Tarp advice?

Hi Pete,

I went through a similar evolution in that I’ve got a few different tarps but my favorite one that I carry almost always is this one: http://shop.bivysack.com/FlatTarp25-9×9-1TarpFlat-25-9×9.htm.

I’ve gone from very gram conscious to finding my comfort level and for me personally, cuben doesn’t pencil out although I still worry about ounces. But if you are in the gram mode and you bought a cuben in 9×9 from one of the good mfg’s I doubt you’d ever let go of the tarp. For your sizes it would be plenty big with gear and even a dog. There’s a lot of fun and learning to be had pitching a square tarp but that’s the reason I like it.

Jeff

Do you camp above treeline or in exposed locations? Will you use bivies or a net tent?

I found an 8.5 X 8.5 HMG Cuben Tarp tight with bivies in storm mode with my son. I’m 5’6″ and he’s 5’9″. We had good protection but it very little headroom and one side is open unless you rig a door with a rainskirt or something. If we stayed in the trees t would be better but above treeline it was too tight for our taste.

Both really helpful replies, thank you. Matthew – I’ve been looking at 8.5 x 8.5 cuben tarps but I think you and Jeff have confirmed my thinking an 8.5 square tarp is going to be too tight for two, especially for the pitches I want to do, while 9 × 9 is ideal. Jeff – that Oware tarp looks good, did you go for the 30d?

I’m drawn to cuben because of the weight (of course) but I suspect that for me the weight saving might be better made in other areas. Still tempting though…What are your thoughts on the cuben tarp you have Matthew? If I do swallow the financial pain I’d do what Jeff mentioned and go for a 9 X 9 cuben tarp, most likely 0.74 cuben. Perhaps I’m wrong but I’m considering the 20d ripstop silpoly option as a good compromise between silnylon and cuben. Can anyone comment on this?

To answer your question Matthew, I (sometimes we) will be camping both in sheltered valleys and in pretty windy open areas above the treeline. We also live by the sea so there’ll be some coastal camping too.

I don’t actually know anything about the strength of 20D silpoly but I suspect it has quite a bit less strength then .74 Cuben or 30 silnylon.

I sold my Cuben Tarp recently in favor of a silnylon Duomid. We enjoy using bivies when the weather is nice and wanted the increased security of a mid when the weather goes bad. Also the mid allows us to sit up and change clothes much more easily. It’s tight for two but we only use a tarp in storms.

Swami recommends an 8×10 for two people in this review 

I was playing around with an 8×10 flat tarp, and found the storm mode and A frame were the only pitches I was happy with.  I could do better with practice I’m sure, but it needs to be something reliable and possible in poor weather conditions.

I was looking for a square tarp at this time, but in the end found a good trade of some seldom-used hammock gear for a Duomid XL.  Matthew King gave me the same feedback he mentioned above, and although I haven’t used it in extreme conditions, I already know it’s nearly foolproof in bad weather versus fiddling with a flat tarp.

Being a hammock camper whenever I can, I really liked the square tarp idea because i could use it on the diagonal as a hammock tarp and on the ground if necessary.  Now I would say a pyramid is worth the extra weight for it’s storm worthiness.  If I was not worried about pitch space and very high winds (lower altitude, meadows), I might consider a hammock tarp with doors, which are typically a 11′ ridgeline.  I like the hammock gear cuben standard tarp with doors, but I would assume it is really only an A-frame setup.

I’m fairly set on getting a flat tarp as I want the versatility and ability to pitch in smaller spaces when need be. But it’ll be a 9 × 9 rather than 8.5 × 8.5.

Can anyone offer a comparison between the fabrics I mentioned – 20D ripstop silpoly and 0.74 cuben? I’d really like to know how these compare in performance, strength, durability etc. Maybe I’ll do another post just for this question.

Hi Pete:

Pretty good discussion here with some charts and links and some first-hand testing of silpoly. I have a .74 Cuben tarp (HMG echo) and it seems damn strong, although I’ve used it only 3 or 4 times and the most wind it has been subjected to is perhaps a 50km/h gust which was of course no problem… it is sail material, after all.

For practical use on the trail — whether silpoly or Cuben or whatever — to me the factor that changes everything when tarping is the wind. Unless you’ve got it pinned right to the ground on at least 2 sides, and preferably 3, the wind is going to make life very unpleasant because you’re not really out of the weather. Two people under a 9×9 tarp pitched right to the turf is very tight. Add rain to the mix and it can be downright miserable. Try changing out of wet clothes or firing up the stove in those conditions.

It is not a fluke that folks in your neck of the moors often choose the MLD Trailstar as their tarp shelter of choice.