Tarp For Minimalist Setup

J

JoeLightcap

Joined
Aug 31, 2010
Messages
16
Hey everybody, I was just wondering if anyone could help me out with a suggestion on a tarp. I basically have it narrowed down to two options.

Option 1. 6x10 1.9 oz urethane tarp with tons of tabs (already own and like this)

Option 2. One of these space blanket/tarp guys. I'd have to sew some tabs on it on top of buying it. Bonus is these are tough enough to use as a ground sheet while hunting or day hiking.http://www.bensbackwoods.com/servlet/Detail?no=310

It really comes down to this rig not having a sleeping bag. Will the space blanket tarp thing reflect enough heat in a shelter to outweigh the larger size and amount of rigging options on the 6x10 tarp?

This is for a 3 season setup in Pennsylvania.
 
JoeLightcap said:
Hey everybody, I was just wondering if anyone could help me out with a suggestion on a tarp. I basically have it narrowed down to two options.

Option 1. 6x10 1.9 oz urethane tarp with tons of tabs (already own and like this)

Option 2. One of these space blanket/tarp guys. I'd have to sew some tabs on it on top of buying it. Bonus is these are tough enough to use as a ground sheet while hunting or day hiking.http://www.bensbackwoods.com/servlet/Detail?no=310

It really comes down to this rig not having a sleeping bag. Will the space blanket tarp thing reflect enough heat in a shelter to outweigh the larger size and amount of rigging options on the 6x10 tarp?

This is for a 3 season setup in Pennsylvania.
Click to expand...

The 5x7 spaceblanket seems too small to me to be a primary shelter choice. I would want to be able to protect both myself and my gear from the weather. and that would mean a bigger tarp. If you are dissatisfied with what you have, there are some better choices out there.

I have to ask, why no sleeping bag?
 
This really isn't my primary setup. This is basically for day hikes that turn into one nighters if I feel like it. The bag is a Maxpedition Sabercat. I could probably fit my 35 degree bag in it but wouldn't have much room left. I don't really have a problem with my current tarp, just wondered how much warmer a shelter built with the space blanket would be, and the ground sheet ability is pretty nice. Truthfully, if I really wanted to I could easily fit both of these on the bag but it seems really unnecessary.
 
JoeLightcap said:
It really comes down to this rig not having a sleeping bag. Will the space blanket tarp thing reflect enough heat in a shelter to outweigh the larger size and amount of rigging options on the 6x10 tarp?

This is for a 3 season setup in Pennsylvania.
Click to expand...
Well, let me begin by saying for a survival shelter if I only have one poncho/tarp, I usually make a debris shelter, to let it do the majority of the heat retention and water shedding duties. I sleep with the tarp against my skin so I guess I'd prefer the alumninumized tarp in this role. This allows me to walk around wearing my poncho or whatever during the day and return to the shelter by night. It also keeps your tarp/poncho from being damaged as you add debris to the shelter to increase it's thermal abilities.

I don't find that leanto or rain-fly type shelters that I usually see posted here in photos provide any appreciable heat retention abilities. It's solely a keep you dry and--maybe--keep you somewhat out of the wind proposition. I don't believe the space blanket will provide any appreciable radiant heat reflection from your body unless it's against your body. That would be easy enough to test however. Just get out a thermometer and setup a few tarps.

IMO if used in lean-to mode, the reflective part of the space blanket wouldn't reflect enough radiant heat to be of any value unless you also added the Mors Kochanski style super shelter greenhouse (meaning you also carried some clear plastic). Absent the clear plastic for the super shelter, you're better off doing the Dr. Ron Hood thermal mass methods. (And you're better off studying his more scientific approach no matter what gear you have.)

FWIW, my first piece of kit would be a regular sized poncho over a tarp or space blanket. If I already had a tarp, I prolly wouldn't replace it with a space blanket.
 
Personally, if you could afford it, I'd get a silnylon tarp, to save some space and weight, like this one:
http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/Product___20069

Then I would get one of the small space blankets like this:
http://www.rei.com/product/750944

With a couple of these for emergencies:
http://www.rei.com/product/760936


And if you really think you are likely to stay the night, bring your sleeping bag. You can stash to the outside of you pack if it takes up too much room inside. Unless it isn't supposed to get below 60 at night.

The above, I think would probably be the lightest set up that takes up the least amount of room.

You could also, always upgrade to a smaller sleeping bag or build a ray way quilt, or upgrade to a larger pack.

Anyways, just some thoughts and options off the top of my head. Good luck finding what's right for you.
 
Thanks for the suggestions guys, I really am going to look into and think about all of them. And it is a ray way quilt by the way, with the alpine insulation upgrade.
 
bulgron said:
How small of a space do those pack down into?
Click to expand...

Oh man, I'll have to see if I can find mine when I get home. Off the top of my head, i want to say roughly 1/4" thick x 6" wide x 12" long? If I remember, I'll try to get the proper measurements when I get home.

Zachalope said:
Check out http://www.outdoorequipmentsupplier.com/ Its a one man shop. He does great work. Has Sil-nylon and a spinnaker fabric which is lighter (and more expensive) in many sizes / shapes / configurations, and I'm pretty sure he will do custom work as well. FYI they are not cheap.
Click to expand...

