Poncho tarp for HH Expedition A-sym

[smirkinman]

Hi all, I thought you might like to see how well a poncho tarp made from Roy Robinson's plans fits a HH Expedition A-sym. I didn't make the ponco for a hammock tarp, but once done the size looked about right.

The diagonal length is a perfect replacement for the stock tarp, and the corners are in the right places, but a bit longer. Since the poncho is made from 1.1 oz silnylon it weighs less than the stock tarp even tho it's larger.

There's rain forcast for today so once it comes I'll run out and have a lie-in and see how it's all working. Mainly my seam sealing, and the bias ridgline are questions I have. I don't think I'd change to a two piece tarp with the seam on the ridge just to get the warp/weave running along the hammock, but it's an option if it is to be a hammock tarp first, and a poncho second.

Another option might be to sew a hood into the stock tarp. Hmmmm...

While I was at it, I included a photo of my use of a climbing carabiner and flemheist knot to suspend the hammock from the tree hugger straps. This approach lets me adjust and/or tighten the hammock very easily. I know, there's more weight involved. I sometimes just use it on one end to take up the stretch in the rain espcially. I typically carry 'biners anyway since once you know how to use them, they are great utility pieces of gear. I hike with one holding my water bottle for example.

[MacGyver2005]

That's pretty cool. Where did you get these plans from? How much does the tarp weigh?

Regards,
-MacGyver
GA-->ME

[smirkinman]

Plans were on http://royrobinson.homestead.com/PonchoPlans.html

I don't know what it weighs exactly (can you tell I'm new to ultralight thinking?) I'll weigh it when it dries out. I had it on the hammock during today's rains. It works well, but I missed some seam sealing.

A quick guess says 3 yds of 1.1 silnylon should be 3.3 oz, plus the thread and some 1.5 in velcro strips. I'd be surprised if it's over 4 oz.

[Hana_Hanger]

Great looking poncho...Thank you for sharing your ideas and the link:)

[Frolicking Dinosaurs]

I just bought 15 yards of white sil-nylon from Wal-Mart's $1 bin. The dinos need new ponchos and the ability of the Roy Robinson poncho to be 'mated with another poncho to form a weather-proof pup tent with storage and cooking fits our needs. Thanks for sharing the link.

[smirkinman]

Glad I could spread the word. Now I'm looking for an excuse to go walking in the rain to try the poncho. Problem with rain this time of year here, is it nearly always has lightning along with it. (By the way, a tree was blown up a couple days ago about a mile from here. The explosion damaged a couple nearby houses to the point they were not habitable. So, tent, tarp, poncho or hammock - if you are near the tree when it's time comes, most likely yours has too.

I just weighed the poncho, and it is 9 oz! Whoda thunk it. I used fairly heavy nylon webbing at the corners for stake out loops. I'm sure that's a lot of the weight. HH says the Expedition A-sym weighs 2lb 10oz w/stock fly. The 70D Hex fly is 1lb 9oz, but I can't see a weight on the stock 1.9 oz fly. It feels heavier tho. It has edge binding all the way around it.

[smirkinman]

I should have said the stock tarp feels heavier than my poncho, it's lighter than the hex tarp.

[Tinker]

http://community.webshots.com/photo/353116950/1362282972059664855XFgpWV

I bought mine from Mountain Laurel Designs.

[Just Jeff]

Nice pics. Did you make that bag with the swap-able tops?

[Tinker]

Nice pics. Did you make that bag with the swap-able tops?

No, that's a Stephenson Warmlite bag I bought back in 1987. I haven't used it much lately as it's a little heavy in three season mode, and I haven't winter camped in a few years. It cost $560. back then. I believe it's up to $700.+ now.

[Hanger]

I just weighed the poncho, and it is 9 oz! Whoda thunk it. I used fairly heavy nylon webbing at the corners for stake out loops. I'm sure that's a lot of the weight.

Most of the weight is the SilNyl not the webbing. I finished a 5x10 hoodless poncho/tarp for my HH ULBP a few weeks ago, and it weighed 9.45 oz. Roy's tarp is 114" x 64" (this is including the seam allowance). SilNyl is 1.1 oz. (some is 1.3, but we'll assume 1.1) per square yard. A square yard is 36" x 36" which equals 1296 inches squared. So 114x64=7296/1296=5.63x1.1=6.2oz! And I remember reading somewhere that the finishing weight of SilNyl is 1.3 so that would make your tarp 7.3oz! So your webbing and hood probably only added 2-3 oz.

[peter_pan]

Most of the weight is the SilNyl not the webbing. I finished a 5x10 hoodless poncho/tarp for my HH ULBP a few weeks ago, and it weighed 9.45 oz. Roy's tarp is 114" x 64" (this is including the seam allowance). SilNyl is 1.1 oz. (some is 1.3, but we'll assume 1.1) per square yard. A square yard is 36" x 36" which equals 1296 inches squared. So 114x64=7296/1296=5.63x1.1=6.2oz! And I remember reading somewhere that the finishing weight of SilNyl is 1.3 so that would make your tarp 7.3oz! So your webbing and hood probably only added 2-3 oz.

FWIW, Silnyl is closer to 1.35 oz / sq yd on average....generally it run 1.3-1.4....double coated, when advetised as such, generally is 1.5 per square yard....

Pan

[Just Jeff]

Hanger, sil is 1.1 before the treatment, so the finished weight is ~1.3.

Edit - Oh...didn't see Pan had already answered.