UL Tarp

[Ethesis]

https://www.rei.com/product/808940/k...s-tarp-12-x-12

is what I have. At two pounds it begs to be replaced if I can get below 10 ounces.

[fastfoxengineering]

Not questioning using a tarp, just trying to understand. What's the advantage in using a tarp that weighs 13 ounces over using something like a Zpacks Soloplex that only weighs a couple ounces more, while providing a bathtub floor and bug netting? By the time you add a groundsheet to your tarp, the Soloplex is lighter, even with a bug net...

Modularity. Some people would like to set up a bug bivy or net tent alone. A tarp + innernet provides this. It's also a double walled shelter.

Due to the fact that it rains alot along the AT I would prefer a cuben tent like a solplex for ease of use in inclement weather.

Out west where rain is less of a problem it would be nice to setup my bug protection and still "cowboy camp"

A modular setup also let's you sleep in a bug bivy in a shelter if that's your thing.

A cuben tarp + inner pretty much weighs the same as a solplex with the right setup. Depends on if you want the modularity at the cost of a slightly more fiddle factor .

Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

[Tipi Walter]

i would not trust my life and safty on a through hike to a polycro shelter !

Thom

Totally agree. On my last trip I was sitting out a rough windstorm on the BMT atop Sugar Mt with 40mph gusts and sideways all-night rain. I had to pinch myself in glee to be thankful for sitting in my 4 season tent and not sitting out exposed in the howling banshee wind.

I wouldn't trust my life and safety to any shelter alone. My shelter is my comfort in inclement conditions.

I have trusted my Hilleberg tent(s) dozens of time to keep me alive in terrible conditions. Remember what mountaineer Peter Whittaker says,

"Equipment is your life. You have to be prepared to deal in extreme temperatures and extreme weather."

As a note, I have tarp camped through two different hurricanes (yes, on purpose) to play with cheep and ultra-light gear. Both times I left the tarps up for a second day to test the robustness of the setup. The "huricanes" in both cases were actually just the edges of big storms with sustained winds of 20-30 mph, gusting to 40 mph. Both times, the tarps held up like champions. Don't underestimate the power of a well pitched cheep piece of plastic for shelter.

In the first case, I made a tarp out of a Sol emergency blanket (the double sized one) by adding tape loops as tie-outs around the edge. That reflective stuff is surprisingly effective at adding some heat underneath this pitch. Guys were all attached with rubber band shock absorbers or it would NOT have survived. Surprised the heck out of me that it did survive. I think the attached picture was taken before the storm hit and before I crawled in to sleep. Yes, it was pitched so most of the wind came from the back side and didn't balloon the tarp up very often, although it certainly did occasionally gust into the front of the tarp. There were definitely some stretch marks in the plastic at the end, but it all held together.
Attachment 38090

In the second case, I used a cheep blue (actually it was a cammo colored one) poly tarp. Pretty much the same story as above, except that I new it would hold up fine since I've used these in all kinds of storms for all kinds of things in the past. Again, shock absorbers at the tie-outs are key to survival of these cheaper and less robust shelter options when being buffeted by strong winds.

Attachment 38091

I see you say you left these tarps up as a test in high winds but there's no way I could keep myself or my gear dry in such a setup. You say the tarp itself stayed secure but what about the gear inside? You make no mention of what would've happened in a horizontal rainstorm with slapping wind coming from every direction.

Most of the storms I encounter in the mountains of NC and TN would eat thru your tarp setups and soak the inside gear in the first two hours. Remember, in "my" mountain storms horizontal rain at 35F comes in from every direction thru the course of a storm and often times with tremendous sphincter-puckering winds. And then there's winter storms with windbown snow i.e. spindrift. Some examples of my own---

https://tipiwalter.smugmug.com/Backp...iggs/i-tx6N9Nj
This is a small example (and definitely not the most extreme) of the kind of weather common on the open balds in TN and NC. It does come from one direction on occasion, but in the worst storms comes from all directions in tent-slapping madness.

Here are some examples of spindrift and all-night blizzards. There's no way I'd ever use even a full coverage tarp on most of my trips, and certainly never a tarp configured as in your pics---


This was after an all-night blizzard at 5,300 feet in North Carolina, December 2010.



This is December 2009 after another blizzard.


This was after some serious spindrift on a trip in January 2011.

You may say---"I've been in all these kind of storms using my tarps as configured and never had a problem." You're a lucky man. You won't see me going out in such a setup---with one side completely open and exposed.

[Elaikases]

I have camped out in 20 below zero weather. Completely different approach than when I'm planning to camp and it is 40-50 degrees out.

[nsherry61]

Well, if we're showing off pictures to make our point, not a bad idea actually . . .

Inside tarp in snow.jpgTarp in snow2.jpg

One of my favorite winter trips. It only snowed about 12 inches overnight. You can see both the outside and the inside of the tarp in the morning with the sides weighed down with snow. Sure, there was some spindrift on me and my gear in the morning, but when it's cold, it brushes off just find and doesn't cause too much problem. And, this tarp pitch wasn't even all that appropriate for a good snowstorm and it still did just fine.

tarp on Steens.jpg

This was at just under 10,000 feet on Steen's Mountain in Oregon. It blew with 40-50 mph gusts overnight and rattled the crap out of the tarp, and the tarp is pitched so low that your shoulders rubbed the top when you rolled over at night. But, it held up just fine. No, it wasn't the best shelter (I was worried it would get damaged, and the tarp slapped so loudly in the wind that I kept waking me up at night), but, it worked. And, the tarp wasn't damaged in the morning. I have a great mountain tent, but, if I had this trip to do all over again, I would still take a tarp instead of my mountain tent. Albeit, a nylon tarp would be much better in these conditions than the cheep poly tarp I was using on this trip.

