Good video. Enjoyed your art.Originally Posted by litetrek
Good video. Enjoyed your art.
My thread has gone quiet.
I've been getting a little interested in making my own tarp since there's one thing or another that I don't like about most of them. Intrigued by xenon fabric 0.9 and 1.1. Does anyone have any experience with either of those materials?
I like some of dutch's tarps and how they are made but his website typically doesn't have key specs on the tarps I lokked at - often including the weight. I'm not going to buy anything if I don't know pretty much EXACTLY what I'm getting.
I have a Dutchware 12' hex tarp in Xenon 1.1 (and had a second one which I sold). That tarp in the stuff sack is 420g (14.8oz) with no cordage. The Xenon is a silpoly. Pretty good tarp.
The Dutchware site lists weights above the "add to cart" button once you've selected the options.
How about the widths? Both matter to me.
Width is listed below the add to cart button in the Description section. 9.5' for the regular width Xenon tarps (including the UL 0.9 version).
The Xenon Wide tarps are 11.5' wide.
I made a Print2Fabric hex tarp using Xenon Sil .9 material I got from Dutchware that may help with your questions as far as a DIY project. Here's the link.
I believe the Dutchware tarp specs are listed on the their site and are shown when you've selected your tarp length & all your options.
Excellent craftsmanship on that one!
Five Basic Principles of Going Lighter (not me... the great Cam Honan of OZ)
“If everybody is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking.” ~ Gen. George S Patton
Beautifully done tarp. You did it right! How hard was the xenon material (sil-poly i think) to work with? I've heard sil-nylon (different stuff) is difficult to sew since it is slippery. How do you like the 0.9 vs 1.1 material? Will it require a lot of fussing to protect it do to its lightness? I'm in the southeast, lots of stuff drops from trees including sharp pine cones.
The reinforcement details are excellent. My issue with most of the pre-made tarps is how they transfer the line tension into the tarp sheet. You can't just dump the tension into a piece of tape and expect it to last. They use the details they use because reinforcing the attach points the way you did is a lot of effort and drives up the labor cost. Anyhow thanks.
I like dutch's stuff but I'm not fond of the new website design. I think tarp specs should be in the tab they have which is labeled specs not all over the place in random spots. My opinion, but I had eliminated his tarps as an option for me because I couldn't find the info. I'm sure he's losing sales because of it.
Last edited by litetrek; 03-20-2020 at 11:31.
The Xenon fabric is pretty slick, so I used plenty of pins & clips to keep things together, so it wasn't too bad. I just took my time & tried not to rush it. Like any piece of gear that's light you take into the field, you have to be a little more careful with it than a heavier equivalent.
After I posted I realized you made dutch's kit. That's a nice tarp. Too bad they aren't pre-cut. Pre-cut would be well worth a few extra dollars since most people don't have the lay out room needed to make icutting easier. Dutch's kit looks like some of the other DIY instructions (plans) on the internet. Do the doors overlap much whn closed? It looks like they don't overlap by much.
I'm not worried about my treatment of the tarp since I have a good bit of ultralight gear. I'm worried about stuff dropping on it - like pine cones and small branches - which you cant control.
I made a Frostline down jacket kit when I was 15 with no prior sewing experience and it came out great. It was still being used by my mom when I was 40 years old. Pins equals holes in waterproof material though. I guess seam sealing takes care of that.
Last edited by litetrek; 03-21-2020 at 09:44.
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