Tarp for very rainy hunts.

[Justin Rhoads]

I am looking for a tarp to pitch over a one man tent for really rainy conditions as an extra layer of protection while hunting in AK. I want something light, and I don't mind paying for quality but I would like the most reasonable thing that works well doesnt leak. Any of you guys have something you recommend in the $150-200 price range? Insight on different materials (cuben fiber) etc. would be appreciated as well.

 

[AK Troutbum]

Personally, I don't think it's needed. Just invest in a good, solid, bombproof shelter and you should be good to go. If you can't trust the shelter you have in really rainy conditions, buy one that you can trust. There are plenty of manufacturers out there, making both floor and floorless shelters that you can trust to work. Just mine .02

 

[Justin Rhoads]

Personally, I don't think it's needed. Just invest in a good, solid, bombproof shelter and you should be good to go. If you can't trust the shelter you have in really rainy conditions, buy one that you can trust. There are plenty of manufacturers out there, making both floor and floorless shelters that you can trust to work. Just mine .02

I see you are from AK. What do you personally use?

 

[Ryan R]

I always carry a siltarp 1 in my pack and it has come in handy on rainy days (other uses too), but it's never over my tent. A good tent should hold up to hard rain. You could put some extra seam sealer on it if you're concerned.

 

[COlineman78]

I have a Terra Nova Competition Tarp 2 for setting up for cooking/hanging out under and keeping firewood dry when backpacking. It is great quality for the price. $60-70 for an 8x9ft 1lb3oz tarp aint bad.

 

[MTarrowflinger]

Z-Packs cuben fiber with doors. Weighs ~8oz, I believe. You can find some really lightweight mounting options, too. I don't use it over a tent, but it's nice to have, even in a daypack as an emergency shelter or around camp as a place to hang out or store gear.

 

[Justin Rhoads]

Thanks for all the info guys, I really like the reviews of the cuben fiber stuff, I think I am going to go in that direction. Appreciate the help!

 

[kodiakfly]

Unless it's a float trip base camp, I don't hang anything over a tent. Get a tent you can trust and that you can spend time in if need-be. On a float trip, it's nice to have a tarp hanging to stand under, prepare large meals and just sit in a chair and rest your back in a drizzle or even rain. But on a pack hunt, if the weather is bad enough to need to hunker down in, it's not like you're going to sit out in a chair and chill out all day...you'll be in your tent bracing for impact. A good tent will keep you dry and comfy and no need for a tarp.

 

[budman5]

Justin
When you start talkin' cuben I think you have enough money for a real AK shelter.
I use the Ti Goat 8 man tipi, I tried lots of shelters, but nothing beats being able to just stride into your tipi . You can also invite 5-6 people that only have a tent to huddle in. It weights 6 pounds...and all you have to add is a personal bug net and some tyvek for your sleep spot.
Sleeps 4 men comfortably with gear. Forget the liner and bug net doors you don't need them.

 

[Where's Bruce?]

I use a Mega Ogee tarp for my hammock. Check out all the configuration options you have!

[video=youtube;lG_S4adI22o]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lG_S4adI22o[/video]

Mine's black.









Make sure you pitch whatever tarp you use high enough to allow ventilation or condensation within your tent will be extreme.

 

[arthurvino]

Mld for tarps or zpacks and hillebrand for tents

 

[Justin Crossley]

I agree with the guys telling you to get a tent you can trust 100%.

For a tarp to use in an emergency, or for covering gear, I would go with a Zpacks cuben tarp. I have been using one of their cuben shelters (Hexamid Solo plus) for a few years now, and it's still perfect. I've had it in some really nasty storms and I can't believe how well it works.

 

[mtnclimber]

If your stuck in your tent for multiple days during extreme storming rain, its going to be the condensation that will kill you not the waterproofness of your tent, if your using a quality tent such as hilleberg.

What areas of alaska will you be hunting and what time of year?

 

[COlineman78]

I also agree with those that say that you should be able to trust your tent by itself. If that's your only concern save your money and go with a tipi or Hilleberg if you're really worried. As far as Cuben goes, I've never used it mainly cause the cost benefit isn't there for me. There are cheaper ways to drop a half pound. Trying to compare apples to apples: MLD offers the same 8x10 tarp in both sil and cuben. 10oz-$390 vs 19oz-$255 so that's $15/oz. But as I said earlier my tarp is roughly the same size and can be had for less than $70, so that becomes $35/oz.

 

[AK Troutbum]

I see you are from AK. What do you personally use?

For me it really depends on the type of trip I'm doing and the conditions I expect to encounter. Generally speaking, if I'm doing a float or a drop camp hunt, I take a fair amount of gear, to be comfortable and have a big enough area to move around in that keeps me out of the weather/rain. I've used a 6 person Alaska Guide Dome tent and different types of tarp configurations, usually freestanding, for these types of hunts most often. If I'm drop camp hunting Kodiak, where I'm expecting good possibility of very big storms with lots of rain and wind, I'll use a large Arctic Oven with a stove for our sleep tent, and tipi's w/stoves for our cook tents and just general hanging out in tents.

For all my backpack style hunting I'll usually set up a base camp, wherever I get dropped off at, with a tipi/stove configuration, then use one of a couple different cuben fiber floorless shelters that I have for my spike camping.

If I'm doing a mountain hunt and flying in with something small, like a super cub where weight is an issue, I'll usually just take a CF shelter and, a four season mountaineering tent weighing between 8 to 11 lbs. (depending on the tent I take) and I'll leave that at the drop off point and only use in case of an emergency.
I've never considered taking any kind of a tarp for the sole purpose of covering my tent for added protection.

 

[GFY]

I carry a silnylon tarp with me for waiting out storms and such, also have used it to bivy under. Nothing fancy and now cat cuts but I have about $48 into it with shipping on the material. it is approx. 9 x 12 and weighs less than a pound. Its always in my pack.

 

[Ray]

I spent the first week of my moose hunt this year in very rainy conditions. My SL5 was fine, but it did trap a lot of condensation as the ground was soaked for a few weeks before I arrived. I wiped down the inside walls with a blue sham-wow every day to keep it from raining on me when I went to bed for the night. I collected just over a cup of moisture off the walls every day with the sham-wow. For the second week of the hunt I did hang a tarp above the SL5 to moderate the noise of the rain drops falling off the spruce trees and knocking the condensation onto me while I slept.

So, if your tent is a quality piece of gear with sealed seams, it will be fine up here. If you are going floorless make sure you have a pack towel of some sort to wipe down the condensation when set up over soaked ground. Still bring a tarp as you will need that to cover your meat pile.

 

[BroodBuster]

I always carry a siltarp 1 in my pack and it has come in handy on rainy days (other uses too), but it's never over my tent. A good tent should hold up to hard rain. You could put some extra seam sealer on it if you're concerned.

+1. I don't leave home without my siltarp 1.

But I've never used it over my tent.

 

[AK Troutbum]

Another precaution I take with all my syl tents is seam sealing both sides of the seams. This is probably overkill but, I've always done it and I can't remember ever having a seam leak.

 

[Ray]

Another precaution I take with all my syl tents is seam sealing both sides of the seams. This is probably overkill but, I've always done it and I can't remember ever having a seam leak.

I will have to seal the exterior of my SL5 this winter. I noticed that there are a few short sections of the seams that had water between the seam tape and the seam, pushing out to about an 1/8" from the edge of the seam tape in two half foot long sections. Another good soaking and that tape is going to fail. 4 ounces of prevention, in a tube....