So I got soaked. Slept in the car. What’s wrong?

[Hammockhunter33]

Welcome to learning a new skill. On the plus side it sounds like you did it right and tried something new near a secondary option(car). A lot of us try new things and refine new skills the same way. I learned in my yard that a tarp I made is almost unpitchable in moderately strong winds and would have been a disaster a month later on a trip. Hang in there, pun intended. It's a steep learning curve and I second on Shugs videos and keep asking questions on here. As you can see everyone here is are always there to help. As for my 2 cents, I would say your "diamond" tarp was not enough coverage for you diagonal lay.


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[GadgetUK437]

As the Kitsap (extensively) said, your diamond tarp give minimal coverage. So you've gotta make the most of what you have, which means pitching it as low as possible over the hammock.
The problem lies in that despite initially doing that, when you get in the hammock, the suspension stretches and your hammock drops away from the tarp, exposing more of you.
So, how can you reduce the stretch?
Firstly, by using good materials, nylon stretches the most, polyester much less. Exotics, like Kevlar and dyneema are even better (but fiercely expensive).
Next, think about the angle of your suspension. Very flat suspension puts high loads on, high loads cause more stretch. So, put the suspension up higher, coming down at an angle (30° is ideal), the load will be much less and so will be the stretch.
Lastly, and most importantly, longer suspension stretches more than short suspension...
10% stretch on 10 inches is 1 inch... 10% stretch on 10 feet is 12 inches! It makes a difference! Choose your trees so that the tarp fits with only a foot or two to spare, that will minimise the stretch. At first you need to know the length of your tarp (in paces), then you can pace out between trees, to find an ideal pitch, later on you will be able to eyeball it.

--
Gadget

[BillyBob58]

For immediate relief, in addition to drip lines already discussed, take a small to medium sized garbage bag, poke a hole in the end of it, and thread your suspension through that hole. This will give you several feet of extra coverage on each end until you get a larger and/or rectangular tarp.

[WalksIn2Trees]

just a recap:

1∆ Watch Shugs videos. All of them. Doesnt have to be in one go. Derek's Book and videos are good too.

2∆ Remember HYOH (Hang Your Own Hang): We all discover different things as we go, and discover new reasons for why things happen.

3∆ Drip Line/rain break: can be any material, but I recommend something absorbent. I prefer old socks (HYOH). Dripline ALL the suspensions. Any place where the line is not exactly level, dripline it. sometimes water jumps a rain break. Tarpdripline can be placed just inside, or just outside your tarp. I prefer to keep all the water outside (HYOH).

4∆ Hangle: You can make any distance longer than your hammock work, as long as you can put the suspension up high enough on the tree/post. 30° is often quoted, mine is 35-40° (HYOH) I've never really checked, but I know it's more. This gives me more sag and allows me to get a more comfortable angled lay

5∆ Tarp height: with a minimal coverage tarp, you want your tarp closer to your hammock when it rains or is windy because there is less side coverage. With my luxurious 13 foot Old Man Winter, I can pitch it at standing height with plenty of headroom.

6∆ I Hammock in all weather, all 4 seasons, full-time, for four years now. I've gotten wet when I thought I knew how not to, and learned the hard way. Feel free to ask questions. Most of all, know that there's a lot of deprecated "truths" that have become common knowledge still swirling around in these forums.

7∆ You got wet your first time out. You didn't die. It won't be the last time, and it won't be the only time something goes wrong. It's not any different with a tent. or even a house. I've woken up many times to discover that I chose my site poorly, or had a tent failure of some sort. Just the other day I noticed I have two tiny slits in my tarp. so far they aren't critical, don't even seem to leak, and I can only assume that a squirrel did a leap of faith and missed his branch because there's no evidence of any reason they should be there.

8∆ enjoy the adventures!

~Walks In2 Trees


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[Caminante]

I'd agree that a diamond tarp is somewhat skimpy on coverage, but looking at that tarp on Amazon it is 12'10" down the middle while your hammock is 110". So the tarp is 44" longer than your hammock, or nearly 2' on each side. If you're hanging your hammock straps at 30 degrees or so, you're never going to get that tarp tight to your hammock because of the interference with the straps. I have a 12' winter tarp that I love, but I can't hang it as tight to my hammock as my 11' hex tarp just due to interference with the hammock suspension. To get a 12'10" tarp tight to your 110" hammock you'll have to flatten out the suspension angle significantly which comes with other issues, namely high forces on the suspension and hammock ridgeline.

