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16 oz, 9 x 9 Flat-ish tarp use question and DIY / BUY recommendations?

This topic has 18 replies, 9 voices, and was last updated 6 years, 5 months ago by Eugene Hollingsworth.

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Jun 7, 2018 at 6:13 pm #3540714

Eugene Hollingsworth
BPL Member

@geneh_bpl
Locale: Mid-Minnesota

Did my research and as usual I don’t trust what I find, so just have to have this discussion … *sigh*

Searching out a quiet tarp for this fall as a secondary shelter (usually), light enough to carry backpacking a dozen or so nights a year, strong enough to handle bad weather. Oh, and have a small fire under the edge if it’s raining too hard to keep the fire going. I assume the tarp is wet. (Small and low fire would be fueled with 1-2 inch sticks in a 1 ft dia fire pan. I have large UL windscreens that work really well on windy days) Prefer not to look like a cheap rookie with a plastic tablecloth.

My price range is maxing at $100 this year. Ok for used, DIY, or off-the-shelf as long as I have pitching options to hold it tight in fly, diamond, wind shed, or Forrester-Like configuratons.

I have used noisy poly tarps on canoe trips but dang heavy and noisy. I hate noisy. If it’s too rainy to keep a small fire going I’ve had it just under the tarp without problems.

Jun 7, 2018 at 6:17 pm #3540715

Eugene Hollingsworth
BPL Member

@geneh_bpl
Locale: Mid-Minnesota

Addendum: I’m 5 ft 6 in, trying to keep base weight down to 25 lbs + food and water. Typical hikes range from a few hundred yards in the woods dispersed camp to 14 miles on the SHT. Hope to get a bit of So. Dakota hiking and BWCA hiking along with canoe trips.

Jun 8, 2018 at 2:04 am #3540935

Eugene Hollingsworth
BPL Member

@geneh_bpl
Locale: Mid-Minnesota

Answering one of my own questions I found this: “Fire under a silnylon tarp (video) by Kevin Burton – https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/85022/

Kevin did just what I was thinking about with a small fire.

I have to figure out if I should use silpoly or silnylon.

Jun 8, 2018 at 1:59 pm #3540983

Jerry Adams
BPL Member

@retiredjerry
Locale: Oregon and Washington

I’ve been using silpoly tent for a while. I like that once you set it up it stays taut and doesn’t stretch over a while.

Better be a small fire so it doesn’t melt tarp.

Jun 8, 2018 at 5:15 pm #3541002

Eugene Hollingsworth
BPL Member

@geneh_bpl
Locale: Mid-Minnesota

Yeah, Jerry – I’m thinking of the fire being small enough I can almost have my feet on each side comfortably, just enough to keep the chill off and keep me from getting bored. I expect the the tarp about 50 inches high so I hope 9×9 is large enough.

Jun 8, 2018 at 6:31 pm #3541008

Link .
BPL Member

@annapurna

8×10 tarp for $79.99

. Sanctuary SilTarp – Ultralight and Waterproof Ripstop Silnylon Rain Shelter Tarp .

Jun 9, 2018 at 12:07 am #3541065

Eugene Hollingsworth
BPL Member

@geneh_bpl
Locale: Mid-Minnesota

Link – that’s a nice Sanctuary SilTarp by <span class=”ac-keyword-link”>paria outdoor products, all the stuff included. Weight is good, though I would like to stay with square. That of course popped up other suggestions and I’m finding it hard to find square tarps at 16 oz…. </span>

Jun 9, 2018 at 10:26 pm #3541183

Bruce Tolley
BPL Member

@btolley
Locale: San Francisco Bay Area

Oware (David A Olsen) sells 16 oz 30d nylon 9 X 9 square tarps but @ $130 are above your $100 budget.

Jun 11, 2018 at 10:15 am #3541402

rmeurant
BPL Member

@rmeurant
Locale: Laniakea

Brook’s Range Mountaineering Ultralite Guide + Tarp 10 ft square Sale Price: $114.00 at present.
http://www.brooks-range.com/Ultralite-Guide-Tarp-p/4108.htm
(Also, Ultralite Guide Tarp 8ft x 10 ft. Sale Price: $96.00 at present, which ain’t square).

Jun 11, 2018 at 6:51 pm #3541464

Eugene Hollingsworth
BPL Member

@geneh_bpl
Locale: Mid-Minnesota

Not coming up with any clear winners yet, but getting a better understanding of what’s realistically available – so you folks are actually helping a lot. I do appreciate it and hope other suggestions come through. I would like 9×9 or so, 1 lb about, light olive color probably, (subtle in the woods) and <$100. Oh and lots’ of tie-outs. I could add those though.

