I have DEFINITELY gotten wet from side blown rain, and not just me, EVERYTHING. It was the blue backpackers tarp from WM though, rectangular cut, but I would orient it to match my lay direction. Usually I stayed dry, but in severe weather the wind would blow the rain in right around the tarp. If you happen to be setup in the correct direction when the storm blows in, your OK, but you don't always think of that when setting up, or maybe you can't find suitable trees at that time, or maybe you get one of those vortex storms that loops back on the trailing edge and that catches you from the side rather than head on . Even now with my WL Bullfrog, a full coverage tarp, pitched in storm mode, this still happens sometimes, though to a degree that's not even annoying, just a bit surprising, like: where did that water come from???? Do I have a leak? No, it's just that wind swirls around obstacles and brings rain with it.
From an ultralight perspective though, that's a possibility you accept when you choose to go ultralight. You're sacrificing some comfort and security for weight savings.
On my bike for instance, I don't carry a big ol' honkin bike lock... I carry a small gauge dog run cable with a luggage lock. It's less than half the weight and much, much, longer allowing me to lock my bike to things I can't necessarily get my bike close to. Sure someone with a set of tools can probably get it off pretty easy, but I'm gambling that the odds are small that anyone will try. besides, I figure if they have the tools to get through the small cable, they probably have the tools to get through the big cable lock too. It's the same thing. I'm accepting risk in exchange for weight savings.
Sent from my SGP561 using Tapatalk
Fair enough. I can't dismiss your experiences, I only feel that there is a lot of overstated anxiety about "sufficient coverage". Fail to plan, plan to fail, I guess. Thanks for your input.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
"Speak only if it improves upon the silence"
-Mahatma Ghandi
Listen today to our latest episode to interesting conversations about hammock camping: Hang Your Own Hang Podcast
I make my decisions based on risk level vs reward. If the weather is supposed to be nice and getting a little wet won't kill me, I'll pack a light tarp. On the other hand, if heavy rains are in the forecast and/or getting wet could be life threatening, I'll bring the SuperFly.
I also routinely use a 12' DIY hammock under an 11' SuperFly. Never an issue.
However, I'm one of those guys that used the Hennessy asym tarp for years. That tarp taught me proper pitch and what's possible with an ultralight tarp.
I live in a place where blowing precipitation is the norm, not the exception. I live two blocks from the Atlantic Ocean and there's a large river behind me, so the winds in this area are highly variable. When I first got my HH Expedition Asym Zip with minimalist tarp, I knew immediately I was going to have to upgrade the tarp to stay dry.
I've also found that camping in the mountains produces similar blowing precipitation. So my advice is, if most of your camping is well inland, and you don't spend much time in the mountains, then an asym or other skimpy tarp will work. However, if that doesn't describe your conditions, then consider a larger tarp.
"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Speak only if it improves upon the silence"
-Mahatma Ghandi
Listen today to our latest episode to interesting conversations about hammock camping: Hang Your Own Hang Podcast
+1 on what Surfr said.
Camping in Albert Lea one night, the sideways rain was so strong that I literally spent an hour or so clutching my asym tarp through the bugnet on my Hennessy to keep it from flapping away. Bugnet didn't even rip. Got a bit damp. Good times, those.
Bookmarks