Thoughts on new tarp from GG

I think it is Silnylon, its just Cordura brand Silnylon.

Wow, a 2p cat-cut tarp @324g is impressive! Only the catenary cut seems to be a little excessive to my uneducated eyes b/c it makes the entrance so huge… I also wonder how durable the material is. Can't wait to read first reviews!

Looks like the fabric is 25gsm, that's pretty light!

It does look like GG nailed it with the size, weight, and price point for this tarp. If I were to buy a tarp today then this would probably be it. With that said, it'll be interesting to see how durable that fabric is. As others have mentioned above, it's pretty darn light for nylon.

It's also interesting that nowhere in the GG's description of the tarp is there any mention of a silicone coating/impregnation (or any other waterproofing treatment for that matter).

I suspect that it's just a very light silnylon and that GG isn't calling it silnylon because that term is rather pedestrian at this point. Seems like marketing spin by omission to me.

Cordura is very durable. I have an old tarp made of it around here. I used it as my though primary shelter and (with the family) as a tarp as a tarp over the picnic table for car camping for many years. It is lighter than standard sil-nylon though it is a of a type. They make several grades.

Cordura Ultralite Fabrics: http://www.cordura.com/en/fabric/ultralite-fabric.html

Something isnt adding up with that fabric. That would be light for an uncoated 10d nylon much less a 20d coated nylon. Just for reference, Ripstopbytheroll's 20d silnylon is 43gsm and has a 1500mm HH, which isnt a huge number. I wonder how waterproof GG's stuff is? Hopefully more details come out.

Ryan

I reformatted GG's specs from inches to MLD's specs in feet to make the comparison more user friendly here.

Grace Duo $170

Weight: 16oz (don't know if stuff sack is included)
Ridgeline: 9.5'
Side: 9'
Foot End: 7.5'
Head End: 9'

C twin $155

Total Packaged weight 13 oz (includes stuff sack)
Ridgeline: 9.75'
Side: 8.41'
Foot End: 6.91'
Head End: 9.16'

Good stuff, thanks Ian

anybody get a chance to try the c-twinn out yet? I'm intrigued…

I think is the cordura version of silnylon. It also has a light PU coating on the other side in addition to the sil coating.

HH I think from memory was around 1000-1200mm, but don't hold me to that.
Its possible that Cordura have improved it beyond that in the last couple of years which is why GG have bought some and used it.

It seems like a pretty good fabric for its weight. In extreme conditions its possible it mists through. By feel, its more than tough enough for tarp usage, both strength and durability. To be honest I wouldn't stress about those factors in this fabric, I'd be more concerned about the potential HH.

Sea to Summit use it for ponchos for example.

I did hear a report of this fabric in a sample coming through all gummy from the factory with the coating coming off. This may have been something to do with moist shipping conditions; PU coatings shouldn't be stored wet for a long time as this can happen. Probably just a weird once off with this particular product and nothing to worry about.

Hi everybody,

Rethinking the shelters I own, I recently pulled the trigger on a C-Twinn. I've always wanted a new 2 person tarp for use with my girlfriend. The cheap 10×10 I own is actually heavier than our tent (Golite SL 2), putting a weight penalty on the beauties of tarping. Also, the C-Twinn is light enough to take it on solo trips, hence eliminating the need for a solo tarp. But enough with rationalizing my newest toy!

Before placing my order, I contacted Gossamer Gear inquiring about the waterproofness of the fabric, the HH, misting, durability and so on. Here's their response:
"It is a blended coating that will not mist like sil. It is more durable than sil or cuben.
You should not have to re-coat for many years.
We love the water proofing and it is preforming even better than we ever hoped coming in around 1500mm."

The fabric feels like a thinner version of silnylon to me. While it is thin, it does not feel extremely flimsy or fragile. Also, it is more greyish than I had expected from the product photos.
Seamsealing was easy and today, I set it up for the first time in the park. I took some pictures, but I'm not sure if they help anybody as they don't really show more than the ones on their website.
Although setup was a little difficult for me at first, I was able to pitch the tarp drum-tight with a little playing around. I guess it's just a matter of practice to get a taught pitch w/o extensive re-pitching.
The catenary cut indeed is pretty aggressive – if pitched with the recommended pole-heights (81 and 115cm, respectively), I (176cm) cannot sit up in the middle of the tarp. That being said, nobody is forced to use the recommended pole-heights, of course.
My overall first impression is very positive and I hope to take the tarp with me on the Lost Coast Trail in early June!

Theo, that shaped tarp is similar to the spinnaker fabric one that I purchased from GG about five years ago. I was going to use it in an area with lots of rain and bugs, so I sewed in some mosquito net panels to the front and rear open areas. Then I made some spinnaker rain covers for those.

