Vinyl tarps? Pro’s / Con’s please

I used a boy scout style pvc vinyl poncho-tarp as a winter ground cloth and it was a true piece of crap. One morning at 5F I got up and folded the thing and it snapped into several pieces like a saltine cracker. Save your money.

I would agree with Walter. It is brittle at low temperatures, destroyed by sunlight, it has very very low strength and is much heavier than a fabric tarp (ie silnylon), and, in case this is of interest to you, the manufacture of PVC is a huge source of pollutants (much more than most other plastics).

Silnylon is often available for $2-3 per yard (sometimes less). You could sew and seal your own silnylon tarp for $15 and it would be far stronger, far lighter, more packable, and more environmentally friendly than a vinyl tarp. And it could last for many years.

If you want to experiment, just go with a 2mil or 3mil clear poly tarp from Lowe's or Home Depot. Cut it to the size you want and have fun. They are surprisingly tough, especially the 3mil, and you can't beat the price.

Forget vinyl.

+1 on the environmental havoc. Your blue poly tarp is still better and you can get light poly tarps that are nearly the same weight as a PU coated tarp. Bulky, but geez– $7?

Golite has the Shagri-La 1 shelters on sale for $79. It doesn't get much better than that for cost/weight/quality. Save you pennies and wait for a deal.

Where did you find silnylon for $2-3/yard?

Silnylon at $2-3/yd where? I see it in the $6-$8/yd range. I would like our Boy Scout troop to switch to SilNylon Tarps, but with packs,bags and other gear the expense becomes an issue.

Thanks everyone for your info. I'm trying to cut bulkiness out of my pack and it looked appealing in the small packaging. Next weekend I'm taking out my polycro tarp out for a test. It's forecasted for rain so it'll be a good test.

"Next weekend I'm taking out my polycro tarp out for a test"

Take some backup– I'm not too confident with a polycro tarp if there is wind.

PM me if you want an old PU coated poncho for cheap. I'm in Seattle too :)

Silnylon seconds are often available for $3 per yard or less. There have also been quite a few posts to BPL about $1 per yard silnylon at Walmart. You might have to do some searching if you want that price. The very brief google search that I did just now turned up three suppliers selling it for less than $5/yard. I don't have time right now to do a more thorough search.

Be careful where you buy your silnylon. Manufacturing practices can vary widely, significantly affecting the hydrostatic head of the fabric. (There have been several threads reflecting this on here for more information.) I'm not sure that I would trust silnylon that cheap unless it came from a very trusted source.