Oware Cat Tarps

[BrianMitchell]

Has anyone had any experience (good or bad) with the Oware Catenary Cut Tarps?

[hungryhowie]

Has anyone had any experience (good or bad) with the Oware Catenary Cut Tarps?


No experience with Oware's, but cat-cut stuff is TONS better than straight cut. No comparison. It would also be something VERY easy to make. You can buy 1.1oz silnylon for about $3-5 and 1/4 or 1/8 in flat nylon cord for really cheap too. Make your tarp the dimensions that you want and then sew it together. It's easy to do a cat-cut -- just hang a piece of string on the wall on top of a template (a big piece of paper or a bunch of newspapers taped together), hang let the curve hang as much as you want it to, tape it to it, draw on it, and use that as a pattern for how to do the cuts on your fabric.

-Howie

[MedicineMan]

order a tarp from Briam MacMillin at the hammock users yahoo group,,,it is catenary cut and to be used with an HH, will post about it when it arrives if any are interested....he charges 80$ for it, 10feet long 11.5oz.

[Youngblood]

order a tarp from Briam MacMillin at the hammock users yahoo group,,,it is catenary cut and to be used with an HH, will post about it when it arrives if any are interested....he charges 80$ for it, 10feet long 11.5oz.

Simva,

I interpret Brian's tarp a little differently than what I read in your response. Here is what Brian posted on 1-21-2004 on Hikinghq.net:

"Here is the custom tarp I just finished. Final weight is 11.5oz.

Length is 130" long and each side is 42" long at corners, with 4" catenary curves on the long sides and 3" catenary curves on the shorter ends."

What I think are different are:

(1) Length is 130", not 120". So it will better cover the HH.
(2) His catenary curves are on the sides, not the ridgeline. This is different than what Oware does, Oware has the catenary curve on the ridgeline.

I think Brian's tarp will give superior coverage for the HH when compared to the stock tarp with a small weight penalty. However, I don't think it will be as taut as the Oware Cat Tarps because the Oware Cat Tarps have the catenary cut on the ridgeline, where the catenary cut does the most good.

Youngblood

[tarbubble]

It's easy to do a cat-cut -- just hang a piece of string on the wall on top of a template (a big piece of paper or a bunch of newspapers taped together), hang let the curve hang as much as you want it to, tape it to it, draw on it, and use that as a pattern for how to do the cuts on your fabric.

i think there's actually a simple equation for this - X inches of drop for every Y number of feet. it's in a book i own, i'll go look it up...

OK, from "lightweight camping equipment and how to make it"," here's their method for determing the amount of sag you should build into a catenary cut:

"the amount of curve for these ridges is aboit 1/4" per foot of ridge (a 6-foot ridge dips about 1 1/2" in the middle)." so if you do this calculation, then you can map it out using howie's method. i'll use 6 feet again as an example - hang your paper template on a wall, then draw a even line 6 feet long. find the midpoint of the line (at 3 feet) and from it measure 1 1/2" down (perpendicular to the first line) and mark that spot. then hang a string from both ends of the 6' line, and relax the string so that it's lowest point matches up with the mark that you put in the middle. trace the string's curve onto your paper template. voila! you have a pattern.

[brian]

Simva,

I interpret Brian's tarp a little differently than what I read in your response.

(1) Length is 130", not 120". So it will better cover the HH.
(2) His catenary curves are on the sides, not the ridgeline. This is different than what Oware does, Oware has the catenary curve on the ridgeline.

I think Brian's tarp will give superior coverage for the HH when compared to the stock tarp with a small weight penalty. However, I don't think it will be as taut as the Oware Cat Tarps because the Oware Cat Tarps have the catenary cut on the ridgeline, where the catenary cut does the most good.

Youngblood

I am the Brian that Simva is talking about. Youngblood is right in both respects. The tarp is 130" long (but this depends on the hammock model), and does not have a cat curve in the ridgeline.

however...

I have found that a catenary curve in the ridgeline is not as important in a HH tarp as standalone tarps. WHile in it, the weight of the hammock pulls the tarp ridgeline into a catenary shape, effectivly creating a simulated curve. THis is not quite as good as a true curve in the ridgeline, it is not void of benefits.

And, catenary curves can to two things: Increase wind shedding and fabric tension. A catenary curve in the ridegline helps increase wind shedding ability, while the curve in the sides drasticly increase the tension, and subsequently decrease the amount of flapping of the tarp. The large curves I put in the sides all but eliminate any flapping that may occur.

Brian
OutdoorEquipmentSupplier
[email protected]