Tarp size

[UPpaddler]

Need a new tarp. I never have had a good one. Probably going to go with a CCS Tundra tarp, for all the obvious reasons. And I am a rank amateur when it comes to using tarps compared to many of you here, but I do like square or rectangular tarps. They seem more versatile than those funny shaped things that look like bat wings or something.

I'm just not sure on the size. While there is certainly some personal preference involved, what is your preferable tarp size? I am usually by myself, occasionally with one other person, rarely with more.

I should say that I won't use this tarp to cover my tent. Just as an extra protected area for cooking, lounging, waiting out the weather, etc.

Is a 10x10 foot big enough? Should I go larger?

I'd like to hear your opinions. Thanks.

 

[Sweetfancymoses]

A 10x10 would probably be big enough for a solo paddler and the purposes you describe. A 10x12 would be a better choice going solo or with one partner. A 1.9 oz CCS is what I have. Definitely a good quality tarp. I'm of the colorful tarp school, others might prefer inconspicuous colors.

 

[UPpaddler]

Thanks. That's where I'm leaning, a 10x10 should be big enough. But I'm just not sure...

 

[Odyssey]

It's surprising (to me) how much smaller an area is covered by a tarp of any given size than sometimes assumed. My first tarp purchase many years ago was a small one, perhaps 10x10, though it feels like 8x8. It's good for solo and a tight but comfortable kitchen area under it, but when set up as a lean for added wind and weather protection the awning area shrinks by half to a claustrophobic size, especially for two. I still bring it along for use as a wind break or as an awning over the tent in bad weather, even though I've since purchased a second and larger tarp. At first I thought a 10x14 might be too large and a waste of pack space, but it's been anything but. In a lean setup that additional several feet comes in handy for a wall in bad weather and still providing ample room under the awning. This size might be over generous for solo but seems ideal for tandem or groups.
As far as colours go the small tarp is a bright yellow whereas the large is multicoloured. The yellow/white is noticeably brighter under it than the blue/ red . Hoop points this out in a post of his somewhere and it's an important point. A lighter coloured tarp makes living and working under it far less gloomy especially on rainy overcast days.

 

[Bothwell Voyageur]

Someone has to say it so it may as well be me.

It's not how big it is but knowing how to use it that matters.

10 x 10 is fine.

Get 1.1 oz unless you are really hard on your gear. Bright colours are good and help cheer you up on rainy day.

 

[Alan Gage]

I use a 10x10 1.1 oz. CCS and find it to be plenty for solo use. I also use it to cover my hammock and that's where sometimes I'd rather have a 10x12. The 10x10 has always done the job but it doesn't leave much extra coverage at the ends in bad weather.

I'd give you a good deal ($80) on my 10x10. I had two and already sold one figuring if I sell them both I'll use the money to buy a 10x12. It's got a handful of small holes that should be patched, which I don't think will be a big deal. I'll show you some pics if you're interested.

Alan

 

[Odyssey]

My newer larger CCS tarp actually packs smaller than my older smaller u-coated tarp. Newer fabrics packing smaller are a deal maker. Cumbersome older materials are a deal breaker. To me at least. But everyone has different attitudes and objectives; some might be happy standing under an umbrella while others might insist on a garage size sultan's lair. I don't solo, so I can't recommend any size, but I've been happy enough alone under my 10x10. When using it as a kitchen area your kitchen kit needn't stay arrayed around under tarp. Packing everything away and repurposing the area to be a lounge again can be luxurious at times. We've done this and cozied up under blankets in front of the fire. On one trip however we two hunkered down under the tarp lean and endured a nasty storm while trying to carry on with chores. Cozy but a little tight. In the morning I stood in the pissing rain outside our tent surveying the situation. It was then I decided to compromise elsewhere in my packing priorities and go with a second and larger tarp. Larger is luxury and not for everyone. I'm intending to retire the 10x10 someday and replace it with a 10x12.

 

[UPpaddler]

I'm beginning to lean towards something like a 10x12. Just to have that little extra space and protection from wind & rain if I need it. Thanks for the input.

