my fears came true....banyan hammock poked a hole in my tarp

**OG Honey Badger** · 05-19-2020, 18:43

First I'd like to say this is not, a bash on dutch. I have tons of his gear, and will continue to buy from him. He is a very reasonable person and I hope he gets some of this feedback without being too angry with the post. I just feel, I need to put this on the forums because I was trying to get this answered before i bought the hammock but no one but a select few had the tarp and spigyver had an opinion that the hammock was fine with a cubin fiber tarp.

So with that said, I have to disagree with spigyver on his review. I have a cubin fiber 11 ft with doors (NOT winter palace) from hammockgear.com. I just got my hammock yesterday and today I ran out to set it all up and test it out. After puting it together I put the tarp up and deployed it. I had the tarp setup super high and wide for the first try and it was fine. The question was, would it work in a storm configuration. I put the tarp in an A frame and dropped it down to where it would be reasonably low enough to keep rain coming in at a 30 degree angle from getting in at me. I VERY CAREFULLY AND SLOW tried to get into the hammock and when it touched the side of the tarp and seemed okish, I finished putting all my weight into the hammock. It pretty much instantly poke a small hole in my cubin fiber tarp. I cried a little inside, but since my son was with me, i had to man up and patch it like a grown adult.

Now if you watch the second video where spigyver shows the tarp deployed and fine, it is deployed in such a way that the wind is going right through your area. This will be fine in nice weather, and maybe even fine with the WINTER PALACE tarp, but the regular one is just not wide enough to work.

Now, hope is not lost, I am positive that some sort of rounded plastic ends can be fabricated to put over the ends once its setup. I dont want to post my review on youtube or anything until i come up with some solution because I like the hammock and want to see it do well. I am also contemplating buying the 2 person tarp he sells to see if that works better on the hammock. After all, I need to get it anyways since my wife and I both hang with the double dutch setup. Which is awesome by the way.

thoughts?
be nice and dont kill me over this post pls.

**cmoulder** · 05-19-2020, 19:30

Did the tarp have side panel pull-outs that are spaced for a bridge hammock?

I have very little experience with bridge hammocks — only 3 nights, in fact — and when using it with a DCF tarp for my GE hammocks I was super-paranoid about this and wrapped the spreader bar tips with some athletic tape I carry in my FAK. I could see immediately that this was a disaster waiting to happen.

UL_spreader_bar_test_12_SMALL.jpg

**OG Honey Badger** · 05-19-2020, 19:37

I just have the normal side pull outs. that looks like a good idea. Idk if i wanna wrap every time i set it up, so im trying to think of something i can just snap on the ends. I was actually thinking of using this stuff i put over holes i make when i drill wire into people houses for phone wires. Its like super play dough lol. But bringing some of that and plopping it on the ends might help.

**cmoulder** · 05-19-2020, 19:46

Originally Posted by OG Honey Badger

I just have the normal side pull outs. that looks like a good idea. Idk if i wanna wrap every time i set it up, so im trying to think of something i can just snap on the ends. I was actually thinking of using this stuff i put over holes i make when i drill wire into people houses for phone wires. Its like super play dough lol. But bringing some of that and plopping it on the ends might help.

There's an idea.

I'm sure there are some threads in HF about this but I've not pursued them because I decided to stick with GE hammocks.

At least DCF repairs are quick and pretty much permanent with DCF tape.

**Rex Clifton** · 05-19-2020, 20:11

The good news is that a repair with DCF tape on your tarp makes it as good as new. The bad news is that your tarp is a very poor choice for a bridge hammock. You need something where the panel pulls are positioned correctly, lower down and farther apart. You also need to set the panel pulls every time, no exception. A wider tarp is a better choice as well since setting the panel pulls brings the edge of the tarp up quite a bit. If you have the coin, a Dynema Palace would be the best choice. You can order for a bridge hammock, but I would measure where the pole ends are on the Banyan and ask Harry to position the pulls correctly, since I think the Banyans are located differently than the Ridgerunner. It is my understanding Dutch was working on a double layer Banyan with saddle bags and a tarp specifically made for the hammock when he became sidetracked when the virus hit. I’m waiting to pull the trigger until they come to fruition.

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**Otter1** · 05-19-2020, 20:42

I'm sorry this happened. It's a known issue w/bridges, and there are threads about solutions. The recommendation of a larger tarp is spot on.

**TNhunter** · 05-20-2020, 19:15

Not to late - even though you've already experienced some damage - but a pole mod and/or bumpers on the hammock where the spreader bars are your friend. I have a RidgeRunner and a nylon Cloudburst tarp and still use both of the above.

**MikekiM** · 05-21-2020, 07:02

I recall Sqidmark used the gray water pipe foam insulation. I might have a picture of it if you think it will be helpful as I have his old DIY bridge.

TN hunter.. last thing you need to worry about is poking a hole. That tarp is going up in flames from the fire pit...

**Shug** · 05-21-2020, 07:14

I did it too on my first cuben tarp getting into my RR.
Taped it for the rest of the trip. And became way more vigilant when I entered the RR after that. But I don't want to have to be that mindful so I use a silnylon tarp if I take a bridge hammock from now on. Just less worry.
Shug