DIY Xenon Wide K.I.S.S. Tarp ("Keep It Super Simple")

[kitsapcowboy]

I was gratified upon Dutch's announcement of his exclusive Xenon Wide 75" coated polyester fabric, available at Make Your Gear.

Recently, Dutch has released a Wide Asym Tarp with an adjustable ridge line length in both kit and finished form (at Dutchwaregear.com), which uses this amazingly lightweight, waterproof Xenon Wide fabric.

I was inspired after seeing the versatility of tarps made from this fabric -- and reading through Dutch's easy-to-follow kit instructions -- to take advantage of the width of the Xenon Wide to make an ultralight minimalist version of his Wide Asym Tarp that provides excellent coverage while maintaining a small packed size and a feathery carry weight.

My philosophy for the build was "Keep It Super Simple" (K.I.S.S.), so I simplified Dutch's basic design (e.g., no adjustable ridge line, storm flaps, or extra tie-outs) but followed his recipe for materials and techniques. I calculated that a simple rectangular shape made from this wide fabric would give me a diagonal ridge line length sufficient to cover comfortably any of my 11-foot hammocks.

Here was my result...




I used the following components:

3 yards Xenon Wide 75" 1.3 oz coated ripstop polyester ($27)
2 yards 1/2" grosgrain ribbon (for corner tie-outs) ($3)
4 Beastee Dee 1/2" D-rings (for corner tie-outs) ($1)
1/2 yard 300D pack cloth (for corner reinforcements) ($4)

First, I trimmed 1" of selvage of each long edge of my 9-foot piece of Xenon Wide, leaving me with a blank that was 108" x 73". Then I cut an 8" square of the 300D pack cloth into quarters along the diagonals and sewed them into the four corners of the tarp with two rows of stitches 1" apart, hiding the long raw edge (The two short edges of each triangle would be folded within the roll hem. I ran a roll hem around the entire perimeter of the tarp for strength and durability. Then I stitched the four Beastie Dees into folded 8.5" lengths of 1/2" grosgrain and sewed them onto the corners of the tarp with a series of bar tacks; all four corners of the tarp are identical, so one can switch diagonals and use the tarp for coverage of an asym lay in either direction. (I had enough grosgrain and pack cloth left over to make four additional midpoint tie-outs if so desired.)



That was all I used; the whole project was very inexpensive ($35) and took less than two hours to cut and sew! It's not super-pretty, but it very functional and was very easy to make because I could use the width of the fabric to get good coverage without having to sew a ridge line seam. Finished size is 107" x 72" with a 130" diagonal ridge line length. Packed weight inside a stuff sack slightly larger than a soda can is a gossamer 230 grams (8.1 ounces)!



It's raining here right now as I lie in my DIY Multicam Epsilon hammock with integrated zippered bug net typing this project report; the Xenon Wide K.I.S.S. tarp is performing admirably so far. While it stretches on the bias like most asym tarps, the straight sides pitch plenty taut to withstand the moderate ambient breeze. It can be tied out wide for views or tighter for "storm mode", and it's keeping me quite dry, so I'll say so far that the project looks like it was worthwhile -- certainly for the minimal time and resources invested...

[Lochlainn]

Wow, nice work! Grats on the 8.1 ounces too, that's quite light!

Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk

[Otter1]

Very nice tarp!

I have a nice cuben tarp w/ doors that weighs less but I want one of these anyway!!!!!

[kitsapcowboy]

Wow, nice work! Grats on the 8.1 ounces too, that's quite light!

Much appreciated.

Very nice tarp!

I have a nice cuben tarp w/ doors that weighs less but I want one of these anyway!!!!!

Thanks for your kind words.

There is no denying how amazing cuben fiber is, and a full tarp with doors obviously provides better coverage than even this wide asym.

My tarp is definitely a few grams heavier than if I went with one like yours, but at $35 for DIY versus the cost of CF, so is my wallet!

[atrane21]

Great looking tarp!! The Xenon wide really opens up some great possibilities.

[kitsapcowboy]

Great looking tarp!! The Xenon wide really opens up some great possibilities.

Thanks. Yes, I agree. It really does. I'm thinking of getting some more of the Xenon Wide material to sew an easy ultralight 12x12 with only one seam (!).

Two nights of significant rain and the K.I.S.S. Tarp stayed snare-drum tight, and it dried really quickly when the sun came out today. This Xenon is great tarp fabric! My minimalist reinforcements seem to be holding up quite well (although if I were to make a bigger tarp I might bump them up to 1" grosgrain and increase the size of the 300D pack cloth triangles). I will study the wear and tear on them over time...

[kitsapcowboy]

Last night I slept out on my property under this tarp in a consistent moderate downpour with steady 20+ MPH winds (and some good gusts heavy enough to take down a few smaller branches!) This wide tarp with a compact ridge line performed admirably. The Xenon is really amazing fabric; it took some punishment and stayed taut without much problem. My 6x9 dimensions, battened down low approaching "storm mode", provided plenty of coverage even in some significant wind and precipitation -- and with no ridge line leaks to worry about on my DIY job. Dutch's larger adjustable ridge line commercial version must REALLY keep you dry!

The small Beastie Dee rings and my beefed-up 300D corner reinforcements (Dutch's tarp uses a second layer of Xenon) weathered the storm well, and they show no real signs of stress, as stitched, so far...

[kitsapcowboy]

This DIY project report was submitted to this forum for ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY. Use any methods, ideas, or inspirations contained herein strictly AT YOUR OWN RISK. I accept no responsibility whatsoever for any injury or harm that befalls others owing to information presented here, and I accept no responsibility for any errors the post contains.

I do not in any way advocate that others should do anything I have presented here; this thread is strictly DOCUMENTATION OF FACT. Readers beware.

There is a lot of great information on Hammock Forums available from members with much more substantial experience, better ideas, and better methods than mine. SEEK IT OUT.

Thank you for your attention.

[kitsapcowboy]

Used Dutch Xenon Wide to make four more of these widebody asym tarps as holiday gifts for friends. To maximize versatility, added four additional reinforced tie-outs with 1/2" hardware at the midpoints of all sides (for a total of 8) to give users the option of three different ground pitches using hiking poles (with coverage a foot wider than traditional rectangular backpacking tarps) in addition to asymmetrical hammock coverage for left- or right-hand lay. Used leftover silpoly scraps from my recent silpoly winter tarp build to make flat 6"x9" storage bags for the tarps. Finished weight still comes in under 9 ounces (248 grams).

Materials for one Version 2.0 tarp (not including thread) -- 3 yards of Xenon Wide, 2 yards of 1/2" grosgrain ribbon, 1/2 yard of 300D pack cloth, and 8 Beastee Dee rings (1/2") -- total $32.70 + shipping. (There is enough pack cloth left to make a storage bag out of that if you have no silpoly scraps on hand, or you can make additional tarps for $28.70 each until you run out of reinforcement patches.)







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[slugbait]

Looks good- your gift recipients are going to be pleased!