Storing CF tarps

[priller]

I recently "dressed" my tarp on a down day at home. Simply stuffed the Chinook 12*9 takes up a lot of room and becomes stiff in the sack. I unpacked it, spread it out, and coiled all of the guy lines neatly. Then I started to fold it on the short ends for a few folds, then rolled it on the long edge. Ended up with a logroll of tarp about 3 inches high and 12 inches long, I can fold that into a U or V and now fit it in a large side pocket, much smaller than before.

I have also had some sticky gorilla tape residue on some pullouts for a while now, so I put some baby powder on them before rolling.

So I would say for tarps 30D and above, folding and rolling will make it easier to pack. Although this method works best when you have time and a moderately clean surface, which may not be the case when you are out actually using the tarp.

[Shug]

Mine is stuffed in a stuff sack. Not crammed but gently pushed in. One is in snake skins.
Shug

[Fixxr5]

I use to crinkle and cram like a sil tarp. Then one time I was hiking with Srormcrow and he showed me to roll it up. While it was still hanging from the ridgeline he rolled it up from the bottom and then rolled that coil up. My tarp has all the crinkle marks and it became more fabric-like because of that. It just made sense that repeated crumbling will weaken the CF. CF tarp is considerable investment. And sil doesn't show marks where is was folded and creased. I don't have any scientific proof but I think rolling caused less crinkles and repeated crinkles has to weaken it. SO now Stormcrow's way is how I roll.
Now WV on the other hand just stuffs it in a stuff sack, but his tarp is full of patches. But that may be from use.

My 2 cents

That's very interesting. I will try rolling it up as you described. YOUR TWO CENTS MAY ACTUALLY BE WORTH MORE LIKE A NICKLE OR EVEN A DIME. That darn iron is really becoming a nuisance.

[WV]

Actually, Dutch's description of the way Stormcrow furls his tarp, rolling it up to the ridgeline and then folding the tube thus created, is very close to the way I store my tarp. It makes wrinkles, but they don't seem to be a problem. At first I used snake skins. Then I used 6 small bungee loop shackles on the rolled tube. Now I just use three small bungee ties, and the tube gets a bit wrinkled as I stuff it into whatever storage space I choose. That can be an exterior mesh pocket or the space between the Aarn pack's outer layer and inner drybag. I sort of fold the tube while I stuff it, but it certainly isn't neat, because I don't think it needs to be. A word about the bungees tying up the tube - they don't need to be tight; in fact they shouldn't be. When I was using tighter loop shackles I had to milk the trapped air out of the rolled tube. If it's tightly constricted those trapped air bubbles can develop significant pressure, so there's a risk of "popping" the tarp. Loosely securing the rolled tube in the middle and at both ends and stuffing the tarp starting at one end expels the air safely as you put it away.

[SilvrSurfr]

I'm doing what WV is doing, only I use three velcro loops to secure it after rolling it up. I personally don't buy the crinkle theory. I don't know how I could get the tarp to crinkle in the same place repeatedly, and even it were doing so, there doesn't seem to be any way to mitigate it.

[SoundWitness]

This thread has got me thinking hard. Both of my CF tarps are just shoved in their sacks, with my lines neatly wrapped of course. Wrinkled for sure......

Now I'm not sure if that's gonna be a problem long range, time wise.

Oh them simpler days of syl nylon.........

[gmcttr]

If anyone is interested in finding additional info, I suggest looking on sailing forums or sail makers sites. They have a longer history of CF usage.

An extremely brief search I did indicates rolling may be the prefered method of storage for all sail materials when it is possible.

[Nighthauk]

Guys thank you for a great discussion. It looks like I will be rolling it up to make it easier to go into the sleeve.

[ShadowAlpha]

I been folding and rolling. I'll pull up all stakes leaving the guy lines attached t o the d rings.

With each end still attached to the trees - I unhook one end and holding the tarp tight I fold in small segments towards the other tree. Once I get to the other end I detach from there. Then lay the tarp on ground and roll it up. This makes it fit into its stuff sack

[Jcavenagh]

I roll my CF up to the CRL and pull the sleeves over it. I then fold that tube to make it fit in the outer mesh pocket. I usually unroll it and hang it across the camping room in the basement after use. After it dries fully, I roll it up again in the sleeves for between trip storage. The stored tarp sometimes is folded in half or fourths. But other than the ridge peak line, I doubt I crease the material the same way very often. If folding a CF tarp, or any other material, regularly in the same pattern, then I can see where degradation may occur along the folds. I think that is the real issue.