Recommended UL tarp?

[cmoulder]

Didn't you post a video of your technique? I have yet to switch to DCF, but every now and then those HG sales include the DCF tarps and my mouse button finger gets all twitchy. Honestly the price is the price, doesn't bother me...it was the supposed bulkiness (in the snake skin) that held me back.

[Countrybois]

You have convinced me to ditch the snakeskins and try folding.

Both for the health of the material and more compact storage.

I'll report back.

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So... I gave the folding a try on my recent AT section hike....

I have mixed feelings. I do believe it is easier on the tarp and it is definitely compact folded than in snakeskins, but I also miss the ability to have the tarp hung and not deployed.

I think I will stick with the folding method for a while and see how it fits my style.

Sticks

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[P-Dub]

Y'all realize this discussion is on the Simply Light Designs vendor's thread, right???!!!

[cmoulder]

So... I gave the folding a try on my recent AT section hike....

I have mixed feelings. I do believe it is easier on the tarp and it is definitely compact folded than in snakeskins, but I also miss the ability to have the tarp hung and not deployed.

I think I will stick with the folding method for a while and see how it fits my style.

Sticks

Sent from my SM-S901U using Tapatalk

I don't know if you saw it but I did another thread on ditching your snakeskins, video embedded in this post. It's actually quicker to deploy than a skinned tarp, mainly because two guylines and two stakes are already in position.

[cmoulder]

Y'all realize this discussion is on the Simply Light Designs vendor's thread, right???!!!

Nope!

Thanks.

[FLTurtle]

Y'all realize this discussion is on the Simply Light Designs vendor's thread, right???!!!

Yeah...but OP opened it up by asking for recommendations from other brands as well, including sil poly or DCF.

We got off track with Bob's folding technique...probably should move this to the Weather Protection forum, since that's really more relevant to what OP was looking for.

[cmoulder]

Getting back on track, for the SLD product that matches the OP's requirements — down to 10°F, so presumably some rather brisk winter weather — I go with the Winter Haven in Xenon 1.1 silpoly for max coverage, with side pull-outs. Similar spec but about half the weight and about 2.5x the price would be the HG Palace made of DCF.

East coast winters can get downright nasty at times, and if a person is going to buy only one tarp it must be chosen for worst-case scenario. Some people go with a tarp that has less coverage but then add on a UQP, but personally I rather 'budget' the extra weight for a tarp with better coverage.

As to the catch-all approach for gear that works year 'round... sure, you could have a 20deg quilt set and a winter tarp, and you could make it work for probably 90% of trips... but will you want to carry that in the middle of the summer with 90-degree days and 70-degree nights? This is why people usually end up with at least a couple tarps, and usually more.

I have a HG Palace for those very cold and very icky winter weather situations. But the tarp I use about 95% of the time, even in milder winter weather, is the simple HG hex. Pitched low and oriented properly, it works in a wide range of conditions.

cross_mtn_camp_snow_small.jpg winter_simple_hex_tarp_small.jpg tarp_pitch_wind_hammock_harriman.jpg

And of course the HG Palace...