woods-EDC tarp; wt/cost/melting/strength

fnc

Joined
Nov 13, 2005
Messages
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I want a 9x6, or there abouts, tarp. At Walmart, I was looking at some woven poly-urathane
double layer (blue/brown or silver/brown) , but they seem too well built for EDC, i.e. more
weight than I want to carry.

Would like your experiences with woven poly-urathane, nylon, polyester, etc.
When used as a lean-to mode,
I would especially like to know how easily they can be melted by a fire.

Single layer woven poly-urathane green or orange, at a local store, was my initial idea.
Any suggestions, appreciated.
 
I haven't used one as a shelter, but the one I use to cover stuff on my truck lasted less than a year exposed to sunlight.
 
Know want you mean, I'd love a light weight/compact packable tarp, edc capable, with grommets for quick up.
For now i just keep a poncho and contractor bags in my edc bag. :p
 
I have used the Brown/Silver heavy duty tarp as a shelter before. It worked great. I didn't mind the weight due to the greater durability it had.
 
try to find yourself a decent priced silnylon tarp. I have a link at home, I'll try to post it tonight.
A regular tarp like you are talking about, is in NO WAY EDCable, they are huge even when packed as tightly as possible, and they're heavy.

Silnylon will pack down really small, like the size of a couple of handkerchiefs and be really lite as well.

Here you go: http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/Product___20069
not super cheap, but about as cheap as you're gonna find for silnylon, and very much worth it.
 
I plan on getting one I read about it on another outdoor forum and you can see the reviews are good. Probably heavier than a syl nylon one but def lighter than a blue one. I figure for that price I can't go wrong either way. If I find it too heavy I will add it to my car camping gear.

Have you used one of them? Price is right if the quality is acceptable, thanks for the link.
 
i just got the 9x6 tarp at waltmat for 5 bucks... I am going to use it this weekend for my tent base...

do i really need it???
 
You can have an inexpensive 5x9 silnylon tarp for under $30. Silnylon is unlike most fabrics in that if left unhemmed, it will not unravel at the edges. Buy the fabric, buy a set of grip clips and you're set. I've read about a guy who backpacked for months in Alaska with this system and it held up great.

Three yards of (seconds) silnylon from Quest Outfitters is about $19. http://www.questoutfitters.com/coated.html#SILNYLON%201.1%20OZ%20RIPSTOP

A set of small grip clips will be $10. http://www.shelter-systems.com/grip-clips.html
 
you need to weigh all the variables and how important are they to you- cost; weight, volume, durability, etc

silnylon is light and pretty durable, but it's not cheap- a good tarp is in investment IMO, no different than a tent
 
Ugh. Grommets.


The first thing you should do with any tarp with grommets is to add proper, reinforced, sewn webbing loop tieouts. Grommets are horrible.



Speer Hammocks sells a very nice 8x10 tarp with proper tieouts on it. I think it's around a hundred bucks, or 50 if you get the DIY kit and sew it yourself.

Or, for going really cheap, buy some cosmetic seconds quality silnylon and sew your own tarp. It's not hard.
 
Actually, if you are looking for EDC, a multi-use item would be a lot more versatile.


Many silnylon ponchos have tieouts around the edges so they can be pitched as a tarp. Two for one, can't beat that.
 
I have had gromments pull out,and once a rips starts there hard to stop....
The tarp I mentioned above has tabs instead of gromments ...easier to field repair ,just my opinion not mustardman.

my Etowah Outfitters 8' x 10' is a great tarp ,glad I purchased it....going on 2 years w/o an issue

Etowah Outfitters' tarps use sewn in tabs instead of grommets to reduce the chance of tears. If one does pull out it can be repaired with needle and thread.
 
Basically what texastony said - grommets rip out too easily, and are nearly impossible to field repair. As was already said, a needle and thread can field repair a webbing loop, and if the webbing loop fails it's more likely to do so by tearing the thread, rather than tearing a hole in your tarp.
 
Hmmm...well that changes my current plans somewhat. I'm in the process of making a Tyvek tarp. I have the Tyvek sheet to the right size. Was going to put grommets in. In light of what you guys said about grommets I'm now rethinking. Problem is I read that Tyvek doesn't take to sewing very well either.

I could use make loops out of Tyvek and tape them down with Tyvek tape I suppose. Tyvek tap is supposed to be pretty strong and very sticky. I'll have to test on scrap pieces.
 
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