Larger tarps

[chowhound]

I got a Clark UltraLight a few weeks ago, and I've decided that I want a larger tarp. I am confident that the origina version will keep me dry with careful set up, but I want something larger for cooking and just hanging out in wet weather. There are so many options that look good that I'm really not sure which way to go. Has anyone used the Clark extra large fly? If so, what do you think of it? What about the various other tarp options? Does anyone have strong opinions pro or con? Are there any Clark owners out there that are using something different?

Thanks,

Bill

[Just Jeff]

I don't have a Clark, but I'm happy with my JRB 8x8 on my HH and homemade Speer. On the diagonal, it's perfect size for a hammock. If you pitch it on the ground, it's big enough to be a little more versatile, but still saves weight over 8x10.

[ezdoesit]

:) Hey Chow Hound after you have used the Clark Hammock how bout posting a review of it.I am interested in this Hammock.
Thanks

[Tha Wookie]

Hey, what's up EZ!!!!


I love the size of the Ray Jardine 2-person tarp. With the beaks, I don't want more or less in a tarp.
I think he opens his e-store again pretty soon....

[2Ply]

I use an 8 x 10 silnylon with my Clark to give extra space when needed. The standard tarp works great for fair weather trips. Here's a picture of the 8 x 10 at work in the snow. :)

http://www.whiteblaze.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/7648/sort/1/size/medium/cat/500/page/1

[Ramble~On]

Hey Chowhound.

I have a Clark and also have the "xtra large fly".
I hate the fly. I love the hammock.
The "xtra large fly" is not very "xtra large" I played around with the fly for a few weeks and came to the opinion that it a waste of time, weight and money.
I already had a 10x12 silnylon tarp and wouldn't give it up for the world.
I continue to find different ways to set the tarp and hammock.
Plenty of living room, cooking room and headroom...I laugh at rain.
I've modified the hammock quite a bit from original.
First thing to go was the fly and I don't miss it. Second thing to go was the rope and I am really glad it's gone.
Set up under a tarp instead of that fly....PRICELESS !!!!!

[Youngblood]

... Second thing to go was the rope and I am really glad it's gone...I'm interested in that, I use a hollow braid polypropylene rope with my home made hammock and I'm not sure whether Clark uses hollow braid or twisted strand polypropylene rope. What kind of rope was it, what was the problem and what are you using?

[chowhound]

Thanks everyone for the quick and informative responses. Right now I'm very happy with the Clark as a hammock but as I've mentioned - not thrilled with the fly. I'm leaning toward a standard 8" X 10" tarp as the most versatile option. The JRB 8' X 8' is also attractive but since the tarp on a Clark must be set somewhat higher than on a Hennessey, I wonder if there would be adequate protection on the ends with wind and rain. The MacCat tarp looks great also, but seems to limit your options if you need to go to ground. More comments would be welcome.

Question for SpiritWind - What did you replace the rope on your Clark with? My rope works great, and in the limited use I've given the hammock so far I haven't been able to detect any tree damage. I have been thinking of replacing the rope with 1" or 1 1/2" poly strapping however, just to reduce the chance that I might cause a problem in the future.

Thanks,

Bill

[Footslogger]

One nice thing about an 8' x 8' tarp, if used diagonally, is that the distance from corner to corner is a little over 11'. That's great coverage for a hammock.

'Slogger

[Ramble~On]

The rope that came with the Clark was a braided poly...about 15' on either side.
I wanted some more lenght because a few of my favorite spots required additional lenght. I was only able to get one wrap on a tree.
I went with 1 inch tubular webbing, over 20' per side.
This might be overkill for some but suits me perfectly. It opens a lot of options and always provides several wraps around even "big" trees. With the webbing I don't tie knots...I wrap a few times around the tree and tuck the trailing end under the last wrap. I put up my tarp first and hang the hammock second.
10' x 12' tarp makes for a pretty big area of dry, useable space with plenty of headroom. Weight wise I added some but to me it's worth the weight.

[Frolicking Dinosaurs]

Before going toward more ultralite gear, I always carried a 10 x 12 urathane-coated nylon tarp (note trailname - this was before silnylon was invented). I loved the large dry space it provided for things like cooking, setting up a tent (or hammock in your case) during a rainstorm and drying gear after a day of packing in the rain. I had about 25' of parachute cord on the four corners. I replaced it a few years ago with a 10 x 12 silnylon tarp. I carried this on training hikes as an emergency shelter and several NOBO'ers enjoyed some dry space beneath this tarp in early 2003.

I'm recovering from some broken bones and can't carry a pack right now, but needed to test some gear so - we went car camping with only the gear in our backpacks recently. The sky opened up and poured down buckets of water. I had brought a good ol' cheapie 10 x 12 tarp as a liner to keep the cargo area of the SUV from getting nasty. I ended up rigging the tarp and it was a Godsend. This has me considering carrying the 10 x 12 silnylon tarp if I'm ever able to carry a real backpack again. At 22 ozs, it is a bit heavy, but it having the dry space has made the difference between being miserable and being a happy camper enough times for me to seriously consider if it is worth it.

