Tarp Necessary?

[Country Roads]

If I am under spruce/pine trees and I am using a netted hammock, I do hang the tarp and leave it in the skins. Rarely have any dew from the spruces, but a netless hammock will get a lot of needles in it, and of course red squirrels will drop stuff on you at daylight as will the birds. If hanging under deciduous trees, I deploy my tarp. If not expecting rain, I will use my asym tarp to keep the dew from dripping on me from about 3 am onward. A tarp also keeps the dew from settling on your hammock/quilts too. I always take some kind of a tarp.

[kayakinkurt]

Hello,

This may be a bit of an odd question, but is a tarp necessary? other than the obvious rain/snow... is it really needed?
I am new to hammocking and have been trying out the new stuff i am getting in my backyard. So far, I have not used a tarp.
However, I am planning a backcountry trip - about 4-5 nights in Yosemite, and I will bring the tarp, just in case, but what other reason do i have to put it up if there is no rain or snow?

I was seeing that there is this winter sock by Dutchware and I was going to use that as wind/bug barrier. I really like being able to look up and see the stars as much as possible. Being from Los Angeles, stars are a rare sight (at least the ones in the sky are lol)

I don't feel that a tarp is absolutely necessary, of course everyone has their own way to hang. My homemade tarp is light and small enough to take with me just to have, but unless it's raining/snowing or, in the fall when acorns are flying out of trees like bullets, I prefer to not use it.

I have used a Snug Pak Cocoon for winter hangs to keep in warmth and keep out light snow and that worked well so a sock should work just as well.

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

[Floridahanger]

Of course a tarp is not necessary. Neither are a lot of "conveniences" we carry.

That said, in Florida, precipitation is not a forecast but an ever occurring scenario. Even if there are clear skies for days, you may wake every morning wet from the dew dripping from the trees. That and spiders, there are always spiders trying to navigate a new warm cave like...say...your open mouth....

And yes, the bird poop.

So, keep the tarp strung up overhead in the skins until you find that it's necessary. If not, it's there as insurance.

[HuskHikes]

I never go out without some sort of tarp. Even on day hikes, I have a 5'x7' tarp. I can build a bush shelter, and have on many occasions. If the worst happens, it is much easier to make a shelter out of a tarp.

[rhjanes]

I always take mine. I also always string it up, but with zero chance of rain, summer night, no wind....I sometimes leave it in the snake skins. However, the stakes are in a pouch next to my shoes. First drip I feel, I can have the four stakes down and it deployed pretty quick.

[Urduja]

If I am under spruce/pine trees and I am using a netted hammock, I do hang the tarp and leave it in the skins. Rarely have any dew from the spruces, but a netless hammock will get a lot of needles in it, and of course red squirrels will drop stuff on you at daylight as will the birds. If hanging under deciduous trees, I deploy my tarp. If not expecting rain, I will use my asym tarp to keep the dew from dripping on me from about 3 am onward. A tarp also keeps the dew from settling on your hammock/quilts too. I always take some kind of a tarp.

Good point with the needles. I am not thinking we will have a day where we are over in one area more than one night, but just in case... this is a good one to consider

[Urduja]

As I was watching some of these "would you survive shows", where a lot of people just get lost and can find the way back to where they came, it occurs to me that a bright tarp is probably a very good idea in some areas. Not so much for rescue to find you, but for you to find it should you wander off for any reason - to find water or whatever. I think on a populated trail like the AT - where I normally hike/camp - there's often of want of folks to not "announce my presence" which I do appreciate. There's plenty of orange and white and other brighter tent colors out there that its certainly not a prerequisite for conforming to trail code. However, there are plenty of trails where that's not going to matter at all. In fact, it may matter a lot more to actually be "announcing your presence", whether its for other hikers in the area or just yourself.

I've got 3 coyote brown tarps, lol. Think my next one will be a brighter one. Hoping I find an outdoorink pattern that floats my whimsy.

Happened to one of my friends. she wasn't paying attention and ended up on an animal trail instead of the main trail and was lost overnight. She happened to be wearing a bright colored sports bra and used that to wave down the search party the next day... since her incident, I also started wearing bright colored sports bras under my earth tone "blend with the environment" outer wear HAHAH

[dakotaross]

...She happened to be wearing a bright colored sports bra and used that to wave down the search party the next day...

Yeah, that's what the search party noticed, the bright sports bra...

[H. Hastings]

I always take a tarp and always pitch it. Been rained on too many times when I didn't expect to be to trust that I'll wake up in time to deploy one before my rig gets wet.

[Vanhalo]

And yes, the bird poop.

Left my hammock un-tarped on my "covered" deck for 24 hours.

Was shocked to find bird poop in it.

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