Tips for staying dry hammocking in a heavy rain

[JmBoh]

I experimented in my back yard with my Hex tarp during heavy rains and was surprisingly dry. There wasn't much wind though, just down pours with a slight breeze. I use 6" pieces of para cord as water breaks on my straps. I simply tie them to the straps a few inches above the cinch buckles. Water hits them and drips down to the ground instead of down to my hammock. VERY helpful. I simply lowered my tarp a bit more than usual and staked it out so the edges of he tarp were an inch or two above the ground. I got a little misting/spray a few times but nothing got truly wet. Something that would be a great help that I don't even have yet, would be an underquilt protector to prevent splashing water getting the underside of the hammock or quilts wet. My primary tarp is a 4 season tarp with doors though. excellent protection from rain, snow and winds. I highly recommend a UGQ Winter Dream simply because it has snaps that secure the doors. Very little, if anything, gets blown through those doors.

[jwallick]

I did a motorcycle tour in the fall of 2015 and 2 of the days camping were in horrific storm conditions. A couple of the things that I walked away with were:

Depending on you suspension, string you hammock up just a bit tighter at first and make sure nothing will slip where its wrapped around the tree. Some of the straps do stretch in very humid conditions.(basically, know your equipment) I started out 18" with my 30* hang and ended up about 10" off the ground in the morning. I know this sounds like basic stuff, but when you're trying to get set up in a hard rain. you'll tend to rush. Get wet then and change your clothing. If you do it right the first time, you'll stay dry all night.

Take or construct longer tie out stakes. Even with the best tarps, if you have to go out into the rain to "fix" things, you'll be uncomfortably damp all night.

Although a small mat is good for under your feet when its dry, it won't live up to your expectations during bad weather. take a bigger piece of poly along. I made mine big enough to span the length of my hammock plus about 2 feet more. This will allow me to put my pack and other equipment at one end and fold it over then secure.

The UQ protector is a great idea. I have a sock that I just simply let open on the top. Works great.

One last thing that doesn't really have anything to do with keeping dry, take good earplugs and a sleep mask if there will be thunder storms. You don't have any other options except "ride it out" and these 2 items will help you get a good nights sleep. I take my shooting range headset. I still feel the thunder, but it sounds like its miles away. I learned that years ago when tent camping.


My first night was very uncomfortable, but my next night was almost perfect by doing these things

[kitsapcowboy]

Big tarp FTW! ("Shields...")



That said, kardinal_emilus is quite right; a simple 6' x 9' or 6' x 10' DIY ectangle tarp made from wide waterproof fabric and hung asym style is an inexpensive 9-ounce solution that can afford you a surprising amount of coverage and keep you quite dry if you pitch it correctly...





HTH...

[curtiseddie]

All above suggestions are great.
I think the biggest two that helped my experience was having something to step onto/set gear on, under my tarp (which I normally carry anyhow). And an extra tarp for "hanging out" while at camp.

I posted a similar question very recently.
Rainy Trip
There may be some additional input there as well.

[Bluefen]

Thank you, everyone! Those are all great suggestions, and I'll be referring to this repeatedly as I make my plans! While learning by trial and error is effective, I'd rather have more trial and less error, and everyone's input helps! I'll definitely be making some adjustments to my gear from this. Awesome. You people are the best.

[IRONFISH45]

I fought with staying dry, when Hanging on the Oregon Coast during storms. I had moved up to a Hennessey, I used their stock diamond tarp, very small. I kept getting soaked. The rain was driven by gale force wind, it came from every direction.

At that time, there was not any discussion about UQP. I definitely woyld have added one.

I finally figured out how to pitch my scanty rainfly in a way to keep dry. Having a drip line was important in normal rain. In soaking wind blown rain the drip line did not make a noticeable difference, just too much water.

I was so proud when I realized my stock HH tarp would truely work in serious rain, as a few HF member's had promised.

Later with larger tarps I learned to: Not set up in the dark, be sure the tarp is centered over the hammock. Check the drip line. I have set up in pitch black, thought all was okay. Woke up in a swimming pool. Two inches of water in my double layer hammock.

When I was new to hammocks I had trouble with the HH Asym tarp. Now several years later I really do not know why they were so challenging except we were always setting up in twilight.

I was told to practice with my tarp, that was correct, I finally learned. Now I have a beauriful Red donated Gargoyle design tarp, it is huge and has many ways to deploy. The Ogee tarp is great, love it in fact. However, sometimes small is better. I think knowing how to manage minimally is important, simply because you might find yourself in a situation where larger gear will not work. Always be prepared.

[jhawk]

Great information and advice, everyone. Also, props to everyone on here who is always very clear about making sure you put your drip lines under the tarp instead of outside. My hammock got very wet on one of my very first trips a few years ago because I put my lines outside of the tarp coverage, rendering them useless.

I always stayed dry in a regular 3-season tarp, but I think I got somewhat lucky. I'm very conscious when pitching camp about checking the forecast to see where the wind is going to be coming from throughout the night, and if a storm is predicted, pitching accordingly to give me broadside coverage facing the wind.

As others have stated, once I switched to a 4-season tarp, I was kind of blown away by how bomb-proof you can make your shelter. I'm just using a basic Kelty Noah's Tarp 12' right now that I got on sale from Woot!, and it has been incredible. I've been so happy with it and all its configuration options that I'm now more sold on the Warbonnet Superfly than ever, and plan on buying one in the near future.

4-season tarps are just so versatile and offer me so much peace of mind that it's totally worth it to me.

Thanks for being so ready to offer all these great ideas to the OP, everyone! This is such a great forum.

[Ldog]

Adam at HammockGear told me (as I was ordering a cf hex to replace the tiny napkin that came with my HH). "Hammock camping is tarp camping." It's not enough to just find two trees when bad weather approaches, you need to know what direction it will blow in from, and how that direction is likely to change over the course of the night.

An issue with keeping one's UQ dry is the ground over which you're hanging. If it's hard, compacted soil, a driving rain will bounce up and wet out the UQ. Hang over vegetation, or something that will absorbed the impact of the rain.

Treating one's quilts with a dwr spray helps too


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[kitsapcowboy]

An issue with keeping one's UQ dry is the ground over which you're hanging. If it's hard, compacted soil, a driving rain will bounce up and wet out the UQ. Hang over vegetation, or something that will absorbed the impact of the rain.

(As previously mentioned) 2QZQ UQP FTW!

http://2qzqhammockhanger.com/hammockaccessories.html

These can also by DIY'd...

[TxAggie]

(As previously mentioned) 2QZQ UQP FTW!

http://2qzqhammockhanger.com/hammockaccessories.html

These can also by DIY'd...

I've been looking at these. 2 quick questions:

Do you need one with a winter tarp with doors?
Can it double as a gear hammock or is that too much weight?

Thanks!