Awesome! thanks for that link!
 
If I carry my daypack, it has a silnylon tarp that is stuffed into a SS pot the size of a small coffee can. I also have the heavy duty space blanket. It has grommets in the corners for attaching cord. The space blanket is pretty heavy duty and I've used it to make some shade.

I probably don't need both but the space blanket is pretty flat and doesn't take up much room in my pack and I figure I can use that as a blanket and the tarp as a tent.

Chad
 
I think for absolute minimalist type ideas I'd opt for a bivy bag and build a wind break or shelter. if I could have both, I'd add one of the lightweight tarps mentioned.

Money plays a role in the decisions I make so although there are some great one man shelters that weigh nearly nothing I don't see myself buying one.
 
The space blanket tarp is really too small (at least for me-a tall 6'1", 190 pounds) for a shelter. I've used one in winter survival practice trips, and found it to be marginal at best. It makes a good enough ground sheet, and perhaps a backup tarp/tent extension for rainy weather.

I would say you're probably better off with what you have. In general, if I have a pack I try to make sure I have enough layers to be comfortable during any of the projected temperatures and weather conditions for the next 24-48 hours. In the summer this means a long sleeve wool baselayer, or a lightweight jacket. In my corner of the world, I can make a leaf bed and be fine for a night out with just what I have for clothing most times.

I really want to get the gatewood cape for my shelter/rain option. Seems like it makes for a better tent and rainwear than a regular poncho. I also think it would retain more heat than a tarp shelter because it's more-or-less closed off all the way around.
 
BigNate said:
I think for absolute minimalist type ideas I'd opt for a bivy bag and build a wind break or shelter. .
Click to expand...
I really like those bivy bags, but for "absolute minimalist" it doesn't provide you with rain protection while on the trail the way a (good) tarp or (better) poncho does. If you're an "absolute minimalist" a poncho/tarp is smaller than a bivvy and rain gear for sure. (I know that some of you in arid areas may not consider raingear a need at all, so it depends on your environment.)

I haven't dealt with the silnylon. However, I've been told it's less durable than a ripstop nylon poncho so I haven't been in a hurry.

Or maybe I'm old and set in my ways.
 
Silnylon is less durable but it's still pretty tough as long as you're not too rough with it and you get a decent weight reduction compared to ripstop. The only reason I have urethane for this setup is little more durable and cheap. My next tarp for actual backpacking will probably be cuben fiber.
 
JoeLightcap said:
This is for a 3 season setup in Pennsylvania.
Click to expand...
I assume you are not the average hiker, i.e. you have a greater chance of needing to
do an Overnight, than the average hiker?

If there is a substantial chance that you will overnight, then an 8 X 10 seems minimal,
along with other (insulating) gear like: sleeping bag, half bag, quilt, or extra clothes.
As a concrete example, big game hunters who take an animal in late afternoon have
good chance of overnighting, so they need to prepare for this.

A 6 X 8 single layer, woven poly (blue tarp) will be my EDC, real cheap, real light.

It sounds like you want to try an overnight, just for the fun of it.
 
A mil-spec ripstop poncho is about 5 1/2' x 7 1/2' and I have used one before as a field expedient shelter. It was a tight fit, but it did work and keep me warm and dry. Rather than set it up like an a-frame or lean-to tent as most would with a tarp, I set it up as a teepee over a set of river cane poles, making a complete enclosure. I had to sleep curled up in a ball, but I did sleep thru the cold rain that night.

I suppose you can make do with just about anything from contractor's trash bags on up.

I still carry an 8x10' salvaged rain fly from a tent someone trashed and abandoned in a campground. It makes an excellent auxillary fly even when I do carry a regular tent, and it packs up very small, about like a thick paperback book, even with the cords left attached.
 
Curled up in a ball survival shelter is really not out of the question for this. I do have an old swedish or something military poncho I could try but man is that thing heavy. I may end up getting that space blanket and giving it a try anyway because if nothing else they make good ground sheets while hunting. Used to sit on one when I was a little kid hunting with my dad.
 
Codger_64 said:
A mil-spec ripstop poncho is about 5 1/2' x 7 1/2' and I have used one before as a field expedient shelter. It was a tight fit, but it did work and keep me warm and dry. Rather than set it up like an a-frame or lean-to tent as most would with a tarp,.
Click to expand...
If I was using the poncho as the shelter (rather than building a debris shelter then wrapping in the poncho as an improvised sleeping bag), I've always used it as an A-frame. A very low a-frame... like just tall enough to get into. I like the foot end to be even lower, again, just enough to get into. Less interior volume = warmer me. Tie off the hood of the poncho with a cord and tighten it (lifting the hood some) so that water doesn't collect in it or enter the opening. Plug the foot end with some debris for more warmth. Some evergreen boughs to minimize heat loss through the head end. I've slept through blizzards with one of these and I'm over 6'.

I hope that makes sense. Maybe I'll take a picture some time.

An extra poncho does make it easier, but that doesn't seem minimalistic.
 
Have you ever actually tried to use one of the space blankets? I gave it a whirl and hated it with a passion - too small, tore easily and made the most horrendous crunching noise all night. I tossed it and went to an 8x10 siltarp and have not looked back.
 
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