–B.G.–

Does this fabric have the same stretch as silnylon? Wondering how well it keeps its tension when wet.

I used to sell gadget bags (for cameras) made of Cordura.
I am pretty sure that it wasn't tarp material.
(Cordura, like Tyvek, is a Brand not a product)
BTW, all the links to Ultra-Sil on the Cordura site point to Sea 2 Summit products.
Here is a description of 3 types of that fabric from S2S :
http://www.seatosummit.com.au/embed-content/30d-ultra-sil/

This makes for a very tempting first tarp purchase! Theo, have you had a chance yet to test the interior space with two people yet?

Franco, I wonder how much weight this material would save on a tarptent ;) I know, highly unlikely, but it is fun to think about.

Craig,
Gossamer Gear claims the material to be non-stretch when wet in their product description.

Stephen,
I only lay down under the tarp shortly without any matress or companion. I imagine it to be sufficient but not extraordinarily roomy for two persons, especially when in storm mode. But take that with a grain of salt as it is not based on actual experiences.
I think the tarp is identically sized as the SpinnTwinn and there are several testimonials and pictures for that shelter.
I hope to be wiser on that matter after the first trip with the shelter.

I'm just coming back from the Lost Coast Trail where I used the C-Twinn for two out of three nights with a friend.

For the first night, we pitched the tarp in standard-configuration (front pole at 115cm, rear pole at approx. 80cm) with the side-guylines long.
For the second night, we tied the front to a fallen tree, resulting in a similar height. However, this time, we pitched the sides close to the ground (storm-mode) in case winds might blow in (winds stayed moderate for the duration of our trip, though).

Tarp in storm-mode with TiGoat Ptarmigan Bivy

In both configurations, the width is sufficient for two people although it is very "cozy" in storm-mode. In storm-mode, I would occasionaly feel the tarp being pushed against my bivy as the wind caught my side of the tarp. That was not an issue but if it had, we could have each moved towards the center of the tarp a little more or maybe repitched the tarp with the foot-end against the wind.

Rather than width, height seems to be the primary limiting factor. When pitched in storm-mode, I find it very hard to get out from under the tarp without touching the sides (I have a non-side zip bivy, though, which makes this endeavor a little more challenging). In normal (non-storm) mode, it's a little easier. However, in both configurations it is not possible to sit up under the tarp as ridgeline drops about a foot or so with reference to the front pole due to the catenary cut.
That being said, I don't see any issue with pitching the tarp higher for more room and height despite obviously wind (if applicable) and the fact that it would require longer guylines than recommended (and included) by Gossamer Gear.
I think I would trust the tarp in rainy or windy conditions for two people (wind performance only judged by tautness of pitch and not experience). However, I imagine rain AND wind during camp-setup to be extremely uncomfortable as climbing into the low-pitched tarp and undressing your raingear would be annoying. If it doesn't rain and you can do the undressing outside the tarp and then climb under it, it's totally okay.

During both nights, the tarp got wet due to the proximity to the ocean. I did not recognize any sagging in the morning and did not re-tighten a single guyline.

During the afternoon of our last day, we pitched the tarp using two sets of trekking poles, raising one of the sides to create some shade which worked out really nice. The setup worked really well, demonstrating that a cat-cut tarp does not mean loss of all versatility or enforcement of an A-frame setup.

Overall, I'm really happy with the tarp. It does not sag at all and pitches really tight. I also like that that on the long sides, there are a total of five tie-outs (three of which are equipped with line-locs) that would enable pegging the tarp really secure if needed. My main downside is that the cat-cut steals a lot of headroom. However, I guess the trade-off between headroom and wind-resistance is inherent in cat-cut tarps, which is why they're not the ideal choice for frequent-wind-and-rain scenarios.
I will experiment with higher pitches in the future. Based on my so far experiences, I expect the tarp to provide enough coverage and head-room for two people when pitched higher (at, say, 135cm front pole length).

I used the C-Twinn on my recent trip to SEKI NP. Due to my previous experiences, I pitched the tarp higher, using a 135cm front pole (manufacturer's recommendation is 115cm) and a ~100cm rear pole (in order to maintain the suggested height difference between front and rear pole). This configuration was possible with the normal guyline-lengths, although the effective width is reduced then. This configuration allowed for more comfortable headroom. I suspect that the weather protection is still sufficient for mostly vertical rain, since it has not rained on the trip, I cannot speak from experience, though. Here are a few more pictures in the new configuration, in case anybody would like to get an understanding of the space provided by the tarp.

In one night I noticed in the morning that the tarp had sagged which should not happen according to gossamer gear. However, this might've been due to loosened pegs (soft soil) or something else. On my previous trip to the Lost Coast, the tarp got really wet at night and did not sag at all. So if there is sagging of the tarp fabric, humidity cannot be the culprit.