 

[Odyssey]

Here's a great tarp video UPpaddler.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqlFP8C_z10

 

[Guest]

They seem more versatile than those funny shaped things that look like bat wings or something.

I'm just not sure on the size. While there is certainly some personal preference involved, what is your preferable tarp size? I am usually by myself, occasionally with one other person, rarely with more.


Is a 10x10 foot big enough? Should I go larger?

Those parabolic wing tarps with a true catenary cut have their place. That place being in high winds and open ground. But the low sides lose a lot of usable space underneath and they are not as multi-functional as a flat tarp in terms of setting up as a lean.

This wing withstood a couple days of 30-40 mph wind, with gusts to 50+. Keeping it anchored took three guylines off each end and mil-spec stakes with 100 lbs of rocks piled on top. I was impressed that the guylines held and the stitching didn’t fail, but such is the wind shedding design of a cat cut tarp.



One advantage of a wing is that they drain water at two precise low end points, which is nice both for predictably directing the roof runoff away from working areas and for collecting fresh water on desert or salt water trips. Note the bucket at one end; gallons of freshwater in minutes.



But for most uses a flat tarp has distinct advantages. No loss of headroom at the low wing ends, a variety of set up configurations (with a wing you pretty much have one choice), easier to put up solo using a center ridgeline.

Size wise a 10x10 seems small to me even for solo trips. The sil-nylon Tundra Tarps are so light and pack so small that a couple of extra feet of length is a small price to pay. In any kind of blowing rain a 10x10 doesn’t leave enough dry space for me even when solo, and dropping one side for a windbreak lean leaves even less.

I’d want a (at least) a 10x12 for solo and probably a 10x14 for a companion.

I want a tarp large enough to drop one end for wind protection and long enough to cover my hammock. This is our family-sized 10x14 Tundra Tarp, splurge carried on a solo trip. I wasn’t sorry for the extra coverage. On group trips that 10x14 is just adequate for 4 people and a kitchen area.



When I ordered our Tundra Tarp I originally asked Dan for green, thought about the dreariness of spending a rainy day under a dark tarp and quickly called back to ask for multicolored bright and cheery instead.

If you stealth camp or simply prefer earthtones maybe not so much. We have a large Riverwing tarp in green and I have had a hard time spotting it at a distance, which was occasionally discomforting when I wasn’t quite sure exactly where camp was.

 

[Canotrouge]

Personally, I like to have to tarps, but I rarely travel by my self... you can do a lot of deferent configuration with 2 tarps that is hard to do with one tarp.

 

[Guest]

you can do a lot of deferent configuration with 2 tarps that is hard to do with one tarp.

Absolutely. When space allows I bring a cheap nylon 6x8 that sees a myriad of uses. I’ll set it up as a wind break or end-cap on the main tarp, toss it over the firewood pile, lay it out on the wet or muddy ground when staging gear.

In the Tundra tarp & hammock photo you can see the edge of one wrapped abusively around a Loblolly trunk as a wind end cap. I wouldn’t degrade a pricey sil nylon tarp in those guises, but the little 6x8 coated nylon sacrificial lamb still packs small and light.

 

[yellowcanoe]

I have a 10x14 and it works fine for solo and couple trips. I never trip with a larger group. I like having the room to move around on a yuck day. I have one of Dan's 1.1oz silnylon Tundra Tarps and have had it many years.
I don't ever want to carry two tarps and have never tarped my tent.

I could never do with a smaller tarp. If any of you do the Allagash in a 10x10 you will see why. There are ridgepoles for tarps over the picnic tables and they are quite high. We tried with a 9x9 and it was like a hankie up there. now its use is a windscreen for chickees..

We decided to get a bigger tarp as it can be made smaller but to make a smaller tarp bigger needs magic.

 

[Iskweo]

Ahhhhh yes. Tarps. I like the silnylon one we got from MEC. Very handy. The best idea is once you decide on the size that you want, go the next size bigger. As YC says...you cant increase a too small one but a bit extra is no big deal. Especially if you are a haphazard tarpist like me.