Alternatively, a few years ago, skiing around Crater Lake in Oregon, my brother-in-law and I camped in my mountain tent in a beautiful spot, right on the edge of the rim, quite exposed and with heavy winds at night. If we had been using a tarp or a 3-season tent, this would not have been a good place to stop and, instead we would have either stopped sooner, or skied into the night to find a more sheltered area. In the end, actually the next year, we took a much lighter tent, had more fun skiing with lighter packs, and did fine enjoying the beautiful views while skiing instead of while camping.

Mountain tent on Crater Lake rim.jpg

Actually, I probably would have still camped here with a tarp, but would have moved in closer to the tree and dug down into and built up snow to provide more protection for my shelter.

[Dogwood]

For going to the next tarp level from a cheap blue grommeted poly tarp without going to a cheapest grommeted silny tarp with suitable coverage for a person of your physical attributes with space for a med sized dog without getting insanely expensive try Dave at OWare http://shop.bivysack.com/Shelter_c14.htm

Also try Etowah Outfitters, which has complete set up w/ stakes and ground cloth and with umpteen tab tie outs! http://www.shop.backpackingadventure...nylon-tarp.htm

[Dogwood]

Willing to spend a bit more $ try the MLD Grace tarps which Ron can customize to dimensions for you. Grace silny tarps are largely the tarps I used to gain my tarp chops. Flat or cat cut. http://www.mountainlaureldesigns.com...products_id=85

[nsherry61]

. . . I have trusted my Hilleberg tent(s) dozens of time to keep me alive in terrible conditions. Remember what mountaineer Peter Whittaker says,

"Equipment is your life. You have to be prepared to deal in extreme temperatures and extreme weather." . . .

Maybe this is the crux of the matter. I can't imagine myself getting into a situation backpacking the AT, even in winter, where my life would be dependent on a super storm-worthy gear (4-season mountain tent) like can be needed on an exposed alpine ridge-line or sitting exposed on a glacier. Frankly, I am not aware of any likely situation along the AT where I would not be able to drop down to somewhere somewhat protected or just hike out, unless there were an emergency where, worst case scenario, I might have to wrap myself up as a survival burrito until help arrived. So, Tipi would sit in his Hilleberg tent in that highly unlikely situation, and I would be miserable, but alive in that same, unlikely to happen in a lifetime situation. That is a risk I don't mind taking, and others are not comfortable with. And that's okay. We each hike our own hike. I don't think either approach is wrong.

[Miner]

As a mainly tarp camper for the past decade, I'm not looking for a scenic spot to camp at. I hike most of the day and I only camp to sleep. If it's going to be cold or wet, I'm looking for a sheltered spot. And I'm not going to be going out to camp in the 4th season with it. Most of us have dealt with shoulder season weather, but I'm not going to stay out in it more than I have to if its going to be prolonged. We each have our own priorities on how and when we hike and our gear choices reflect that.

[MtDoraDave]

While not truly "ultralight", for $10 the walmart outdoor products 5x7 tarp is only a tad heavier than a silnylon tarp and has been handy for setting up a temporary shelter to wait out some rain, and also doubles as a ground cover for my tent when I choose to use one.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/36547567?...sem#about-item

[Elaikases]

While not truly "ultralight", for $10 the walmart outdoor products 5x7 tarp is only a tad heavier than a silnylon tarp and has been handy for setting up a temporary shelter to wait out some rain, and also doubles as a ground cover for my tent when I choose to use one.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/36547567?...sem#about-item

Excellent. I use a tarp only to set up my tent in the dry -- I have a double wall tent. It is just nice to be able to set up without the rain hitting me while I'm setting up.

[Smithereens]

Not ultralight, but it is a pretty good tarp for the money... ($70)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Tips the scales at about a pound, but it is roomy and not too delicate.

Take a look at the DD Ultralight series too. I have a regular DD 3x3... awesome tarp, except that it weighs 2lbs, the ultralight version is about 1/2 that IIRC.

I've always been a tarper, but now I'm looking to switch out my regular ol' blue tarp for an UL tarp. Any recommendations? Just has to be big enough for someone 5'2" and a 55 pound dog. Also, where do y'all get ground cloths/what kind without paying REI prices, or do you just suck it up and pay for something that won't rip.

[Feral Bill]

Maybe this is the crux of the matter. I can't imagine myself getting into a situation backpacking the AT, even in winter, where my life would be dependent on a super storm-worthy gear (4-season mountain tent) like can be needed on an exposed alpine ridge-line or sitting exposed on a glacier. Frankly, I am not aware of any likely situation along the AT where I would not be able to drop down to somewhere somewhat protected or just hike out, unless there were an emergency where, worst case scenario, I might have to wrap myself up as a survival burrito until help arrived. So, Tipi would sit in his Hilleberg tent in that highly unlikely situation, and I would be miserable, but alive in that same, unlikely to happen in a lifetime situation. That is a risk I don't mind taking, and others are not comfortable with. And that's okay. We each hike our own hike. I don't think either approach is wrong.

The Whites come to mind. They can be as nasty as it gets, with no reasonable retreat at times.