[neo]

i use a 8 x8 jacks r better tarphttp://www.whiteblaze.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/7105/sort/1/cat/500/page/2



my wife uses a hex silnylon tarp from hennessey hammock
http://www.whiteblaze.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/7868/sort/1/cat/500/page/2


:cool: neo

[Ramble~On]

The 10x12 silnylon tarp with cord might weigh 30 oz. I LOVE it!.
I don't mind the weight and I carry oodles of cord for all sorts of things.
Hammock, tarp, webbing and cord put together...I'll have to dig it out today and weigh all of it together to get a total. Compared to most of the tents that I've carried I am still lighter and less bukly which means a smaller pack.
The tarp to me is priceless....silnylon is the greatest thing since sliced bread.

[rpettit]

I use a 10'X12' silnylon tarp from Campmor, weighs 19 oz. I hang a HH instead of a Clark. I tie the tarp directly to the trees, the hammock design doesn't matter.

[Nearly Normal]

Check out the new tarp from Granite Gear. The color is the only draw back.
pete

[Rambler]

Silnylon comes 60" wide. Two pieces of 8' long pieces sewn together along the 60" sides creates an 8x10 tarp. How much material is needed to create a tarp 8x8 with the seam sewn along the diagonal, ie. c. 11'? Is there an important advantage having the seam along the diagonal? JRB thinks so. A tarp to work both over a hammock and as a conventional ground shelter makes it a versitile piece of gear.

[Just Jeff]

Is there an important advantage having the seam along the diagonal? JRB thinks so.
Makes it approximate a catenary without the extra effort (read: cost) of actually making a cat cut.

[Rambler]

Thanks, Jeff. The information and links at your web page are very helpful. JRB discusses tarps-for-hammocks at his site with the pros and cons of the catenary cut. The cons would not have me try to create the cut for a tarp, but definitley for a tent. I am very tempted, because of the positve feedback I've read here, to purchase the 8x8 from JRB, yet I could sew one for less,(c. $20 vs. $80) but the seam would not be on the diagonal. I already have a homemade 8x10 which works great as a stand-alone tarp, but it has so many tie-outs, lifters and lines it weighs 18 oz. bagged, double the weight of the JRB 8x8.

http://216.83.168.206/index_files/Articles_files/Tarps.htm

[Rambler]

Thanks, Jeff. The information and links at your web page are very helpful. JRB discusses tarps-for-hammocks at his site with the pros and cons of the catenary cut. The cons would not have me try to create the cut for a tarp, but definitley for a tent. I am very tempted, because of the positve feedback I've read here, to purchase the 8x8 from JRB, yet I could sew one for less,(c. $20 vs. $80) but the seam would not be on the diagonal. I already have a homemade 8x10 which works great as a stand-alone tarp, but it has so many tie-outs, lifters and lines it weighs 18 oz. bagged, double the weight of the JRB 8x8.

http://216.83.168.206/index_files/Articles_files/Tarps.htm

http://community.webshots.com/photo/190433191/190434036CTQScX

[Rambler]

Thanks, Jeff. The information and links at your web page are very helpful. JRB discusses tarps-for-hammocks at his site with the pros and cons of the catenary cut. The cons would not have me try to create the cut for a tarp, but definitley for a tent. I am very tempted, because of the positve feedback I've read here, to purchase the 8x8 from JRB, yet I could sew one for less,(c. $20 vs. $80) but the seam would not be on the diagonal. I already have a homemade 8x10 which works great as a stand-alone tarp, but it has so many tie-outs, lifters and lines it weighs 18 oz. bagged, double the weight of the JRB 8x8.
The hammock in the photo below was set up in the dark on a steep slope and thickly wooded area in the rain. No place for a tent!

http://216.83.168.206/index_files/Articles_files/Tarps.htm

http://community.webshots.com/photo/190433191/190434036CTQScX

Because of wind and cold, we hung the tarp low. Two fit in easily in this same 8x10 used over a hammock. Note the skins still used for easy storage and faster set-up.

http://community.webshots.com/photo/198210768/198228962KXVCDT#

[Rambler]

Whoops. I thought I was just editing, not adding new posts. I cannot seem to edit, ie. delete the first two. Apologies.

[Just Jeff]

That's a good lookin' tarp...nice and big for the rainy weather.

I haven't made one yet. I'd like to try, but I don't want to spend the money on prototyping and the only $1/yd stuff I've found at Walmart is baby blue...can't bring myself to sleep under a baby blue tarp!

[Youngblood]

That's a good lookin' tarp...nice and big for the rainy weather.

