Tarp Shelters?

[JK Knives]

Does anyone have any pictures of any tarp shelters they use? If so, please post them, and what size tarp you used for them.

 

[Tasselhoff]

I am interested in this thread as well. I am lookking at the Kelty 12x12sil tarp if anyone knows anything about them.

On a side note...
JK, My prayers go up for your granddaughter. I have survived colon cancer..it was not fun nor easy. I cannot imagine being a child, especially one as young as Hannah sees to be and having to fight cancer. I also cannot imagine being a parent and watching my child (or grandchild) go through that. I pray for her remision and her strength as well as for all your families!

Tass
(Josh)

 

[Codger_64]

I've heard bad things about the Kelty Noah's tarps but here and elsewhere, specificly delamination of the waterproof coatings. I am not familiar with their silnylon tarps. I am still using a salvaged nylon tent rainfly, but like the design of the catanery wings, if not for the bad material choice.

 

[foxx]

I got two small, 5'x7' bushcraft USA M.E.S.T. tarps a while back. One is the Ultra light Multicam, it's only about 6.5 oz, because it is only treated with a durable water repellancy. The other is the Woodland, and has a urethane coating.
I haven't had a chance to use them yet, nor do I PLAN on using them as a stand alone shelter. I'll use one as a ground cloth and the other over my head when I use my bivy sack. The lighter Multicam tarp is so small that I can just leave it in my daypack. With all the perimeter loops, these can be used in many ways, shelter or as a poncho for my needs.
These are sewn well, fabric loops are bar tacked, and the edges are clean. The Multicam tarp has it's own stuff sack sewn to one corner, the woodland patter tarp does not.
I keep looking at their site to see when they have the larger Multicam tarps back in stock, I want a 10'x10' to use as a stand alone shelter.


UPDATE. Just went and placed an order for the 10'x7' UL Multicam tarp. It's only 13.5 oz, even if the coating isn't as durable, I can spray it with another DWR later, as needed. I'm pretty easy on my gear, at least the things that aren't as tough. Yeah, it's a bit spendy, but I'm shedding a whole 2lbs off the weight of the 10'x10' G2 Multicam tarp with urethane.

 

[wildmanh]

I have a few 10x12 Poly tarps that I got from a supermarket for $5 each. They weight about 1.5 pounds and work great as Tarp shelters. I normally set it up as an A-frame over my cot when car camping or over my bedroll when backpacking. So far the Poly tarp has held up fine during a wind and rain storm we were in during a campout last August. Am heading out of town for Thanksgiving in a few minutes, but will try to post pictures from that trip after I get back.

BTW I've used Tarp shelters, both Canvas and Poly tarps on many camp outs. Sometimes I'd use 1 half of a Shelter Half and a Poly backed Space Blanket or a Big blue Poly Tarp. Nights where I live in Utah can be down right cold, even in the summer. The Shelter half and Space Blanket or Poly tarp has helped me sleep really well at night, despite it getting cool.

 

[sutured]

I've heard bad things about the Kelty Noah's tarps but here and elsewhere, specificly delamination of the waterproof coatings. I am not familiar with their silnylon tarps. I am still using a salvaged nylon tent rainfly, but like the design of the catanery wings, if not for the bad material choice.

I've used a Kelty Noah's Tarp for around ten years without delamination issues. I'm sure it's possible that they got fabric from more than one vendor throughout the years, however.

While poor fabric can be the cause, often delamination is caused by putting a not-entirely-dry tarp back in the stuff sack for storage. This will ruin any laminated fabric in very short order.

 

[Tasselhoff]

Good info. When camping, it seems that it would be almost impossible NOT to put sil tarp back int's sack at least a little damp if not soaked, while moving from one camp to the next. In a non-scientific way, could someone give me an idea of howw long a sil tarp can be packed away somewhat damp before I need to take it back out and let it dry? For instane, canoe camping down a river, breaking camp in the morning, packing it away still damp from dew, and then taking it out 5-6 hrs later to set up a new camp? Good, bad, indifferent?

 

[machine26]

I use a 5x7 cheapo from walmart since I got an ecwcs sleep system. Works fine so far but haven't used it in the driving rain.

Here's a pic, but for some reason the pic insertion buttons and whatnot aren't showign up while using my laptop...

http://imageshack.us/a/img96/4526/camp2v.jpg

 

[sutured]

Good info. When camping, it seems that it would be almost impossible NOT to put sil tarp back int's sack at least a little damp if not soaked, while moving from one camp to the next. In a non-scientific way, could someone give me an idea of howw long a sil tarp can be packed away somewhat damp before I need to take it back out and let it dry? For instane, canoe camping down a river, breaking camp in the morning, packing it away still damp from dew, and then taking it out 5-6 hrs later to set up a new camp? Good, bad, indifferent?

Packing it wet doesn't matter if it's coming out again at the end of the day. It's damp storage that kills fabric. I don't know this for a fact, but I believe there is a mildew component to the delamination. I don't think it's a good idea to leave any damp fabric compressed and airless for more than a couple days. Unpacking it, even it it doesn't dry, provides air circulation that seems to help.