Say what you want about them, but I have had an awesome collection of shredded blue poly tarps over the years.I can do stuff with my $10 Princess Auto tarp that I woiuld NEVER try with Karin's pricey silnylon one. Not and live to tell about it anyway. The best part is that if it is too small, I can buy a bigger one for next trip, cuz, well, I will have to. Then the previoius one ends up covering something at home.

 

[Guest]

I don't ever want to carry two tarps and have never tarped my tent.

Likewise, I have never tarped my tent. I kinda wished I had with a few leaky tents. . . . but never did and those days are past.

I guess I don’t see that sacrificial 6x8 as a tarp in the usual sense. It is too full of abuse holes now to be of much use as a rain cover, but I do use it for sundry other purposes.

It is handiest on family trips when we are breaking camp. I just spread it out on the ground and we toss everything to be packed onto that clean, dry surface when we are staging gear and pondering what goes in which dry bag.

OK, I do the same thing when solo. It helps me to visualize changing trim and packing efficiencies with everything in one piled place, especially as the consumables lessen in volume.

You have mentioned that you carry a piece of packcloth for sandy beach sites and to keep things from falling through chickees. That 6x8 is the same thing, just a bit larger. Auxiliary windbreak, cover for the firewood pile, staging area making or breaking camp.

heck, I (we) have huddled beneath it ashore in the hail when a sudden storm blew up while paddling. To those ends I pack it most accessibly, knowing that it is one of the first things I want when disgorging gear in camp.

Simply as a sand, clingy desert dust, mud or leaf litter barrier those couple extra ounces are worth it to keep my gear uncrusty. Once every else is set up the last thing I do is lie my self-inflating pad on that aux groundcloth, out it the sun if possible, and allow it to bulk up while I set a spell.

When the pine duff is moving with spring tick infestation I really don’t want to start off unpacking my home by setting gear down amidst the Parasitiforme masses.

 

[UPpaddler]

Thanks everybody for your input. Gave me more to think about. Yellowcanoe put it well that you can make a big tarp smaller, but not the other way around. Mike, thanks for helping me appreciate bat wing shaped tarps.

Plenty to consider..

 

[BWCA66]

I think it really ces down to personal preference although the idea that you can make a bigger one smaller but not vice versa is a good one. I prefer a 12 x 12 bat wing type for over my hammock and I usually do take 2.

 

[snapper]

Late to the party here but most of my tarps are 10'x10'. While tight, we have slept up to 4 people under it when set-up in a lean-to configuration. The only tarp I have that is larger and used with any regularity is my 10'x12' tarp that goes over my hammock. Other than that, the smaller one seems to do me well. One thing that I'm sure everyone else has figured out along the way is the lower you pitch your tarp the more area it will cover. That can make it difficult for older knees to get down and climb under but it has certainly led to more protection in evenings of high winds and rain.

That's all for now. Take care and until next time...be well.

snapper

 

[MacCamper]

And now for something completely different...or maybe not. After following a few backpacking threads I have begun to mess around with Polycro plastic, also known as window winterizing treatment. This clear product is super tough as long as the edge has a hem to it, simply folded once over the double sided tape, and is transparent. I have made several sizes ranging from a 5' x 7' for my tent "innie" to a 9' x 12' for tarp use, with a couple of sizes in between for my kitchen and wood cover if necessary. The larger tarps have an additional tape seam down the middle for added strength. Tiny plastic washers will be added for tying the necessary cordage. The product is super light weight and folds down into a very small package. My grand tarp experiment will be conducted late in May during a 9 day solo. Although I have a few other tarps, I like full light, and don't like portaging bulk and weight. Oh, and did I mention how cheap the product is if you re-use old window material? Either the live demo will be a resounding success and alter my tarp tripping or it will be a dismal flop and I will likely end up quite uncomfortable.
Mac

 

[BWCA66]

Either the live demo will be a resounding success and alter my tarp tripping or it will be a dismal flop and I will likely end up quite uncomfortable.
Mac

Please report back after your trip with some pictures too. This sounds very interesting, never thought of having a clear tarp but think I would like it.