Noob question about tarp for double hang

[smileofadog]

As the title says, I am new to hammock camping. I am working on a set-up for my son and I which uses a spreader bar to keep us together. I want a tarp that will cover us both, keep out wind/rain, and provide some privacy and sense of security for him. I hate to overspend while I am learning my way, but I also don't want to spend more by having to make multiple purchases to find a good fit- or worse, cheap-out and ruin what may be a life-long interest to share with my son. As I try to figure it out, I keep going in circles in terms of price, value, function. I am leaning towards an Oldman Winter, JacksRBetter, or Winterdream. I have looked a couple of cheaper options and more expensive ones, too. What do you recommend and why? We have a couple of camp-outs coming up in a few weeks, so I need to make a decision and get the tarp in so we have time to work with it a bit before we go. Thanks

[NWABYUCougar]

I know this doesn’t help for the immediate need but Dutchware gear as been hinting to a trap for two for awhile now. I have personally been waiting for that. In the mean time I have only done the double hang when I know it won’t rain.


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[Baka Dasai]

I have bought a Warbonnet Cloudburst for this. I haven't used it yet.

When double-hanging in the past I used the two hex tarps I had, offset a little so I could ensure both head and foot ends were well covered. It wasn't a great solution.

The lack of cat cuts on the Cloudburst, plus the extra width, should make things much better. I also bought pole mods for it to create more space underneath.

I was influenced by others here, with more experience than me, who said that a "big rectangular" tarp is ideal for double-hanging.

[chapinb]

I use a thunderfly when I hang with my son. The doors straight out rather then a beak formation to cover more square feet. It really isnt wide enough to survive and wind rain though.

Iv have an outdoor gear tarp, 11x13 rectangle iv used too. It's hard to pitch right and needs to be seam sealed VERY well, among other faults but it provided the needed coverage at a near disposable gear price.

Like baka, iv used 2 regular tarps too. Strung over two ridgelines but that too was a pain to set up.

Cloudburst, old man winter, winter haven and duster 2 all are pretty wide and should give the coverage needed.

[joe_guilbeau]

From over the pond in the United Kingdom comes Robens Polyester Tarp
4x4m

Robust, reliable and incredibly low weight, the two Trail Tarps measures 3m x 3m and 4m x 4m. Both can be pitched easily and quickly either using our tarp poles, walking poles or in a variety of other ingenious ways. Light durable guylines are attached to strong webbing loo hangers along the straight sides, reinforced to take punishment in the most challenging conditions.

Specifications:

Flysheet – HydroTex HD, 75D polyester 185T, 100% polyester. Fire retardant
Hydrostatic Head – 5000 mm
Taping – Taped seams
Pitching way – As one
Poles – Without poles
Pack size – 49 x 12 cm
Max/Min weight – 1.5 kg / 1.3 kg

https://www.campingworld.co.uk/en/us...iABEgIJwfD_BwE

My preference is cheap and as bulletproof as my 5 decades of hunting, camping and adventure paddling will tolerate.

Robens 3x3 Tarp
https://youtu.be/-4uSHv-ytv4

[morgan1840]

I purchased a 13' Winter Haven from Simply Light Designs made of Xenon Sil Wide straight cut with 3 pole internal mod. My wife will only hang with me if we are side by side under the same tarp. The first time we tried it on a section of the AT a storm blew in and we stayed dry and comfy. This went a long way in reinforcing her confidence in hammocks and tarps. When I hung the hammocks I positioned mine closer to one of the sides of the tarp leaving room on her side for our helinox chairs. Worked well for dining and drinking. I highly recommend it. I would add some extra seam sealer to the area where the ridge line pole mod support connections are sewed in if you decide to go this route.

[JPCPAT]

Welcome to hammock camping, Smileofadog. I have just the one hammock, but I need privacy in crowded campgrounds.I ran in the same circles choosing a tarp too. All 3 you mentioned are great tarps. You'll be happy with any of them, which reassuring, but not helpful.

I went with the JRP 10x12 over the others mainly because it comes with every tie out and grommet you might ever want. You can mostly add those on to the others, and then the pricing is mostly the same for all of them. Another factor is that the JRB ships from stock and the others mostly have a lead time.

Using it for 2 seasons now, I love it. I can get my hammock, my lounge chair and half a picnic table inside and dry in a serious thunderstorm. I'd happily get the same tarp again. One thing about Silnylon: It "gets wet" and holds some water. I use snakeskins, and put the whole wet mess on the outside of my pack. I'd kinda prefer siloply, which holds a whole lot less water, but not enough to change my tarp.

When you get to rigging, this may come in handy : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHuUmNOwBAw

[zukiguy]

Just curious....how old is your son?

My oldest and I were somewhat successful at a double hang when he was much younger. I found "the perfect spot" between two trees. One had a huge fork so we were able to hang slightly offset and I rigged up our two tarps overlapping. It was a maze of guy lines but it worked.

Fast forward a few years and I brought the younger one into the picture. He found the idea of the "double hang" kind of silly and so did I. It makes site selection really tough. Every time you move, cough, snore your hanging partner has to suffer too. As you've mentioned, trying to get 2 hammocks under one shelter gets complicated quickly too.

If your son is young/small enough, try the "bunk bed" setup. You can have him hanging above you and with two hammocks stacked you can get pretty good coverage with just about any tarp. For monster coverage on the cheap you can go with a Kelty Noah's 12. Problem is this one hangs best in the diamond configuration so that's a 17' ridgeline. You'll probably max out your hammock suspensions to use it but the coverage area is the size of a small bedroom. There's also a 9' model that may be more usable in the short term too.

After very few times hanging (either in the back yard, local park, or the piney woods) he's going to want to be a "big boy" and request his own setup anyway. You'll be better off in the long run with two complete setups that keep you both warm and dry rather than any kind of rig job. Hang close by (maybe share a tree in common) and he'll be fine.

[SuperDave23]

I started tandem hanging with my 6 year old (now 8) we stayed dry in the rain and once in light snow using an 11' hex tarp with add on doors. It was a bit precarious though, if there had been any wind we would have gotten wet.

I just bought a 12' winter dream from UGQ. It's a lot better but I wish I had ordered it with panel pullouts/poles. We use dutch's beetle buckles with the spreader bars to hang and the ends of the bars touch my tarp still, I think the panel pullouts might fix this.

[smileofadog]

He's 8. I think you are right that the double hang option may only last a couple of seasons, but I think it may be worth going that route for starters -just to make sure he is comfortable and feels good about it. With that being said, I am trying to put separate kits together for us for the most part. I figure I can still use the larger tarp when we set up separately, so it shouldn't be too much of a loss. At this point, he could take his hammock, suspension and bugnet and hang completely separately from me ---I'll keep my fingers crossed.