True weight of poly tarp

[MissHailey]

The other main knock against the poly tarps is their bulk when packed down for back packing purposes. As a result of being hard to pitch tight is that these tarps also tend to be noisy due to flapping in the breeze.

Someone posted recently a diy Hex cat cut tarp that was made by cutting them out from a larger poly tarp. Webbing tie outs were installed and the edges were rolled and sewn. I don't have the link off had, but it should be easily found.

Also keep in mind that your tarp is your actual shelter while hammock camping. So the question becomes would trust your safety and well being to a very low cost and low quality tarp? Only you can answer that for yourself.

Cheers

Brian

I agree, I wouldn't trust a low quality tarp to protect me while I am hammock camping! I recently wanted to go out hammock camping, so I went to Wal-mart to pick up a tarp, when i got home, it was pretty much already falling apart. I looked online and found www.tarpsplus.com . I ordered a 10x10 ( I know it's a little larger but I like to be fully covered!) and it actually got here before I went camping a week later. No problems with the tarp when it arrived and I also like the camo color that I bought. I've had it for about 4 months and it's still going strong

[Hiknhanger]

My biggest problems with the poly tarps are bulk and noise. I am a pretty light sleeper, especially in the woods. When the wind flexes that tarp and it crackles, I flinch. I just got a relatively cheap replacement Chinook 12 x 9.6 tarp that I am looking forward to using...quietly.

[angrysparrow]

I agree, I wouldn't trust a low quality tarp to protect me while I am hammock camping! I recently wanted to go out hammock camping, so I went to Wal-mart to pick up a tarp, when i got home, it was pretty much already falling apart. I looked online and found www.tarpsplus.com . I ordered a 10x10 ( I know it's a little larger but I like to be fully covered!) and it actually got here before I went camping a week later. No problems with the tarp when it arrived and I also like the camo color that I bought. I've had it for about 4 months and it's still going strong

Hey look everybody... A one-post member, advertising a sales-site, with a sig-line for the same business. No introduction, no following the rules (especially the vendor rules), no questions...just spam. And this is actually the second time this week a brand new member has tried advertising for this same site.

I urge everyone to avoid the linked site, as well as other businesses that would engage in this kind of spam. Bad press is deserved.

[Hiknhanger]

Good catch Angrysparrow. I didn't even notice it in the sig line. Leave it to the trained eye of a mod! I love Spam on a sammich, but not on the forum!

[trippaw]

Mine is one of the brown ones, but it is silver on the inside. IMO, this is a nice bonus, since it really does reflect back some of my body heat. Warmer is nice.

[Skylar]

I think that I will have to use a poly blue tarp, until I can get my wife to believe that a silnylon tarp is a good investment.

May never happen

[alrany187]

I have and use a camouflage poly tarp from one of the local clearance stores.It cost $10 and is 10'x12'. It worked quite well with the cold and wind of my last trip. I did get a set of grip clips and that helped immensely in tightening it up. Yes, a silnylon tarp would be nice, but for the time being, I'll stick with my poly tarp.

Ellis

[Hiknhanger]

I think that I will have to use a poly blue tarp, until I can get my wife to believe that a silnylon tarp is a good investment.

May never happen

Not to sound like an advertisement, but the Chinook I mentioned earlier is around $33 plus shipping. Even I could convince my wife to not sweat me on that one!

[mophead]

Nothing at all wrong with a poly tarp. I used one for almost a year no problems. The packed size wasn't a problem; I strapped it to the outside of my pack rolled up. You do have to do some searching for the lightest weight though as not all polytarps are created equal.

A price difference of $110+ for a weight difference of sometimes only ~6oz is quite a lot of money to throw down.