So, I'd say your tarp could work better if the center length were actually shorter. But you should probably be able to stay dry, even with that tarp, so I'm thinking the drip lines are the culprit, or the tarp just wasn't hung taut and centered, as well as the issues you mentioned with with the stakes (sometimes a rock or similar ballast is as good as a stake).

[makingitoutdoors]

I'd agree that a diamond tarp is somewhat skimpy on coverage, but looking at that tarp on Amazon it is 12'10" down the middle while your hammock is 110". So the tarp is 44" longer than your hammock, or nearly 2' on each side. If you're hanging your hammock straps at 30 degrees or so, you're never going to get that tarp tight to your hammock because of the interference with the straps. I have a 12' winter tarp that I love, but I can't hang it as tight to my hammock as my 11' hex tarp just due to interference with the hammock suspension. To get a 12'10" tarp tight to your 110" hammock you'll have to flatten out the suspension angle significantly which comes with other issues, namely high forces on the suspension and hammock ridgeline.

So, I'd say your tarp could work better if the center length were actually shorter. But you should probably be able to stay dry, even with that tarp, so I'm thinking the drip lines are the culprit, or the tarp just wasn't hung taut and centered, as well as the issues you mentioned with with the stakes (sometimes a rock or similar ballast is as good as a stake).

So I really felt like it was a math issue. It just wouldn’t fit close at the distance I was hanging. I did get a better fit the next night when I moved but had fair weather. I think the range of trees where the tarp fits is very small.

I’ll either alter the tarp with the offset tie outs or just use it only in fair weather. I had better luck with the kids Yukon hammocks fitting under.

I did have drip lines installed plus I ended up using Beckett Hitches because the toggles interfered with getting the tarp close as well. The hanging part of the hitch should have acted as a drip point it seems as well.

In any case, my fingers are sore from all the knots I tied and untied and rope burn. I will have to save for some bling because adjusting was slow. Not giving up, not even frustrated. Just formulating a plan.

[BenJa]

Great thread illustrating one of my personal frustrations with hammocks in general. For what is marketed and appears seemingly simple and ultra-light, can be anything but. Tree width, geometries, varying conditions... it all adds up to be quite frustrating once a person gets past bug net weather.

Shugs video posted earlier has a lot of great information that will quickly alleviate many issues. Ultimately, as many have written, backyard experimentation + a larger cover is in your future. Hammock use for me started out of economic necessity during big wall climbs. If I were just hiking, thought about the idea of hanging, then read this thread, I'd go by a tent. Serious, and I'm not trying to be Debbie Downer. It's the real-world realization that outside of nice weather, hammocks require some backyard messing around and even then it's going to be a continuous trial and error loop for a while.

Good luck, watch the video, and hang in there (pun intended).

[Snaps]

There are ventures in this world that are fraught with risks to life, limb, and levity that are highly worthy of trial and inevitable error. If I gave up motorcycling the first time I got rained on, I would have missed out on some of the best experiences of my life. And maybe as valuable, to me, anyway, is the confidence gained from having faced and overcome adverse conditions. I've been the fool wearing an ear-to-ear grin inside his helmet, riding through 18" flood waters in a downpour, because I was comfortable and I knew I could do it.

I haven't hung in rain, or even any bad wind, but I can't wait to do it and test myself and my gear. There is a calm that comes with the moments when the world is falling down around you, but your preparedness and confidence in self shuts it all out. Bliss, even.

Whatever you do, don't hang it up. Errr, DO, hang it up, again.

Josh the Grinning Fool

[Vanhalo]

I had the same thing happen to me on Cheoah Bald (5,000 ft.) in NC last month. I had to get out in the rain/storm twice to fix my knotted suspension. My butt was almost touching the ground.




I had previously spent over 190 days in my hammock @ home but those trees never move.

I imagine it just comes with experience hanging between different spans and slopes.

I realized later I was hanging across the Appalachian Trail. Whoops.

[HarveyM]

Funny, I've gotten soaked tenting when the creek rose but I've haven't (yet) gotten wet hammocking in the rain. The worse fail I've had recently is my defating air matress. Trying out new gear is best done with a backup plan, regardless of how you camp...