 

[Scott Free]

I have a 5x8 and 8x10 sil tarps and 10x10 and 9x12 coated tarps. My take on it is, go with the biggest you can afford. Especially with sil-nylon, the bigger sizes take up just a tiny bit more space and weigh only a couple ounces more. The extra coverage is well worth it. Going from a tent to a tarp is a sacrifice of comfort that saves pounds so it's often worth it. Saving ounces but worrying about coverage isn't.

 

[Mannlicher]

This is a 10X10 BCUSA (Etowah) tarp, with a walmart cheapie for a ground cloth. I have since upgraded that to another BCUSA tarp, a 5X7, for the ground cloth. That smaller one makes a great day pack tarp as well, for an instant shelter against cold or rain.

 

[Alberta Ed]

I have used Versatarps in the past and still keep a 6 x 8 nylon ripstop in my day pack for emergencies. However, in the north, bugs such as mosquitoes and blackflies can be a serious problem tarps are a bit limited there.

 

[Hammer67]

Good info. When camping, it seems that it would be almost impossible NOT to put sil tarp back int's sack at least a little damp if not soaked, while moving from one camp to the next. In a non-scientific way, could someone give me an idea of howw long a sil tarp can be packed away somewhat damp before I need to take it back out and let it dry? For instane, canoe camping down a river, breaking camp in the morning, packing it away still damp from dew, and then taking it out 5-6 hrs later to set up a new camp? Good, bad, indifferent?

When you're packing it up wet and setting it up again the same day, there's nothing to worry about. Just don't pack it away wet and leave it that way for days on end. Keep in mind too that while the tarp material might be dry, the cordage can soak up water and take a lot longer to dry than the tarp itself. If you store it in a non-breathable nylon stuff sack, without the cordage also being totally dry, that can be enough moisture to still cause mold over time. One solution is to just store things like that in mesh laundry bags, in a place with good air circulation, when you get home.

I've got an Equinox 5'x7', an ENO Pro Fly 10'x7' and a Kelty Noah. They've all served me well. The most important thing with a tarp is setting it up smartly - ridge line into the prevailing wind, taking advantage of terrain, taking advantage of natural anchor options, etc.

But yeah, if you're in a place with lots of biting bugs, they might not be the best option.

 

[crossada]

I scored a BCUSA 10 x 10 multicam tarp a few weeks ago. I had been trying for almost a year to nab one and finally got lucky. I havn't got to take it out for use yet but it looks and feels robust.

I plan on using it with my warbonnet blackbird hammock mostly.

 

[worldwood]

i carry 2 grizzly tarps. an 8x10 and a 10x14. using either i can make a basic shelter but with both i can make a comfortable living area.

 

[JV3]

I use a 5x7 cheapo from walmart since I got an ecwcs sleep system. Works fine so far but haven't used it in the driving rain.

Here's a pic, but for some reason the pic insertion buttons and whatnot aren't showign up while using my laptop...

http://imageshack.us/a/img96/4526/camp2v.jpg

you can surround the url with the [ IMG ] and [ / IMG ] tags (remove the space inside it) too.

 

[JV3]

my go-to tarp nowadays is the integral designs silnylon 8'x10' because it's very light:

if i know for sure there'll be heavy rain/snow/wind then i prefer the bushcraftusa 10'x10' multicam:

bushcraftusa 10'x10' in coyote brown (not as much water-repellant coating as the multicam but lighter):

bushcraftusa 5'x7' in coyote brown i take on day-hikes for emergency use:

cheap hardware store bought 6'x8' i used to use a long time ago:

 

[JK Knives]

Thanks for all the replies.

 

[readyme]

Etowah Outfitters makes most of the tarps for BCUSA...but they also sell their own versions direct. The colors differ, and they supposedly don't have the same coating as some of the camo tarps, but they are also quite a bit cheaper.

 

[Quirt]

Locally made (not for resale) 10' x 10' ripstop nylon with DWR treatment and fire retardent. Each corner has two (2) eyes heavily sewn so if one tears/rips there is always a back up. But they've never torn in up to 40 mph winds. One loop in the middle on both sides.

Here is this 10' x 10' Tarp in various configurations depending upon environmental conditions & mood. The colder the lower it goes and the tighter the tuck. If a warming fire is used then the higher it goes. In 20 mph winds, near zero at 3500' elevation I can attest I slept on top of my sleeping bag in this shelter with a reflective fire.

Front view of a Modified Whelan - Named after Col. Townsend Whelan

Back view of a Modified Whelan with Shears

Another Variation of the Modified Whelan Sides are pulled out rather than tucked in and the fly is extended out with a hikers pole.

Modifed Forester

Bombproof Front View

Bombproof Back View

Basic Forester Design

A "Hooch"

This is a 5' x 8' silnylon tarp set up. Low profile with lots of visiblity. This can be set up or tore down in under 1 minute using my homemade bungees. Note no metal "packed-in" stakes are used - only natural materials found on site.

- - - - -

Lately I've moved on and am experimenting with this tarp for winter only. It is made from hot air balloon materials. Very reflective inside which radiates my body heat and the heat from a reflective fire. These are not for sale so don't ask me where to get one - cuz I don't know!