Won a tarp from the Spirit of the campfire auction on BCUK which was kindly donated by andywink of these parts. Got it last week and only managed to get round to unwrapping it on Saturday!! Anyways, here it is straight out the bag and onto the (soon to be freshly mowed by Mrs C) lawn.
Left to right;
Here it is again showing 4 ridge loops, 2 on the edges and 2 on the seams.
I usually put the tarps up between my deck and the Rowan tree we have growing against the wall but this guy was too big, waayy too big, so had to go between the Rowan tree in my garden and the Rowan tree in the neighbours garden (via the whirly gig)
One thing I did like about this tarp was the sheer quality of the material, it was very nice heavyweight coated 4oz nylon, has a really great feel to it. It's more like the older DD tarp than the new one. Apologies for the comparison but it may be a frame of reference for some people. DD tarp info here This is not a lightweight tarp by any stretch but at this size I doubt a lightweight tarp would survive long. I liked the 'weightiness' of it a lot.
Stiching and webbing is great too, here's the corner detail, front;
and rear to show the reinforcing;
could it do with more reinforcing?? Not sure but after giving it a real good tug (as in ouch that para cord hurts type tug,) nothing, I suspect it'll be just fine!!
Edge stitching and webbing, front;
and rear, note the seam taping;
and finally the ridge loops;
nice.......
I was looking for one of these for a group shelter for canoeing/car camping so obviously weight is fine for that, as is the larger size of the BA tarp over a 3x3. After a wee bit of tarpology, I put this up, there was even enough material for a ground sheet although normally I think I would fold this back so as not put anything on it so 4.5x3 would have been an OK size for this. The poles are 58" (147cm) and the paddles are 155cm/160cm for scale.
and this is it all packed away;
What could be better? Well a couple of minor things, all of which may add to the cost;
In summary, a top quality piece of kit, material quality is ace, stitching, seam sealing etc looks great too. A Scottish summer will give it a proper roadtest but it's a cracking bit of kit for those in need of a BA Tarp!
Cheers,
Alan
Left to right;
- pair of poles from this thread
- Old fishermans bivvy or tent bag I wombled at Loch Chon, it was ripped in a couple of places but a wee bit of darning and it's serviceable again and a great fit for this tarp
- The BA (Big A***) Tarp
- A DD 3x3 lightweight tarp
Here it is again showing 4 ridge loops, 2 on the edges and 2 on the seams.
I usually put the tarps up between my deck and the Rowan tree we have growing against the wall but this guy was too big, waayy too big, so had to go between the Rowan tree in my garden and the Rowan tree in the neighbours garden (via the whirly gig)
One thing I did like about this tarp was the sheer quality of the material, it was very nice heavyweight coated 4oz nylon, has a really great feel to it. It's more like the older DD tarp than the new one. Apologies for the comparison but it may be a frame of reference for some people. DD tarp info here This is not a lightweight tarp by any stretch but at this size I doubt a lightweight tarp would survive long. I liked the 'weightiness' of it a lot.
Stiching and webbing is great too, here's the corner detail, front;
and rear to show the reinforcing;
could it do with more reinforcing?? Not sure but after giving it a real good tug (as in ouch that para cord hurts type tug,) nothing, I suspect it'll be just fine!!
Edge stitching and webbing, front;
and rear, note the seam taping;
and finally the ridge loops;
nice.......
I was looking for one of these for a group shelter for canoeing/car camping so obviously weight is fine for that, as is the larger size of the BA tarp over a 3x3. After a wee bit of tarpology, I put this up, there was even enough material for a ground sheet although normally I think I would fold this back so as not put anything on it so 4.5x3 would have been an OK size for this. The poles are 58" (147cm) and the paddles are 155cm/160cm for scale.
and this is it all packed away;
What could be better? Well a couple of minor things, all of which may add to the cost;
- Maybe some more reinforcement on the webbing attachment points, they are probably OK as they are, but I'm a fan of overengineering!
- Some more attachment points and loops would be good too for flexibility when tarpologizing, maybe 2 pairs on the seams halfway between the ridge and the edge and another 2 pairs along the short edges midway between the ridgeloop and the corners? These would let you make a deeper space inside the shelter as you could peg it down two thirds of the way back rather than half (if that makes sense...)
- A stuff sack, just to keep it tidy, it's quite slippy material so you need to cinch it up tight to keep it in a roll. This wouldn't cost much and it'd be a big help but it'd need to be big enough to take a ridge line, some guys and pegs and my cackhanded tarp rolling!!
In summary, a top quality piece of kit, material quality is ace, stitching, seam sealing etc looks great too. A Scottish summer will give it a proper roadtest but it's a cracking bit of kit for those in need of a BA Tarp!
Cheers,
Alan
