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  1. #1
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    Tarp for hammock and ground

    I'm looking for a tarp that will work well with a hammock (for 1 person) and also when pitched on the ground (for up to 2 people).

    Of the Warbonnet offerings, the Superfly seems like it might be unnecessarily large and wind-catching when on the ground, the minifly might have too little headroom when on the ground, but the Thunderfly looks like ... it may be surprisingly close in size and shape to a "RayWay" 2 person beaked tarp.

    I gather a RayWay 2 person beaked tarp is essentially 106" square, then add the beaks.

    If the Warbonnet Thunderfly can not only work well for a hammock, but also be very similar in size, shape and function when on the ground as a long-standing and well-respected ground tarp, that seems like the tarp I am looking for.

    Does anyone have any thoughts along these lines, including other suggestions altogether for a dual-purpose tarp?

    Thanks in advance.

  2. #2
    Senior Member m00ch's Avatar
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    I use a HG Standard with doors and also a Winter Palace. They both work great but the Standard gets a bit tight with 2 people on the ground in bad weather.

    The Palace also works nicely for 2 people in hammocks.

  3. #3
    Member Hiker_Section's Avatar
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    Aug 2017
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    When I researched this same topic, which tarp is the best one to crossover between ground and hammock, the classic square/rectangle emerged as the clear best choice. If the features you are looking for are stringent and include lower weight, you would probably be best served going custom for the square/rectangle tarp build and to dial in the features you need. Simply Light Designs comes up often as a best pick cottage vendor for features and attractive price point for custom work. If you do opt for the Superfly which is hex shaped (not ideal for ground camping) with the wind-catching limitation you cited, you could always opt for the center ground tie-out mod which might mitigate the wind aspect. However, I'm seeing at the moment the WB custom tarp webpage is temporarily unavailable.
    Last edited by Hiker_Section; 11-11-2020 at 17:37.

  4. #4
    cougarmeat's Avatar
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    Just a note that I believe the JRB Universal tarp has a loop in the center of the ridgeline. That tie-in might allow for different ground configurations. I looked at the description quickly to confirm that - didn’t see it right away but I did read that it provides tie-outs for numerous configurations.

    https://www.jacksrbetter.com/product...niversal-tarp/
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  5. #5
    Senior Member WalksIn2Trees's Avatar
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    yeah it all depends on what you're going for. I don't think any of these tarps are going to be any more nor less wind-catching near the ground than they are up in the air for a hammock. that's strictly a function of surface area and pitch method. what I would do is figure out what size you actually need using some cheap painters cloth in the backyard. you could probably pretty easily mock-up the various sizes on offer. I'm far from being an ultra lighter, but my experience is that I almost always end up wanting to go bigger.

    I thought at first it a 24-in wide reflectix pad would be adequate but I ended up ditching it for a 36-in.

    started off cycling with a 28c road bike and then graduated to a30c touring wheel, then a 40c gravel bike, now I have a Surly Big Fat Dummy with 3-in wide tires, and I just bought the 5-in wide.

    started off with a diamond tarp graduated to a hex tarp, then a 12-ft winter tarp, and now a 13-ft winter tarp

    Sent from my SM-T827V using Tapatalk

  6. #6
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    Just my opinion but I prefer full coverage and like my Superfly a lot for hanging but when it comes to ground usage I do not like cat cuts on the sides. I like my ground tarps with straight cuts and use THIS from BCUSA.
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  7. #7
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    Thanks for the info and suggestions, people!

    I hadn't realised that the stock Warbonnet tarps don't have mid-way guy-outs at the bottom, I just assumed they would. That's a pity. But I guess the 2 mid-panel pull-outs may help with this to some extent.

    I should add that my camping experience often involves heavy rain combined with very significant wind. Some recent forecasts were 42, 64 and 98mph winds (the last one being Storm Ciara in the UK, in which it was not possible to rig a shelter so I used a bivy bag).

    So for ground shelter, the idea of full enclosure like the Superfly is appealing yet it seems too large overall, and a flat tarp in an A-frame pitch often would not provide enough shelter.

    That's one reason why the Thunderfly appealed to me: can be open in good weather, the mini doors closed when it gets a bit rough, and hopefully one end pinned fully to the ground when it gets truly awful. It seems like staking the door loops to the ground may work well for that, but it's hard to tell without being able to practice.

    Does anyone know the length of the side bottom edges of the Thunderfly, and/or Superfly, for the 11 ft ridgeline versions?

    Thanks.

  8. #8
    Senior Member oldbiker's Avatar
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    I may off to the left but, a tarp would be the same pitched high (for a hammock) or low for bivy sacks. What's the diff? Asking for a Frend.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by oldbiker View Post
    I may off to the left but, a tarp would be the same pitched high (for a hammock) or low for bivy sacks. What's the diff? Asking for a Frend.
    In mild weather, I expect I'd pitch the tarp on the ground, using trekking poles, to have exactly the same shape as if it was strung between trees for a hammock, yes.

    In bad weather, I would be pinning at least one end so it's right down to the ground, or at least very low e.g. 12" off the ground. With my current hex tarp (with no doors), that means the low end is spread very wide, requiring a very large footprint. One option is not to peg out the corners of the low end and just tuck some fabric inside, but that doesn't leave much space underneath. A tarp with mini doors like the Thunderfly looks like it may enable the low end to be pitched to the ground via the loops which allow the doors to be tied together, with the end loop raised quite a way off the ground via a trekking pole.

    In very bad weather when I haven't been able to rig anything, I just peg out the windward side of the tarp to the ground and crawl under the tarp so I can get into the bivy bag without getting soaked, then roll it back under the head of the bivy bag so the bag can breathe. I guess any shape of tarp would work for that.

    Edit: Another reason I felt the Superfly may be too big for use on the ground, when using trekking poles, is that the sides would need to be pulled out to a greater extent than if between trees, therefore taking up a large footprint again, and possibly not allowing the doors to fully close, at least not in a nice pointy wind-cutting way? It's hard to be sure without having one to test with, but the dimensions gave me that impression.
    Last edited by Roger Ramjet; 11-12-2020 at 20:41.

  10. #10
    Member commanderkeen's Avatar
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    You really need some nice person to set up his Thuderfly on the ground this weekend and get you some photos.

    I’ll try to do that.

    (I just recently rigged up some new cordage/hardware to enable go-to-ground with my Thuderfly, so it needs to be tried.)

    Feel free to ping me if you haven’t heard back.

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