What is a quality rainfly for norcal without going to a bottomless tent?

[Allowishus]

cant decide on a design for rain/wind and the constant drip from being under the redwoods and in the rain forest valleys and canyons of mendocino county and points beyond.for example the hh stock rainfly just dont cut it and a square tarp is just a pain and floppy no matter how you secrue it.i know theres several designs out there that are just amazoning,but finding one thats not to big but functional is kinda of a challenge.we dont have the sub freezing temps here but the wet is always an issue,the ocean breeze and fog/drizzle is constant.

[SilvrSurfr]

A four-season tarp like the Warbonnet Superfly should work fine.

[Allowishus]

its a great design but thin,what are the pros and cons of that design with a thicker material?and what kind of material is best without going to thick.reason for wanting a thicker lid for my hammock is i had a squirl eating cone nuts above our camp and droping small branches onto my tarp,some of the sticks pierced the fabric and 1 came threw.just got me thinkn i want a little more protection from above.

[WaffleBox]

Pros: more durable
Cons: heavier, probably more expensive because you will need to have it custom made

[OutandBack]

UGQ's will make you a tarp with a thicker silnylon.

[SnrMoment]

One option would be to have one of the vendors here make you a tarp with a heavier top piece and lighter weight side panels. The heavier top would also have a higher waterproof rating plus no top seams to possibly leak.

[SilvrSurfr]

its a great design but thin,what are the pros and cons of that design with a thicker material?and what kind of material is best without going to thick.reason for wanting a thicker lid for my hammock is i had a squirl eating cone nuts above our camp and droping small branches onto my tarp,some of the sticks pierced the fabric and 1 came threw.just got me thinkn i want a little more protection from above.

A tarp is designed for weather protection, not squirrel protection or tree branch protection. No matter how heavy or thick a tarp you get, you're never going to be safe from falling branches (unless the tarp is made of metal). Sounds like you're being a little reactionary based on a single incident.

[sargevining]

its a great design but thin,what are the pros and cons of that design with a thicker material?and what kind of material is best without going to thick.reason for wanting a thicker lid for my hammock is i had a squirl eating cone nuts above our camp and droping small branches onto my tarp,some of the sticks pierced the fabric and 1 came threw.just got me thinkn i want a little more protection from above.

What material was that tarp made out of? "Thin" and "thick" aren't very descriptive of the type of material. The tarp suggested above is a 1.5 oz/yd SilNylon. I've never had any problem with the size of branches a squirrel eating cone nuts is capable of dropping on a tarp piercing SilNylon.

[signguy]

If a squirrel sends a branch down on my cuben and puts a hole in it I am going to eat him for dinner.

[hutzelbein]

I've never had any problem with the size of branches a squirrel eating cone nuts is capable of dropping on a tarp piercing SilNylon.

Yeah, me neither. And I had squirrels throwing everything they had on my tarp for 1-2 hours or so... I use WB silnylon tarps and haven't had any problems whatsoever up to now. Silnylon is a very robust fabric, and I really wouldn't worry about durability. Treat it with reasonable care, and you will be able to enjoy your tarp for a long time. After my experiences with "normal" silnylon (I think WB uses 1.1oz sil), I don't see any reason of getting a heavier tarp. If my tarp gets damaged, I think there's a good chance that it can be repaired. And if it's too badly damaged, I probably have more pressing issues...

With regards to your "which tarp" question: have a look at the WB Edge or the WL Tadpole. Both are light and small, but still offer quite a bit of protection.