Has anybody tried it? Any advise to temporarily fasten it to Cuban fiber? I know its "hillbilly" but a boy gotta do what he's gotta do for now.
Has anybody tried it? Any advise to temporarily fasten it to Cuban fiber? I know its "hillbilly" but a boy gotta do what he's gotta do for now.
If you don’t want to attach edge to edge, via the guy line tie-outs, the usual way is to do something like overlap the two materials, push something, usually round and smooth, into both materials, making a “knob”, then securing that knob with line or elastic. Some people use a pebble from a stream. Some use a golf ball they always keep in their pocket (??). And there are commercial products that do the same kind of capture.
In order to see what few have seen, you must go where few have gone. And DO what few have done.
Yes, i see what you mean Cougarmeat. Im wondering if that might damage the cuban fiber?
As an alternative, perhaps an umbrella might help? I’ve used mine on occasion so that I did not have to hang my tarp quite as low. It helped protect my gear from blowing rain or provided a bit more privacy in a crowded camp.
Crawidaddy, potential damage probably depends on how much whipping around in the wind you expect to endure. If it’s just to add extra coverage in case of light to moderate rain, I wouldn’t imagine it wouldn’t be bad. That DCF is used for sailboat sails after all.
You could reinforce the expected knob locations with DCF patching material. One wise person told me, “Cougar, everything wears out.” He might have been referring to me instead of gear. But you want to use your stuff until it wears out. Not prematurely of course, You wouldn’t put kids on your DCF tarp and give them a ride by dragging it behind your car. I probably babied my gear too much. I would love to use a tarp or hammock so much that it had to be retired. But I am careful in the field because often my “field” is water and “the nearest REI” is a long ocean paddle away.
In order to see what few have seen, you must go where few have gone. And DO what few have done.
What problem are you trying to solve by the wider tarp? Does the tarp have doors?
If it’s rain, it seems like a beak may help. And/or making sure the hammock ridgeline is tucked up against the tarp ridgeline while being far enough off the ground to avoid splash back.
Or are you trying to make a smaller tarp work with a bridge hammock?
Tall Paul, My tarp is a 12' X 52" per side rectangle. Its easy enough to fold the ends in to make as doors with plenty of inside room. As such, I feel it wont lower down enough over my 11' gathered end hammock to give it enough wind/rain coverage at the sides. (something I didnt consider when I bought the tarp)
You might try this tape which is used to bond DCF to DCF. I've used it and it works great, although being double-sided it's a bit tricky to work with and you've gotta get it right the first time.
Another option is the double-sided tape that comes with polycryo window covering kits such as the Duck brand. I used that stuff to make a Tyvek tarp using the lighter kite Tyvek (1443) and it has a pretty good bond but I'm not sure how/if it'd work with DCF. Actually slept under this tarp a couple of nights (one with a bit of rain) and it worked well. Some people have also made tarps with polycryo itself.
tyvek tarp 02-small.jpg
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
Could also use some reinforcing patches on the DCF and add some Kam snaps.
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
Yea 52” per side feels a lot less than say a SuperFly.
But it is a bit more than the 102” total (8’6”) of the HammockGear standard with doors. I still think you can get good rain coverage by making sure your hammock ridgeline is tucked right close to the tarp and not being too close to the ground to get backsplash (avoiding hard pack ground helps).
I don’t usually camp so tight to the tarp but it’s gonna be a heavy rain I do.
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