Recommendations for an ultra light weight Tarp

N

neeman

Joined
Apr 5, 2007
Messages
6,249
I am looking for an ultra light weight Tarp.

I have a very specific need.
I go watercolor painting in the English Mountains
It rains in the mountains, and I want a light and easy shelter so I can sit on a stool and paint with an easel in front of me out of the rain.
So I need enough height in the front.
Therefore I want to use it as tent configuration with the back pegged down and the front open with one walking stick.
There are no trees on the mountain sides to use ridge lines, and I carry one expanding walking stick.
I fly to England and therefore as an additional piece of equipment, I need it to be as light as possible
I will not be using it for camping, as I stay in Youth Hostels.
Specific enough?

What size would you suggest?
What company would you suggest?
And any other suggestions

Thanks
 
I googled Silnylon tarp and found a few places you might be interested in. You can go even lighter with Spinntex as well.

Do you have a particular shape in mind? Square, rectangle, hexagonal?
 
I would contact Etowah Outfitters with your requirements and get some price and weight estimates. Kifaru would be expensive, but could possibly make you a shelter to order as well. I would really stick to Sil-Nylon (no experience with Spinntex) as it's the most prevelent and compact shelter on the market. There are several hammock makers (Warbonnet, Speer, etc.) that deal with Sil-Nylon, they may be able to assist as well. Good luck...you should post up some of your WSS-inspired art;)

ROCK6
 
If you can use a sewing machine I'd say go bespoke for optimal lightness and to exactly fit your requirements.

It's hard to gauge without knowing the dimensions of you easel or the hight of you sat on a stool. I'll note though that if your easel is of any decent width you'll need a very high pitch to the apex to give you the angles to accommodate it when you are sat on a stool, and that may well exceed the height of your pole. Sure, you could run some very long guys half way down each side to try to open it up a bit but I don't think that's ideal when in concert with problem two. Problem two is that with the apex over the easel and the back pegged to the ground without a central suspension point you are going to run out of headroom real quick. I doubt you'd have enough headroom to be able to sit on a stool even with your nose pressed right up against your work unless you pitch on a bank with a lot of fabric or guys running out behind you to give the necessary shallowness of pitch.

If I were solving this I'd use a long aluminium dome tent pole at the front and the pole you have to hold the middle up positioned behind your stool. That would give you a great big arc at the front so you have an excellent FOV of the vista and sufficient height for your seating. It wouldn't need to be complicated, just an after market replacement dome tent pole run through a simple hem channel down one edge. Peg it all down and then wedge your walking pole in position at the end to pull it all taught.

I buy my silnylon from here

Dunno about weights 'cos I've never looked but I'd also be considering a fishing umbrella.
 
Just seen some 68" golf umbrellas on Amazon. One quoted a boxed weight of 499g. Throwing a silnylon sheet over that would still make for a pretty light combo and a really simple set up.
 
I have a silnylon tarp from Outdoor Equipment Supplier, which is a small shop run by Brian MacMillan. It's well made, very light, and works great for me, but I did pay a bit extra for it and had to wait a week or so. Etowah Outfitters is another maker that seems to be well respected. I also have a tarp from Sportsman's Guide that would fit the bill, though it is quite a bit heavier (and less expensive) than silnylon.

I like to have tabs instead of grommets - that's a personal preference for me, because I like to think I could repair it more easily in the field if I had to. I haven't had to do any grommet/tab repairs yet, so it's just a theoretical preference at this point. I also like having an extra edging material at the perimeter. I think the extra strength is worth the few extra ounces. Extra tabs/grommets are nice as well (say 5 or so to a side and 3 or so along a potential ridge, because they give you the flexibility for multiple pitches.

Regarding how to pitch the tarp... Here is an often linked video for a one pole pitch of an 8ft x 10ft tarp shown by Etowah Outfitters: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkBeZqXU4zk. I assume this is how you are picturing your set up.

I don't know if you use an easel or not, but if you do, you might consider carrying an extra hiking pole to give you a square front pitch with more room at the top of the front. Something like this (not my pic):
24790-BrooksTarpSillo_bjk.jpg
 
j williams said:
10x10 BCUSA Tarp. Made entirely in USA(except woodland pattern) by Etowah. Square tarps kick butt.
Click to expand...

I have a Tan one (from BCUSA) and love it. It's a durable yet light tarp. I especially like the lack of grommets. The sewn loops don't wear on the tarp as much. Seems like it could outlast me!
 
Yeah, that multicam one is sick. I have the Tan, only cause when I bought it, the multicam wasnt an option. Id order another in the multicam, but just cant justify it. These are very nice guys. On my home scale, it weighs 1.9 lbs. Im not sure how accurate that is though on that scale.

BTW, the groundsheets on there would make a very lightweight small tarp for shelter.
 
Here's a Terra Nova tarp to make an awning for the brolly.

That's 261g so you'd be looking at a combined weight of well under two pounds. And a combined price of about £80.

I could be barking up the wrong tree but if simplicity, speed and low weight take priority over making a sleeping nest, plus the poles / suspension issues, I think there's a lot to like with this route.
 
if you want really ultralight- talking a few ounces, several makers are now making cuben tarps (several folks making there own as well)-

MLD, Oware, zpacks to name a few
 
Thanks for all the ideas. materials and links.
The set up as in the video is what I have in mind, although I did not see it untill now.

I will go and play with some material to make a scaled template.
At the moment it is coming out diamond shaped to make a half shelter with height

Again, thanks for the help
 
j williams said:
10x10 BCUSA Tarp. Made entirely in USA(except woodland pattern) by Etowah. Square tarps kick butt.
Click to expand...
Thanks for that link:thumbup: Got a "4x6" rope tarp that gets used for all kinds of stuff, but is actually smaller than 4'x6', and only has tabs on the corners.
BCUSA has a coyote tan 5'x7' tarp listed there for $19, and it has 6 tabs. Beautiful.
Come on, mail lady!
 
I just picked up the Integral Designs SilTarp 1. Its the perfect 1 man part, silicone impregnated nylon, 200g, 65$cad.
 
I don't have any personal experience, however I've done a lot of tent searching recently and run across may beach type "cabanna's" Maybe one of those would fit the room/pitch you require?
 
You could buy two USGI Ponchos and snap the ends together to make one big tarp.

Plus you have a poncho to wear when raining on your way in or out to your paintings spots.
 
iahunter3 said:
I don't have any personal experience, however I've done a lot of tent searching recently and run across may beach type "cabanna's" Maybe one of those would fit the room/pitch you require?
Click to expand...

I was going to suggest the same thing. I saw a display at Costco last week. They weren't set up so I don't know if they would be high enough, but it might be just the thing.

Chad
 
I also have an Outdoor Equipment Supplier silnylon tarp. (Cat cut). If I had it to do over again, I'd get the SpinUL because it doesn't stretch when it gets wet.

I'm curious how you're going to get the tarp to behave with a single hiking pole. Also, why limit yourself to just a single pole?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top