Is a tarp worth carrying?

[HockeyGirl]

Just wanted to get some feedback on AT hiking.

I will be carrying a tent for shelter but after reading through some postings/journals I was wondering if there was any sense to carrying a small lightweight tarp with me as well?
Was thinking it may be useful for sitting on at lunch, putting up before I put my tent up to help keep equipment dry when it's raining (I'm not keen on packing up a wet tent), or putting over the front of a shelter to keep wind down.

Is general consensus that it's a silly bit of added weight or something worth trying and sending home if I don't need it?
Anyone carried both a tarp and tent when hiking?

Cheers for help!

[Helios]

All about comfort level. The more times I went out, the lighter my load got as I became more comfortable with my equipment. I start my thru in 8 days and am using a tarp (Six Moon Designs Wild Oasis). The first time I saw this tarp I thought "no way." Now it's what I'm comfortable with.

Taking both tent and tarp wouldn't be a bad idea for a short trip. It'll allow you to experiment and decide. Shake down hikes are awesome for this. It may be excessive weight for a thru hike, but it's your hike and your decision. I know an 8 time thru hiker who carries a tent with two foot prints. He puts one under the tent, and one inside to easily remove the dirt and what not that collects in his tent as he goes in and out. A lot would say this is excess weight. He's thru hiked 8 times. It's his style. Have fun developing yours!

[Rockhound]

A tarp is one of those unnecessary items that I carry. I use it for additional cover from rain by stringing it over my tent. Gives me a nice little covered porch area too. I lay all my gear out on it in the a.m. when packing rather than on the ground. It can also be used to tie to the front of shelter openings to prevent rain/wind/snow from coming in. It can be used as emergency cover in sudden downpours. But the best use for my tarp? I've managed to fashion a catamaran using my hiking sticks,sleeping pad and some duct tape. I use the tarp as a sail and this is how I cross the Kennebeck river.

[Tipi Walter]

Just wanted to get some feedback on AT hiking.

I will be carrying a tent for shelter but after reading through some postings/journals I was wondering if there was any sense to carrying a small lightweight tarp with me as well?
Was thinking it may be useful for sitting on at lunch, putting up before I put my tent up to help keep equipment dry when it's raining (I'm not keen on packing up a wet tent), or putting over the front of a shelter to keep wind down.

Is general consensus that it's a silly bit of added weight or something worth trying and sending home if I don't need it?
Anyone carried both a tarp and tent when hiking?

Cheers for help!

Good luck on trying to keep your tent dry. And anyway, with a tent who needs to string up a tarp, too? A tarp overhang works great on social trips with several other people to hang out in during a long cold rain, but on solo trips it's not needed for shelter if ya have a tent.

I take a nice 8x10 silnylon tarp and fold it in half(and sewn up this way)and use it for two things:

** When I pack up in the morning I wrap my Thermarest inflatable pad with it and put the whole wad in a stuff sack which I strap onto the outside of my pack. Why? Cuz when you walk thru briars and brambles and sawbriar and hawthorns you'll be glad for the extra protection.

** I lay out the tarp on the inside of my tent for two reasons: to protect the Thermarest from pinholes thru the tent floor, and to keep sheeting groundwater which sometimes makes it thru the tent floor by osmosis(especially on wet snow)between the tent floor and the tarp. Most would put this ground cloth under the tent but it doesn't work as well since in a hard rain you'll find water slipping between the outside floor and the lower ground cloth, resulting in sandwiched pools, etc. Phew, I'm getting wordy again.

[Hawkwind61]

I have a very lightweight syl-nylon backpacking poncho that will double as a tarp if I need it. Years ago I had a bright yellow heavy vinyl one that helped saved many a camping 4-H kid (and myself) on overnight camping trips that turned a bit wet. Even if it was to string it up so the kids could have a 'dry' breakfast after a wet night.

I hammock and if I'm expecting rain I add the poncho over the 'head' of my hammock even though I have a tarp to cover it. I like to be sure my head and shoulders stay dry since it's my shoulders that will ache first if I get chilled. (I have fibromyalgia, Hashimoto's and Raynaud's syndrome...all things that cause a body to feel chilled faster.)

[white_russian]

A standalone tarp is a very nice thing to have. Sure you don't need it, but it makes things a good bit more civilized.

[Blue Sky II]

An educated guess is that you'll be sending it home!

