I had one and it fell apart during a not so major storm. Grommets completely came loose. Being used as a painters tarp now.
I had one and it fell apart during a not so major storm. Grommets completely came loose. Being used as a painters tarp now.
I've seen the same thing happen the other way around. There is a commonly-held belief that the craftsmanship of cottage gear is better, simply because it is cottage and hand-made. I've seen this to be false in some instances. I've owned some cottage gear that was not very impressive from a craftsmanship standpoint. I would actually argue that there are very few cottage vendors who sew a line of stitching by hand as good as/or better than a programmed machine can.
Much of the time, the cost-savings from machine-made gear comes down to materials used (generally heavier, possibly lower head pressure, etc...). But the stitch quality is generally very good. Low-cost materials does not necessarily translate to worse performance, either. They still may function just as well, but are going to be heavier and more bulky. FWIW, I've seen stories of cottage gear that has failed for no apparent reason and without being misused. Most of these instances can be chalked up to one-off events, or manufacturing duds- which happen in both the mass-produced and cottage worlds.
I love my cottage gear because I can get to know the vendors, each piece is made the way I want, the materials used are better, and I know they take pride in their gear. But I also think there is a good market for mass-produced gear. And I've stated before that most of our cottage vendors wouldn't even exist if it wasn't for the Amazon stuff.
Application is a key factor in any gear as well as finances.
I don't hike but love camping. Weight means nothing to me because I haul my gear to camp. Not everyone needs or can afford top line gear. I own 705 acres & have 2 private campgrounds on it. I can afford top line gear but wan't waste my money on it as I personally don't need it. My top line tarp is a HH Hex but got several $20 tarps that work just as well. Been in some frog stranglers with the cheap ones & never had a leak. I travel on motorcycle & use my hammock several times a year. I outfit 4 Grandboys also.
If I was a hiker then I would get the gear that I had a budget for but, not all of us hike. Reviews should only come from personal use only. You never know how someone else has treated gear before a failure. I don't care to hear people bashing products without personally using it.
I’ve been dry under some fairly serious rain with a CG hex, and my son has one of their rectangular tarps that’s also pretty solid. They’re basically heavy, and I like my Hammock Gear and Dutch tarps better (they’re a *lot* lighter), but I’ve had good enough luck with Chill Gorilla. I’m curious to see whether they come back at some point, or just disappear.
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So true, so true. It seems that some people can totally endorse a given product just because they spent their hard earned dollars on it. And for no other reason. When I was travelling in New Zealand many moons ago, one of the nicest guys I met was a horse breeder. Can't remember which state in the USA he was from but we had the best conversations. One thing that stuck was that a 2000$ horse wasn't as good as a 4000$ horse, even if it was the same horse. It's the same with gear. Don't get me started on the 6000$ horse
I too have wondered what has happened to them recently.
I have two Chill Gorilla tarps that have served me well over the years. As long I properly seal the seams, they don't leak. They are a bit heavier but I traded that off for the budget. If car camping like I did this past weekend, I would do just as well with a $30 12'x16' poly tarp and cover the whole campsite and stay dry.
We all learn what we like and works for us and our application. Sharing our stories on forums like this can help future buyers decide with better information which tarps to buy for themselves. No one should be shamed for what they choose to buy and if it works, that is good news and if it fails, the story they have to tell will be interesting and educational for the rest of us.
A day camping in the rain is better than a good day at work,
--Shaw.
tsshaw78 is too hard to say on the trail - Just call me Shaw.
You'll still do a lot better pointing out blemishes and not just stitching but practically any construction flaws, that might occur, to one of our vendors, and expect proper attention. Pretty sure mass produced units at best will just send you another right out of the packing container, if that's what makes you comfortable. Feel froggy and jump
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So true. Just an example, the Warbonnet Superfly (a classic with 10+ years of proven bomb-proofness) is $135. So I'd really need to come in cheap to mess with something else. I'm talking like $30 which I doubt these are. Even if a cheaper tarp was $80, is that $55 savings really doing anything for you in the long run? That's the way I look at something as important as a tarp.
All my LW gear is still in great condition. I'm retired and decided not to wait until it wore out to buy lighter stuff.
If my 12" AHE Toxaway Hammock tarp were to out live me, I'd never have gotten closer to UL or enjoy the benefits of hoisting DCF on to my shoulders.
Besides once I have a lighter TQ built, whoever goes with me gets to inherit my JRB SS and start out with one heck of a nice Dream Hammock loaner kit.
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All this talk of cheap reminds me. I have $240 in cottage tarps (2). If you're cheap, like me, look for them used. I've got half that into these. Anybody need a (cheap) tarp
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