Ray Way Tarp kits, who's made them?

[johnnyblisters]

I have been pondering making a Ray way tarp and net tent kit for a bit and I think I'm going to take the plunge. Who has made them and what do you think about Ray's design for a long distance hike?

[johnnyblisters]

Whoa thanks for all the responses! Bump, anyone get down on these kits?

[Mountain Wildman]

Ray Jardine?

[Mountain Wildman]

I think this is what you are looking for:

http://www.rayjardine.com/ray-way/Quilt-Kit/index.htm

[rasudduth]

We made a supersize one for 2 people to hike the PCT with, great design but at the size we made it, it acted like a sail in SoCal so we switched to the Six Moon Designs Lunar Duo. It is a great idea but looking back, the ease of a pre-made tent that needs minimal effort to pitch when you are tired at the end of a day of hiking made up for the extra ounces of weight. We did learn how to make stuff sacks and at some point I might try to make more stuff sacks as the ones I currently have fall apart.

It was interesting to make and to learn more about sewing, good info for trail repair of other gear too.

My 2 cents.

[quasarr]

Wow sorry I didn't see this sooner!

I made the 2-person tarp and net tent for my SOBO section, and my boyfriend kept it for the rest of the thru. It's easy to make so don't let that scare you.

Advantages - very lightweight and spacious. kept us dry in a very rainy year in New England. prevents condensation (you can read Ray's dissertation on the reasons if you get the kit ha ha) Can be pitched several different ways, for example we pitched it high once to eat lunch under in the rain. Unlike a tent, setting it up in the rain is no problem because there's no floor to get all wet.

Disadvantages - if pitched low, or using the net tent, you need some agility to get in there! Needs some practice setting up. Needs more thought choosing a site or you'll flood yourself. A bit of a hassle to set up with all the knots, but with practice can be done as quickly as a tent. Not good for snow/winter but fine for 3-season. The ceiling of the net tent is pretty low.

Here are some pics. Note you don't have to use hiking poles to set it up, you can use trees or sticks as in the 2nd pic.

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v2128/34/123/11802569/n11802569_38643188_4527.jpg

http://thewolfweb.com/photos/00499403.jpg

[johnnyblisters]

quasarr, Thanks for the input and pictures! I think I can live in that for 5 months.

[quasarr]

You're welcome, let me know if you have any more questions!

I forgot to mention another advantage is that if the bugs aren't out you can send home the net tent to save weight since it's not attached. However without the net tent you'll need a ground cloth.

And I don't know your experience with tarps, but Ray's design has fewer possible setup shapes than a plain square or rectangle. However we never saw a need to set it up in a creative way, other than pitching one side higher or lower which works fine.

Happy tarping!! :)

[jesse]

I made a 1 and 2 person tarp and net tent. Love it. 1 person plenty of room for two. Don't do long distance hiking so I can't answer that part of the question. Ray J. Hiked the AT last year with one so I suppose it works on a thru hike.

[johnnyblisters]

Thanks for the input. Did anyone make the Batwing vestibule?

[bubba295]

I made a 2 person about 4 or 5 years ago. I love it. It works much better than a ten as far as I'm concerned. A lot more options as far as setting it up goes. Very easy to sew, so don't let that scare you. Also you may want to consider using the thread that he sells on his site. It's good stuff.

RJ not only hiked the AT last year using one, he's doing it again this year. I saw him on the trail on 20MAR10.

Go ahead and get the kit, you won't regret it.

[Calmwater]

I used a Ray Way tarp and net tent on my 2007 hike. It worked great. I agree with everything quasarr said. It will take some practice in the beginning but well worth it. Another benefit of the net-tent is when your sleeping in a shelter, you can sleep inside it to keep the bugs away, I would often attach the top to one of the nails or whatever is there in the shelter and that would give me some head room. It doesn't have to have a large footprint this way either so you wouldn't be hogging up tons of floor space. My tarp was a 2 person size, I found the extra coverage worth the 2 or 3 extra ounces. Especially in storms with blowing rain and splashback from the ground when the rain was heavy. It sometimes took me a few more minutes to set up than some of the others who had tarp-tent style shelters, but I liked the added coverage and versatility. As for the areas with tent platforms I was always able to rig it up somehow, although I only needed to do that a couple times. Overall I was very happy with its performance on a long hike.

http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/2788920790051922423FnQHzw

http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/1461828247051922423FKGyBj

[johnnyblisters]

Thanks to all who have shared their experiences with Ray's kit. I went ahead and ordered it and am planning on making a two person version ASAP. I also picked up a bear paw net tent because I like to sit up in my tent, especially when nero'ing.

[D-wreck]

I was the other half of BooBoo's tarp making team (I also hiked with quasar, so I feel like I have to join in!). After hiking about a week on the PCT with the Rayway, I started thinking about all the modifications I wanted to make. What I came up with was the SMD Lunar Duo, and at that point it was easier to pick up the SMD than it was to modify the Rayway.

If you are interested, I could send some sketches for what I feel would be improvements (YMMV). Mostly, I would copy the way the SMD poles mount to the tent. The SMD website has pic's, it's too hard to explain. I found the Rayway design was difficult to tie up to hiking poles. I think you could make it work with sticks and should be able to figure a way to tie off to a tree as well. I would also copy SMD's stake tie off, easier to deal with when your hands are frozen.

I hated the Rayway net tent.

[D-wreck]

Forgot to mention, if you are new to sewing and have time on your hands, you might want to make a practice tarp out of something cheap like tyvec or an old cotton sheet. Then you can modify it until you get something you like, and use that as a pattern on the $$$ Sil-Nylon. Making your own gear opens your mind to a whole new world of possibilities, have fun!