Product___20069?cm_vc=MPRODUCTZ1

p.s. I also use a whoopie sling to hang my hammock. It's very lightweight and super strong. http://www.whoopieslings.com/