I haven't made one yet. I'd like to try, but I don't want to spend the money on prototyping and the only $1/yd stuff I've found at Walmart is baby blue...can't bring myself to sleep under a baby blue tarp!Just think of it as sky blue or Carolina blue... great color for a tarp. :) The best advise I have is to avoid dark colors for tarps so they lighten things up on rainy days... now if you are using them for shade in bright sun you might want other options, but since you're talking about hammocks that probably isn't an issue.

Youngblood

[Just Jeff]

Yeah...Carolina blue. You know that Charleston has patented the colors of its old houses? The pastels used in the row houses downtown are actually owned by either the city or county and can only be used in Charleston.

For tarps, I like green or light gray, I think. Something that doesn't shout HEY THERE'S A HAMMOCK UNDER HERE!!

[JoeHiker]

Has anyone tried the Gossamer Gear Spinn Twinn tarp for a hammock tarp yet? The thing is 8x10 but only 8 ounces! It seems like it would be ideal.

[MedicineMan]

Soon to be playing with the MacCat Deluxe, comparing it to the standard MacCat on a trip to Ontario....will report back in a couple weeks on it.

[dougmeredith]

Has anyone tried the Gossamer Gear Spinn Twinn tarp for a hammock tarp yet? The thing is 8x10 but only 8 ounces! It seems like it would be ideal.
I seriously considered one of these, but didn't get it in the end for two reasons:

1. I haven't yet seen an answer to the question you asked. :)

2. I was concerned that the material might be noisy in the wind. More so than sil-nylon.

In the end I opted for the JRB 8 * 8 tarp. I have only had it out one night so far, but it worked well. Had some rain that night too.

Doug

[TrailSweeper]

I just bought 8 yards of silnylon at Walmart last night to sew my own 8x10 tarp, any suggestions about how I should go about it would be appreciated.

Don

[Patrick]

TrailSweeper, if you've never sewed silnylon before, invest in pins and lots of them. Silnylon doesn't hold a fold worth a darn, so it's really easy for that seam to go from 1/4 to 3/8 while you're trying to guide it by hand. I've never bothered seam-sealing a silnylon tarp, and never had a drop of leaking, even in very bad weather. I always lap fell the top seam and double fold the edge seams.

The biggest problem I had by far when sewing my first silnylon tarp was dealing with seams that were 10+ feet long. I feel that cutting the material straight is at least as important as anything else you'll do. Try using the tiles on a kitchen floor to keep things straight and square. You'll have no trouble seeing through the material to the grid underneath. I might use a chalk line snap tool the next time I do it. Never tried it, but it seems like it might do a good job.

Also, you really have to watch the underside of the material. If swear words were money, I'd have been rich after my first tarp from having to go back and pull stitches that went through layers of material that had folded up under without me realizing it. It's not hard with this really thin, really slippery fabric. I definitely got into the habit of checking every foot or so by the end.

When you attach the guy-outs, be sure to reinforce the area around them with one or two extra layers of material. Also, using grosgrain ribbong as the loop material, I've had better luck sewing a wide, fine stitch than anything else. This gives a dense pattern so that the ribbon doesn't start to pull apart.

The first tarp I sewed was pretty uneven. The seams were puckered and folded a good bit, but it worked perfectly and I still have it. So, you have some room to be less than perfect. Good luck and be sure to post pictures when you're done.

[Just Jeff]

Quick comparison of the JRB 8x8 vs MacCat Standard on my page now. It's just a first-look, though.

http://www.geocities.com/jwj32542/HammockCampingDry.html



Interim Conclusions. In sum, both of these tarps are very light, high quality pieces of gear. The JRB is a bit lighter, but the MacCat appears to be more durable. The JRB is easier to pitch, but the MacCat seems to provide more usable space inside and be more comfortable overall. Which would I choose if forced to bring only one? I can't say at this point...they're both awesome, and I need more testing to decide. Keep in mind, this is only a preliminary report...I'll keep updating as I get more field use with the MacCat.

[JoeHiker]

Quick comparison of the JRB 8x8 vs MacCat Standard on my page now. It's just a first-look, though.

http://www.geocities.com/jwj32542/HammockCampingDry.html
I just bought a MacCat Deluxe for my fall hike. I decided that the durability, usable space, and designed-for-hammocking approach was worth the extra 8 ounces.

[Just Jeff]

The JRB was designed for hammocking, too. They're both great tarps...I haven't heard anyone say they weren't satisfied with either purchase.

[JoeHiker]

The JRB was designed for hammocking, too. They're both great tarps...I haven't heard anyone say they weren't satisfied with either purchase.Just to clarify, I never claimed it wasn't.

My remark about "designed for hammocking" contrasted the MacCat with the 8 oz SpinnTwinn 10x12 tarp I mentioned earlier in this thread, not the JRB. The SpinnTwinn is a general purpose tarp, not specifically designed for hammocking.