HG standard lacks protection?

[kitsapcowboy]

Very well stated...If it doesn't work for you, consider something else with more coverage such as the Winter Palace. As you have seen up-thread, there are experienced people who "swing" both ways on this issue!

kitsapcowboy,
Are you a lawyer in real life I had to look up 4 of your so eloquently articulated words just to see what they mean. I love the point though. If you don't like it, it just wasn't for you. Don't try to bash it but move on and try something else. I completely agree and unfortunately find myself doing the same thing. It's just in my nature and thanks for the wisdom.

I like the way you talk ........

Thanks, guys

[Shrewd]

I understand your issue.

I carried a HG hex tarp for the entire AT and, while I loved the weight and water repellency, I always longed for an extra foot on each side.

I frequently got splash up that made my UQ damp. Depending on how far the trees were from one another that I hung from I was able to adjust my pitch but it still happened often.

I think it’s because there’s no stretch or bend to cuben so you can’t get the tarp low to the ridge line. I always have it higher off the hammock than anyone I saw with a sil tarp.
They’d hang the tarp like from near the hammock suspension and kinda drape it over the hammock so it was almost touching the ridge line and stake it out.
If I tried to do that with mine it would be all loose and crinkly.

You can lower it but it often folds over my straps so I have to give it some extra leeway and that can be a pain.

I long for an HG winter palace but it’s not in the budget.

That said, I still used it for my entire thru and stayed dry all but 2 nights or so, and that wasn’t a tarp failure. We’re into thru again I’d use it again, but for weekends out with my dog I’m looking at a superfly or similar tarp just for the peace of mind.

[Vanhalo]

I understand your issue.

I carried a HG hex tarp for the entire AT and, while I loved the weight and water repellency, I always longed for an extra foot on each side.

I frequently got splash up that made my UQ damp. Depending on how far the trees were from one another that I hung from I was able to adjust my pitch but it still happened often.

I think it’s because there’s no stretch or bend to cuben so you can’t get the tarp low to the ridge line. I always have it higher off the hammock than anyone I saw with a sil tarp.
They’d hang the tarp like from near the hammock suspension and kinda drape it over the hammock so it was almost touching the ridge line and stake it out.
If I tried to do that with mine it would be all loose and crinkly.

You can lower it but it often folds over my straps so I have to give it some extra leeway and that can be a pain.

I long for an HG winter palace but it’s not in the budget.

That said, I still used it for my entire thru and stayed dry all but 2 nights or so, and that wasn’t a tarp failure. We’re into thru again I’d use it again, but for weekends out with my dog I’m looking at a superfly or similar tarp just for the peace of mind.

2 nights seems like a good weight trade off for 4-6 months of hiking the AT.

[Wlb007]

My hammock camping started with Hennessy and still like their hammocks but the diamond tarps were useless in bad weather. Upgraded first to a rectangular Hennessy then still not satisfied bought a superfly and found perfection.

After several years I decided to try the Hammock gear standard cuben with doors. One storm had me back to the superfly. And I now have another kitsupcowboy print superfly shape tarp.

Experience has lead my opinion to be that it makes no sense to try to save weight on shelter, you will remember the misery much longer than the extra ounces. Cut weight somewhere else or go with a winter palace. When I have been hiking in pudding all day and get to camp I am ready to set up my hammock and eat, not search for the unicorn set of trees. If you have your kids or are with other hammockers there are usually not multiple good hang spots.

Small tarps are the trend now but probably enjoyed mostly by people who only hike overnight if the weather looks good. I doubt the trend to small, cool looking tarps will last much longer even tho some people are able to get by with them. We are going to be reading a lot more about poor coverage the more these are used by typical people.

Last Saturday I was carrying a superfly as was my 7th grade daughter. At Carvers Gap it was sunny and 80, not long after, as we approached the top of Jane Bald, the sun disappeared and in rolled the thunder. We quickly slid down the side of the bald a couple hundred feet into the short rough trees and deployed a Superfly in seconds to shelter the group with us. Several people with us asked for the website to buy one. It was set up in full width porch mode with the upwind edge at the ground and we all stayed dry. There is no way this would have been accomplished with a smaller tarp. It was actually a pretty fun hangout in the storm and the coolest couple hours of the trip.

To me, it makes no sense to cut off the edges of the tarp. Get a superfly in a non absorbent material and you are prepared for almost anything.

IMG_0246.jpg

[Mshanger]

I have since posting this sold the HG standard and just put in a order for a UGQ winterdream in the sil membrane. Yes it will knock me out of sub 10lb base weight but I will still be around 11lbs. I doubt I will notice in my ULA OHM. I looked at the winter palace but after having the first Cuben tarp I just wasn't in love with the Cuben. The palace would have saved me 7ounces for $200 more than the winterdream and I know I like the membrane material already so I just went with the UGQ

[HikerBro]

To go along with the HYOH vibe we've got going on, the question) I would think) boils down to "what is more important to you: always being dry or weight?" And if the answer is "weight", how wet are you willing to be and how often?

I didn't perceive the OP bashing the HG, just asking if he had missed something, which is a totally legit question.

I just switched from a gigantic and heavy 12x12 Egret to a WB Edge hex tarp. To me, dry is most important, so you can bet that if I get we, I'm going shopping lol.

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[Spickus]

I'm pretty sure that someone in Alabama could get by with a tiny asym tarp and feel it was perfectly adequate for 95% of storms.

As someone living in S. Alabama who has gotten wet (slightly) 2 of the 3 times I've used my tiny assym tarp, I politely disagree. My problem seems to be splash.

[Brady]

I have a Superfly and the HG Standard with doors. I have never, not once been wet under either and I've used both in all seasons. Regardless of what others say, site selection plays a part. It's simple physics. Natural terrain, trees and bushes affect air flow.

I live on the west coast, in the rainforest. It rains here, a lot. It blows here, a lot. I spend at least 5-10 days each month in my hammock 12 months a year and still no problems. That's from windswept islands on the edge of open ocean to the edge of the treeline in the sub-alpine.



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[Mshanger]

Once again though my situation had little to do with "air flow" majority of it was from splashing up. I mean it was splashing all the way up through my bug net and hitting me in the face. I don't know how you guys are staying completely dry. I mean yeah I stayed dry "enough" to finish my trip but that "enough" was a wet muddy UQ. It just don't make sense from a physics stand point unless maybe your using some short hammock. With a 11' hammock even if you crank the ridgeline of the hammock up to the top of the tarp like I did when you get in the hammock the bottom half of the hammock body and your underquilt is going to be below the line of the tarp. I don't care if you set up inside of 4 walls that's going to be the same every time and it leaves your hammock exposed. I mean kudos to you guys if you can stay bone dry in it and you like it but it just didn't work for me.

[cmoulder]

In the end, you've got to experiment with different gear to figure out what works for you.

Thankfully (or unfortunately, lol) there are plenty of options to choose from.