Heads up. Integral Design (RAB) SilTarp half price.

[BigMonster]

Excellent bit of kit. I got mine from them and the service was excellent.

http://www.needlesports.com/Catalog...vi-Tents/Siltarp-3-Olive-ITD-ST3#.U_EWlUA4XVg

 

[bopdude]

Great find, thanks.

 

[Wayland]

Thanks for that.

I've been after something like that for a while.

 

[BigMonster]

That's what I'm using now and it's superb. Very durable and well made.
Also grab a tube of silnet seam sealant (cotswold) and a drybag from alpkit to stuff it in to (silnylon is almost impossible to fold).

 

[Wayland]

I've got a few small dry bags already that should be right for the job.

I'll probably mod the guys a bit and seal it when it comes too.

 

[rorymax]

That's what I'm using now and it's superb. Very durable and well made.
Also grab a tube of silnet seam sealant (cotswold) and a drybag from alpkit to stuff it in to (silnylon is almost impossible to fold).

Hi BigMonster,

Excuse the newbie query please, why is silnylon is so difficult to fold, does it mean that after you buy a silnylon tarp then it is most practical to just stuff it into a bag?

If it was simlpy crumpled up and stuffed in a bag, would it be detrimental to the longevity and performance of the silnylon fabric?

I'm just interested to know.

Thanks,

rorymax

 

[BigMonster]

Happy to answer.
Silnylon is a ripstop nylon fabric impregnated with silicone. Which makes it VERY slippery. You can fold it if you have a lot of patience, time and a big flat floor to work with. And even then you are going to use books and your knees to hold the folds in place.
Stuffing is actually better option for fabrics. On thin durable materials it would take a lot of time to form creases and wear marks, but grab something like a cheap £6 tarp from ebay and you will have "corner holes" after only few uses. Same with sleeping bags, because the insulation is thick, if you fold it the radius of the fold can actually tear it inside and you can endup with partitioned sleeping bag with cold spots.

It's more convenient and safer to stuff the silnylon tarp in the bag. Especially when it's wet. It would take a little mor espace but a soft ball actually fits better in your rucksack.
I used to have siltarp 1 (1.4m x 2.4m) in my edc bag as a emergency backup, and it was easy to fold once so it stayed folded for months. But this 3m x 3.6m take good 20 minutes and a lot of sweat to fold neatly.

Longevity wise it's in the same box as the rest of the man made fabrics. It will last years of normal use. The only enemy silnylon have is UV light but again, nothing to worry about in real world. Maybe if you leave it in your garden for a full sunny year it migh start breaking down...

 

[rorymax]

Happy to answer.

Thank you BM, appreciate you taking the time to explain.


rorymax

 

[minds_eye]

Ta. Been after a decent sized lightweight tarp. Out of interest what size Alpkit bag is a good size?

 

[BigMonster]

4L bag is all you need for this tarp and all the ropes.

If anyone missed it just keep an eye on this link, they have couple of those tarps every now and then (2-3 months).

 

[minds_eye]

Many thanks.

 

[racer66]

Sil1 tarps back in stock

 

[Dougster]

...and gone again....

 

[BigMonster]

...and gone again....

No no he meant siltarp ! which is the smallest in the family.
http://www.needlesports.com/Catalogue/Camping-Equipment/Bivi/Bivi-Tents

 

[Paul_B]

Hi BigMonster,

Excuse the newbie query please, why is silnylon is so difficult to fold, does it mean that after you buy a silnylon tarp then it is most practical to just stuff it into a bag?

If it was simlpy crumpled up and stuffed in a bag, would it be detrimental to the longevity and performance of the silnylon fabric?

I'm just interested to know.

Thanks,

rorymax

It is very slippery but I always fold mine even in strong winds. It's a preference of mine to do a rough fold up and it is not really that hard to do, even in windy conditions.The trick is to not lay it flat but hold it with your back to the wind and make sure you put corner to corner each fold and shake out.

The theory behind stuffing not folding with treated fabrics is that over time the uniform folding creates creases/folds at the same location. This in time will cause coatings or lamination to detach or delaminate. The truth is you'd have to be very meticulous to fold a sil-nylon in the same place each time so the likelihood of you causing degradation from folding is slim and no more than stuffing. TBH I think this stuffing over folding really only came about with earlier laminated fabrics in clothing but I could be wrong. Sil-nylon is more of an impregnation I think anyway so not really a layer on the outer in the same way. Also you will get tarps folded when new. They have been folded and packed for some time and you can see the folds in the fabric/silicone. If it comes new like this it really can not be harmful or you'd expect returns from customers to prevent them folding the tarp.

Stuffing sleeping bags, especially down, is essential. This is purely due to the thin fabric used in box walls or baffles within the bag to hold the down fill in the right area. this fabric is very easy to damage allowing down migration. Stuffing it rather than folding and rolling has been determined as the safest way to prolong these baffles/box wall fabrics. Folding can also affect synthetic fill so stuffin sleeping bags all round good idea but tarps are whatever works for you.

If you are looking at goretex or other laminated fabrics I would also watch how your fold. Try not to fold always in the same place, if indeed you can actually do that.

 

[Quixoticgeek]

Just ordered a siltarp 1. I think I may have a slight issue with Obsessive compulsive tarp collecting disorder...

Julia