Mesh Tarp Sleeve? Worth it?

**taraH** · 09-12-2021, 10:07

Hello there hangers!

Has anyone used the HG mesh tarp sleeve? I use a hummingbird silpoly tarp, used it once and did get caught in the rain so airing it out on subsequent nights resulted in me hanging in a lean to, to allow for it dry before continuing on with our trek.

**TominMN** · 09-12-2021, 10:17

A tarp isn't going to dry out much in any sleeve whether cloth or mesh. Sleeves ARE pretty handy though. Makes pitching/deploying easy as well as when it comes time to pack things up and move on down the trail. Pros and cons for one-piece and two-piece sleeves...

Just give it a good shake and put up with a few ounces of moisture now and then. That might mean carrying it wet for a while. Usually just pitching it and letting it dry at the next stop will work most of the time.

**CVKealey** · 09-12-2021, 10:21

I find them useful. On dry nights, you can string it up and leave it in the sleeve, ready to deploy if the weather turns. As previously stated, it won't help much with drying out a wet tarp, but there are other benefits.

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**Twistytee** · 09-12-2021, 10:28

I have a 12’ tapered mesh snake skin with the pockets on the end to tuck in my CRL. I like it for the reason CVKealey states plus I don’t use a stuff sack and simply store it on the mesh exterior pocket of my pack. It will drain from the pack pocket as I hike, although it won’t fully dry out until I hang it again.

**Shug** · 09-12-2021, 10:40

Certainly helps a lot for tarp wrangling. Don't expect it to dry in the mesh though.....
Shug

**WalksIn2Trees** · 09-12-2021, 11:39

I would think the only advantage of the mesh would be less weight compared to a more solid fabric, but as Shug says, it's not really going to allow the tarp to dry.

Most of the moisture is going to be trapped within the folds of the tarp anyway if you packed it wet. I would guess that the exposed surface area when in a mesh skin is less than 10% of the deployed tarps surface area so drying really isn't a factor.

A disadvantage is that the mesh is going to be able to tear easier, and is going to protect the tarp less

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**CVKealey** · 09-12-2021, 11:48

Originally Posted by WalksIn2Trees

I would think the only advantage of the mesh would be less weight compared to a more solid fabric, but as Shug says, it's not really going to allow the tarp to dry. most of the moisture is going to be trapped within the folds of the tarp anyway if you packed it wet. a disadvantages that the mesh is going to be able to tear easier, and is going to protect the tarp less

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I could be wrong, but I think the OP was asking mesh sleeve vs. no sleeve, not mesh vs. solid material. Personally, I have two tarps with mesh and two with solid (silnylon). I find the extra stretch of the mesh makes it a little easier to use and less of a hassle when it's bunched up on the ridgeline (when the tarp is deployed). It's not a huge difference, but it's noticeable. I expect that if they were exposed to water (I carry them in the mesh pocket on my pack), the ones in a solid sleeve would be less likely to get wet, but I also don't think the mesh ones would get appreciably wet.

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**WalksIn2Trees** · 09-12-2021, 13:07

Originally Posted by CVKealey

I could be wrong, but I think the OP was asking mesh sleeve vs. no sleeve, not mesh vs. solid material. Personally, I have two tarps with mesh and two with solid (silnylon). I find the extra stretch of the mesh makes it a little easier to use and less of a hassle when it's bunched up on the ridgeline (when the tarp is deployed). It's not a huge difference, but it's noticeable. I expect that if they were exposed to water (I carry them in the mesh pocket on my pack), the ones in a solid sleeve would be less likely to get wet, but I also don't think the mesh ones would get appreciably wet.

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the mistake many people make is in writing answers only for the OP, as opposed to also writing answers for the future readers that will encounter the post for years to come as they randomly search for things. Answering questions that they don't know yet that they might need to ask.

I'm realizing even I write this, that I forgot to mention that two piece tarp-skins also serve as a water break, being bunched up there, preventing water from dripping from the underside of the ridge directly over your belly. Something which people may not even be thinking about when they think about tarp-skins

(Edit: I used the word "mistake" —it's not really a mistake, it's just not forward thinking. There's nothing wrong with replying to the post as presented, but in the same vein, there's also nothing wrong with giving extra information either... thinking "Beyond The Rock" to use the quote from the sequel to The Lion King.

I think it would be pretty useful if there was a system to programmatically consolidate all the useful parts of these replies into a single summary that is prominently featured as the first thing that you see with the original post, as well as including a way to mark outdated posts as deprecated information in order to stop spreading the since disproven ideas that people keep reviving by commenting on or about ancient posts.)

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**taraH** · 09-13-2021, 17:02

Yes I was THANK YOU! I have a hummingbird silpoly tarp that came in this teeny tiny "stuff sack" that a dry tarp can barlely fit into. The sack is made of the same material as the tarp. I was browsing on HG's site and saw the mesh sleeve and was like "Huh, that may have been useful last weekend". But snakeskins, I've gotta look into those as I am not sure what those are either!

**CVKealey** · 09-13-2021, 17:09

Originally Posted by taraH

Yes I was THANK YOU! I have a hummingbird silpoly tarp that came in this teeny tiny "stuff sack" that a dry tarp can barlely fit into. The sack is made of the same material as the tarp. I was browsing on HG's site and saw the mesh sleeve and was like "Huh, that may have been useful last weekend". But snakeskins, I've gotta look into those as I am not sure what those are either!

"Snakeskins" is just the name that Hennessy (?) used when they introduced them. So, it's a brand name. Snakeskin is to mesh sleeve as Kleenex is to tissue or Xerox is to photocopier.

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