Tarp & camping in the rain

[jon fr]

Light weight (10.74 lbs base) hammocker here. A buddy of mine is planning on coming on a week long trip with me this spring. He's been trying to lighten his load piece by piece…even got a scale. He asked me today about sleeping under a tarp while it's raining, and how you deal with water soaking your bag/gear. I couldn't answer, as I've never used a tarp tent. It seems pretty difficult to avoid soaking wet ground, pooling water, or runoff. Is there an easy answer?

[Max Dilthey]

I'm a hammock camper. I am considering going tarp, though, and the only way I'd do it is if I also got a bivy bag.

The eVent Soul bivy looks good to me.

[Christopher Yi]

+1 on bivy and it's going to come down to site selection. Another option would be a bathtub groundsheet like Zpacks makes.

[Max Dilthey]

Super cheap and lightweight- carry a sheet of Tyvek in your pack to use over wet ground. it's waterproof and windproof. The lightest stuff is the Tyvek made for kites. For like 12 bucks, you can get a 6' x 5' sheet on Amazon.

[Ken Bennett]

You mentioned a tarp, and also a tarp tent, which is a brand and style of single wall tent. I'll assume you mean a flat tarp.

I like using a tarp in the rain. Get a big enough tarp, like an 8×10 sil nylon tarp, and you get a LOT of coverage — more than inside a tiny tent — with great visibility and good protection even from blowing rain. That 8×10 tarp weighs under a pound and costs well under $100, btw. Add some spectra cord for tieouts and some light stakes, and he's good to go.

Successful tarping depends on two things: site selection, proper pitch, and site selection. Also, site selection :) Basically, you need to make sure that you pitch over an area that water won't pool in or run through even in the heaviest downpour. A careful eye on the terrain makes this process fairly straightforward (also, in general avoid packed-down heavily used tentsites.) Then you need to pitch the tarp for protection depending on which way the wind is blowing, etc.

Use a large plastic or tyvek ground sheet, pitch the tarp so there is a corner to hole up in, and enjoy the view. Good luck.

[Hamish McHamish]

That's good info from Ken.

I have weathered many rainstorms while under the tarp and it has always worked out fine, even with my el cheapo MYOG tarp made from 2mil poly sheeting. Site selection is key. However I have been lucky enough that I have not had to set up my tarp while it was raining, I always managed to be set up before the rain came.

Thinking about it, though, it shouldn't be any worse than when using a tent. You still will get wet while setting up: running guylines, setting stakes, etc. But with a tarp, you can get under it fast and start getting sorted out quicker than with a tent (I think). You'd use a ground sheet with a tent too so I don't count that against the tarp.

Here is a piece of advice I think I can give authoritatively: flat tarps are great (I use OWare) but having extra tieout points along the midline of the panels (not just along the edges) is key. It allows you to make the tarp kind of arch over you instead of droop inward. The extra room is very welcome, especially in the rain, and the weight penalty is extremely small.

A flat tarp in A-frame mode that is drooping down on you in a storm is no fun.

Again I recommend OWare, he will make a top quality tarp the way you want it at a very fair price.

[Dale Wambaugh]

Flat tarps are very adaptable, but shaped tarps, as in floorless tents will give 360º protection for nearly the same weight and you don't need a bivy.

Of course site selection makes a difference, but that isn't always an option. A good pitch and a polycryo ground sheet will help. You can sweep up a little duff and make a berm under the ground sheet to deflect water draining from the high side. It doesn't take much— water is thin :)

Tell him to get a hammock!

[Ian]

I've used the silnylon poncho and bivy combo for years and never had a problem but I'm not down with down yet.

I've slept in my USGI bivy through a torrential downpor and stayed dry; a little condensation but I was using a synth sleeping bag so it wasn't much of an issue for me. A USGI bivy is bomb proof and cheap ($30ish on Amazon) but the weight is problematic at 2.5lbs. The eVent soul bivy seems to spec well in comparison for less than 1/2 the weight but a $300 price tag.

You can get away with a light-weight rain resistant bivy but a larger tarp would make more sense. Using a bug bivy like MLD's with a tarp has the benefit of improved ventilation while maintaining a bathtub. You can buy Tyvek from zPacks and make one on the cheap and keep it in the 6 oz range. SOL makes a few cheap (<$50) bivys which are lightweight as well.

Normal negative relationship between cost and weight applies:

Cheap option USGI poncho and SOL bivy combo ~ $75 and 2lbs.

Lighter Zpacks 8.5x 8.5 cuben tarp/ground sheet combo ~ $325 and 8.8ozs.

[Jerry Adams]

Sleep on slightly sloping ground so water doesn't pool up. And have a waterproof groundcloth or bivy.

I've tried various raised edge tarps in the rainy Northwest, and have switched to a pyramid with edges only slightly raised for ventilation.

Or a Trailstar or other similar would be pretty good, with only the entrance raised, but then the wind will start blowing the rain from that direction and you'll get a little wet.

I like to be able to sit up and move around a little if I'm stuck inside during an extended period of rain.

And then, like Dale said, you can save the weight of a bivy.

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