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  1. #1
    Senior Member
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    Ready to make a tarp ... and other questions

    I've spent the last 3 days making myself dizzy watching sewing videos and searching this forum.
    It really is worth spending the time to educate yourself, I have fixed several serious errors in how I was
    doing things (how did I manage to sew a hammock and a tarp?)

    I am now using a Ray-Way tarp 106 inches square -- it works great with my hammock, but it weighs
    21 ounces. I am pretty sure I can make a hex tarp (or maybe the "black cat") and have it weight 11 ounces.
    But this leads to two questions:

    1) Will a hex tarp (like the black cat or similar to the Warbonnet "edge" really keep me dry in an honest
    to goodness rainstorm, maybe with some wind?? I'll need to depend on this (like I do my current tarp)
    on week long backpacks.

    2) Does anyone want to suggest a design or point me to something specific? I just kind of stumbled
    across the Black Cat, and don't necessarily want to go through the trouble of doing the catenary layout,
    but maybe it would be cool and worth it.

    And a couple of bonus questions, if people feel helpful.

    A) I do plan to sew another hammock -- and I am intrigued with expanding beyond the traditional gathered
    end (that has served me so well). Maybe into an asym like a Blackbird clone. Any pointers to designs of
    this sort ??

    B) I view sewing a quilt and dealing with down as the "mount everest" of gear making skills. Is it really
    possible for a normal human with basic sewing skills to make a down underquilt? I dream of someday
    having something like a full length incubator, but maybe I could tackle this? What say ye ??

    Thanks !!

  2. #2
    Senior Member
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    I am replying to my own thread.

    Shortly after posting the above I found this excellent forum post, but I am still eager for any advice or input people might have:

    Ultimate-DIY-Project_List


    Also I was looking at prices for down. $40 for 3 ounces, and $210 for a pound.
    It makes the $300 price for a Hammock Gear "Incubator 0" with 17 ounces of down look pretty good.
    Last edited by Tucson Tom; 01-04-2015 at 01:09. Reason: fix url

  3. #3
    Senior Member hutzelbein's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tucson Tom View Post
    Also I was looking at prices for down. $40 for 3 ounces, and $210 for a pound.
    It makes the $300 price for a Hammock Gear "Incubator 0" with 17 ounces of down look pretty good.
    Indeed. The other advantage of going with the Incubator is that it probably took a long time and lots of prototypes to perfect the design.

  4. #4
    Senior Member Osulagh's Avatar
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    1 and 2. Use the Hex-tarp guide on DIYGearSupply. It'll also give you a cutting guide so you'll only use 7 yards of material. You'll make it out of a storm dry in a hex-tarp, but a asymmetrical tarp might be iffy. If you're really worried about storms, make a winter/storm tarp with doors. But as with common sense: Don't go out in a storm.

    I just finished making a DGS hex-tarp and will be updating my build thread ( https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/...m-Build-Thread ) today with pictures and how I did. In short: Turned out great.

    A. That up to you. Past a gathered-end, you can play around with the altered ones in the list you linked or try your hand with a bridge hammock.

    B. IMO, tarps are harder than quilts. The hardest part about them is the baffles and how much down to stuff in them--but there's methods of doing this with a ton of guides, and ways to work around this.

    With the question of buying versus making: You'll have to weigh the cost/benefits for each side. With the Hammock Gear Incubator, I don't know where they get their down from, and being called "water resistant" doesn't mean much as down is naturally water resistant due to the oils left on it. Water-resistant treated down can be expensive--especially to the DIYer. But regular, still good down, like from WildernessLogics can be bought by the pound fairly cheap ($132 for 16oz). And you can sometimes find better deals. To my calculations, with untreated down it'll be cheaper to make your own, and with treated down (if Hammock Gear is using it, which I doubt) DIY can still be cheaper by a small amount--but then weigh that amount to how much it's worth in labor to you.

  5. #5
    Senior Member Boston's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tucson Tom View Post
    I am replying to my own thread.

    Shortly after posting the above I found this excellent forum post, but I am still eager for any advice or input people might have:

    Ultimate-DIY-Project_List


    Also I was looking at prices for down. $40 for 3 ounces, and $210 for a pound.
    It makes the $300 price for a Hammock Gear "Incubator 0" with 17 ounces of down look pretty good.

    Check downlinens.com they have great price for a pound of 800fp treated down. Much less than $210.


    Also, HG down is treated, or they wouldn't advertise it as water resistant.

  6. #6
    Senior Member
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    Quote Originally Posted by Boston View Post
    Check downlinens.com they have great price for a pound of 800fp treated down. Much less than $210.
    Thanks for this tip! I don't think I would get the treated down (I don't think any of the down gear I own contains treated down).

    Also, the comment that sewing a tarp is harder than a quilt is a revelation.
    I have already sewn a tarp and would no doubt do a better job on the next one,
    so I could probably tackle a quilt with some confidence.

    Thanks for all the replies.

  7. #7
    Senior Member
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    Quote Originally Posted by Osulagh View Post
    But as with common sense: Don't go out in a storm.
    Ha! I've been thinking about this on and off all day. I heartily agree. I avoid most nasty weather by making good
    use of the national weather service website. And I congratulate myself on my wisdom, but ....

    Every summer I do 2 or 3 week long backpacks in the High Sierras of California. Most of the time the weather is fine and
    sunny. But it is a 700 mile drive from Tucson, and I'm not going to drive home just because thunderstorms are active.
    And when I am out for a week the weather can do unexpected things. But on top of that .....

    In 2013, I did a trip and it rained every day, usually in the afternoon. It was wonderful! There is almost nothing that I enjoy
    more than having my hammock rigged up with the tarp over it and being snug inside listening to the rain.
    And hiking in the rain with decent gear was actually just fine too. In many ways better than being blasted by the sun.

    And I have to point out that hammock camping was the bomb compared to the tent campers I saw. In the morning my
    tarp was pretty much dry and I just packed up and got moving. Tent campers were dragging muddy tents around and
    draping them on bushes to try to dry them out.

    One night there was a powerful thunderstorm. Wind gusts were pushing one side of my tarp hard against me now and then.
    There was thunder, blinding lightning -- even sounds of rockfall off cliffs not far away (but not dangerously close).
    I was absolutely dry, warm, and snug - an evening I will never forget! My last day it rained gently all night and into
    the morning. I packed up and hiked out (as scheduled) amidst fog, swirling clouds, mist, and light rain.
    It was great!

  8. #8
    Senior Member boulderv7's Avatar
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    Tarps are easier than quilts, IMO. Less steps, less planning, no messing with down. Quilts are absolutely doable by anyone with basic sewing experience. I second downlinens. I've bought most of my down from them. Its a great price, although you can only buy pounds.
    My head is an animal

  9. #9
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    So why a hex tarp? I get that you save the weight of the corners, but with a rectangular shape if tie outs are placed well, the corners can become doors when needed.

  10. #10
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    My interest in a hex tarp is all about saving weight. I have a great rectangular tarp as I have already described. I am not so sure about doors. If you get too closed up you get condensation. I have had condensation issues even without rigging up doors with a rectangular tarp, usually when the tarp is down too close to the hammock (usually the result of hasty rigging or due to setting up in some spot that restricts my options. What you want is to block wind, yet have a nice air exchange to avoid humidity build up. I need to ask some questions in another subforum than the DIY one here and see what replies I get about rain protection in a hex tarp.

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