good flat-tarp size for kitchen/place to sit?

I try to make things more practical and easier when it comes to simple projects like this.  If you use the extra wide 1.1 oz Silpoly and do 3 yds. that would give you a 6’X9′ tarp and cost 25.50 not considering guy out materials and shipping.

Would it be the exact “perfect size”, maybe not exactly, but it would be easier and quicker to make–no cutting and no having to sew together two different panels of fabric together.

One thing I’ve learned from being here for awhile, is that when asking BPL for advice, you’re likely to get quite varied advice. Rarely is there a lot of consensus.

I’m interested to know others opinions/experiences.  I recently picked up a Seek Outside tarp that’s 6′ by 9′, I think, and just playing with it in my yard it seems good for a food tarp.  Maybe a little tight for a bivvy/tarp set up, but doable.

Once I get a few actual trips in with it, I’ll let yall know.

I made a 6 by 9 tarp from Silpoly XL for a trip in Banff national park. The park separates eating and sleeping areas and sometimes there is not much shelter around the picnic tables they have set up at back country sites. We used it twice to shelter during a 5 day hike, once over a wet breakfast and then during near freezing rain over a hurried supper. The site was full and the rest of the campers were huddled in their rain wear at tables around the two of us.  Once in a while we would get an envious stare before they huddled back down over their rain filled bowls.

Have subsequently used it a solo shelter. Works absolutely fine and kept the rain off no problem. I’ve found that using two trekking poles to raise one side in a sort of flat roofed “Monk Tarp” arrangement gives the most room. I use a “half” bivvy bag comprising a lightweight silnylon groundsheet with a Gore Dryloft top piece that comes up to my waist. This lets me push my feet up under the back of the tarp without getting my bag wet from condensation and lets me make the most of the room available.

8×10 is a good size. It would do double-duty as a tarp for sleeping and can sleep 2, but I use mine to sleep just me and am comfortable, and if it were just for a kitchen would allow several people to sit under it to cook and eat together. Also it is big enough you could set it up to stand under.

6 by 9 is a decent size for a porch to a tent but 6 by 12 would allow standing room. If sharing the load perhaps using a couple of smaller tarps would also work

We tried-out a homemade (plastic) 8’x8′ rectangular this weekend. We had tie out points on all four corners and at the mid-point of each side. It did come in handy during a rainy dinner time. I wish we had included more tie-outs along the sides, maybe 5 in total on each side (corners, middle, and between middle and corners). Then , we could have made a possibly better shelter.