[Slo-go'en]

A tarp can be handy. If you can get it out of your pack quick enough, its a good way to stay dry in a heavy T-Storm down pour by putting it over your head and waiting out the storm - which usually only last 15-20 minutes. It's often better to wait these storms out then try to hike through them - unless your on high ground or exposed and need to get lower - quickly.

You can put it up to sit under to rest and eat lunch under during an all day light rain.

I don't like sil-nylon ponchos - they bleed through too easaily anywhere something touches it - like most of your body. I made my tyvak ground cloth do triple duty by putting grommets in the corners so it can be strung up as a tarp and cut a slit in the middle just big enough for my head to fit through so I can wear it as a poncho.

[daddytwosticks]

I use a sil-nylon poncho when I hike. It's a great multi-purpose piece of gear. Tend to use a rain jacket in the colder season. I've never had my Golite poncho-tarp bleed through as described above...maybe I've been lucky?

[10-K]

I used to carry one but I can use my tyvek ground cloth for probably 70% of the stuff I'd use a tarp for so I started leaving it at home.

[neo]

Just wanted to get some feedback on AT hiking.

I will be carrying a tent for shelter but after reading through some postings/journals I was wondering if there was any sense to carrying a small lightweight tarp with me as well?
Was thinking it may be useful for sitting on at lunch, putting up before I put my tent up to help keep equipment dry when it's raining (I'm not keen on packing up a wet tent), or putting over the front of a shelter to keep wind down.

Is general consensus that it's a silly bit of added weight or something worth trying and sending home if I don't need it?
Anyone carried both a tarp and tent when hiking?

Cheers for help!

tarps rock,i hate shelters ,but i use a tarp with my hammockneo

[Jim Adams]

Start with both and if you find that you don't want to carry both then send one home. If you learn to set up the tarp correctly, I'll bet that you send the tent home. A 10'x10' sil tarp is only 16oz. , easy to set up once you learn and LOTS of room!

geek

[Egads]

Tarps are way better than tents, except in winter.

[JustaTouron]

worth trying and sending home if I don't need it?

Sending things home is going to be more expensive for you than for most folks hiking the AT.

Particularly if you haven't bought it yet, you might want to take the opposite appoach "of take it and if you don't need it send it home." That being don't bring one and if after a few nights on the trail you are like, "damn I should have brought a tarp" then buy one here.

[WalkingStick75]

Ditch the tent. I use a larger tarp 10x12 which gives me a LOT of room and much lighter than any tent. What I really like about the tarp is on rain days I pack up everything then when I am ready to go I take the tarp down, shake off as much water as I can and stuff it in my outside mesh pocket and then start my day. That night if it is still raining I setup my tarp, throw down my tyvek and settle in for the night.

[Doctari]

Back when I used a tent, my ground cover would do double duty as a tarp. At 3' x 7' it did not offer much cover, but would give me a mostly dry place to sit for lunch if I needed it to.
Now, my only shelter is a tarp, so it is a non issue, for me at least. I also don't carry a ground cover anymore.

[Wise Old Owl]

A standalone tarp is a very nice thing to have. Sure you don't need it, but it makes things a good bit more civilized.

I use a sil-nylon poncho when I hike. It's a great multi-purpose piece of gear. Tend to use a rain jacket in the colder season. I've never had my Golite poncho-tarp bleed through as described above...maybe I've been lucky?

Multi-function gear is key

Here is a sil-nylon poncho that can be strung as a temporary shelter can be a kitchen between two trees in a down pour.

[Bear Cables]

I carry a 1 1/2lb tarp tent and a 14 oz. sil tarp. I'd rather be prepared than end up cooking in the rain. Also makes a good quick shelter for a sudden heavy rain.

[KnittingMelissa]

I say yes, a tarp is always necessary. But, I'm from Seattle, where it rains. And rains. And then rains some more. So my point of view on rain protection is pretty extreme.

And I'm a hammock camper, so I need a tarp, though only a single, nice one.

Do a few multi day test hikes and see if you like it. That's pretty much the best way to do it. Even now I'm still going over gear for my thru next year, and am constantly learning what I need and what I only think I need, and don't really.

Like toe warmers. I need those, my feet freeze like no tomorrow while the rest of me stays warm. That's something I wouldn't have known unless I had started doing trips to test stuff now.

[kanga]

take it and use it for a few days, then make your decision. you can send it home from neels.