I’m pretty sure though that it’s going to come down to: get what I want by making it, go heavier and add tie-outs if needed, or pay $100 or more. I wasn’t clear myself exactly what I was looking for.

Jun 12, 2018 at 1:14 am #3541570

rmeurant
BPL Member

@rmeurant
Locale: Laniakea

You might consider getting the Ultralite Guide+ at 10 x 10, and cut it down to 9 x 9 or better 8.5 x 8.5. It is quite a nice fabric, though I’ve not used it.
I use an HMG square tarp now, like it a great deal, and it is more than enough for 1-person use. I think 8 x 8 would be even better, to get the windage down further.
The only real limitation to these smaller sizes for 1 is that they don’t lend themselves to the useful fairly enclosed pitch often shown for 3 m x 3 m tarps as per the photo (swiped from YouTube).

how about a used HMG square? That would be ideal (NOT mine!). The inner ties on the HMG are very useful for shaping the enclosure.

Else, AliExpress 10 x 10, and cut down to desired size (cheap option).

Jun 12, 2018 at 2:40 am #3541584

Bob K
BPL Member

@seventy2002

Etowah Outfitters has simple tarps at your price point although they miss your size and weight specs,

Jun 12, 2018 at 3:51 pm #3541657

Michael Schlesselmann
BPL Member

@mschless
Locale: Southern Los Padres National Forest

Get a quote from Borah gear for a custom 9×9. I get a 5×9 tarp with a bunch of extra tie outs for $50.

Jun 12, 2018 at 5:56 pm #3541684

Eugene Hollingsworth
BPL Member

@geneh_bpl
Locale: Mid-Minnesota

HMG looks really expensive so guessing even used would be out of my scope.

Addendum: I’ll call Borah gear also – thanks!

I’m going to call Etowah this afternoon – 10×10, 18 oz, gray 1.1 silnylon. $89. Stretching close to the max of of all my requirements, but maybe very close to actual finished weight if I DIY a 9×9?

How much should I add for finished weight vs raw silnylon only – RBTR silnylon 1.1 (1.4 act) 9×9 looks to be 11.2 oz – so the Etowah finished weight is just under 8 oz heavier than material only from RBTR.

Jun 12, 2018 at 6:46 pm #3541695

Bob Shuff
BPL Member

@slbear
Locale: SoCal

I picked up a 9×9 Yama Mountain Gear used here on gear swap. Don’t know if it was a custom or just something they used to do. I’ve only set it up at home to install some tie-out lines, but as usual in SoCal we didn’t need it on our weekend campout.

Jun 12, 2018 at 8:38 pm #3541714

Eugene Hollingsworth
BPL Member

@geneh_bpl
Locale: Mid-Minnesota

Getting narrowed down to Etowah or Borah … sounds much better than DIY for the price. No doubt better resale if the tarp doesn’t suit my needs and is in perfect condition.

Jun 16, 2018 at 5:50 am #3542352

Steve Chan
Spectator

@sychan
Locale: SF Bay Area

If you’re going to get a custom square tarp, you should check out Jared at Simply Light Designs as well. He’s amazingly affordable, turns around custom designs really quickly and has good quality. He’s pretty popular among the hammock crowd for custom tarps and hammocks.

Jun 16, 2018 at 2:02 pm #3542374

Eugene Hollingsworth
BPL Member

@geneh_bpl
Locale: Mid-Minnesota

Adding Jarad to the list. Thanks! I have time to look around because I’m not planning to use it until September when we start hitting the shoulder seasons and will still have plenty of time to practice in the back yard.

I had an awsome talk with … ____ (darn, misplaced my notes) at Etowah. He was really forthcoming with info and answered a lot of questions. I’m also, as a result of the conversation giving more thought of how I plan to use the tarp. I do both backpacking and base camping. I have a new 1P tent for sleeping, so have to question taking both tarp and tent backpacking, or when just the tarp is more than sufficient. No doubt I’m way overthinking this. Probably the poorest decision would be going too small or lesser evil drastically too large.

Maybe 2 tarps – very small like 54″ x whatever my tent length is that I carry all the time to work as an added canopy over my tent door if it looks like rain and I want to leave my vestibule doors open, and larger one for everything else, carrying only when I know it’s going to be used.

Jun 29, 2018 at 1:44 pm #3544445

Eugene Hollingsworth
BPL Member

@geneh_bpl
Locale: Mid-Minnesota

Staying on-topic and since this thread doesn’t qualify for Zombie status yet – Menards had 9 x 9 light poly tarps 2@$3.50 (close enough for 10 x 10 if I go that route) so I will be trying different configurations this summer locally. Oh, and I won’t worry about my dogs playing in and around and -yep- on it. Ugh.

Rain predicted tomorrow night – I’ll give a diamond or c-fly a try with a small fire.
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