Just a quick note on the RM Aussie Hootchie in case anyone's thinking of buying one.
I've been using tarps for a few years now in various guises but have never really felt happy with any of the four that I've collected. For the last couple of years I've been using a standard Hennessy Diamond in the summer and a Hennessey Hex when it looked like heavy rain or I was needing a two man setup. However both had limitations. The standard was a bit small if you got caught out in some bad weather and the Hex was better suited to Kite-boarding if the wind got up!
Anyway I decided to get rid of the Hex and get something I was happy to use all year round. I'm a lightweight backpacker so I was aware that there are some incredibly lightweight/expensive tarps out there but I also needed to consider durability when not backpacking.
I did the usual research on this forum and elsewhere for reviews and opinions and almost plumped for a lightweight Silnylon model but decided that the 1.45m width was just a little too small. Looking at the RM Aussie Hootchie I decided that the size was about right and that the weight still wasn't too bad considering the increased durability - no surprise there then as the Hootchie has been praised by many! However like many others I initially balked at the price of £60!
More research on opinions and cheaper options showed that there are plenty of alternative 'Hootchies' out there but many differ slightly either in construction or size. How could I be sure I was getting a good quality one and not simply a cheaper less robust copy? Eventually I decided to stump up the £60 on buying Rays Hootchie. I guess the final decision was based on the premise that Ray surely wouldn't use/sell anything that didn't come up to the mark, so even if I was paying over the odds I could be assured of the quality and wouldn't be dissapointed once I'd forgotten the price!. In went the order...
Two days later it arrived and on unpacking the tarp I realised the reasoning had been sound. The quality was superb. All corners are reinforced with a heavy duty material similar to that found on waterproof boat covers (not sure what it's called). The stitching and seam proofing were also of a very high quality. And theres a Company logo stamped with a 'Made in Australia' text.
Corner details showing reinforcement patch on under side.
Corner details - topside
Label details
Last Saturday I took a long walk in heavy rain and cold winds to a wood to give it a go overnight. I'd already used it at lunch to get out of the rain and arrived just before dark. All lines were pre-rigged so once I'd found a suitable site it was quick to put up. I was in a thinnish birch wood so wind was still penetrating from the NW. I pitched one side lower to shed some of this and got into the s'bag before cooking up.
During the night it rained half a dozen times sometimes quite heavy. Initially I woke to check that all gear was well away from the tarp side as I could hear some good runoff'!. This was a habit developed from using a smallish tarp. No problem though, the size gave me enough room for comfort without the worries of anchoring a large tarp if the wind got worse.
All in all I'm very pleased with the decision and although there will always be others that will find what they consider to be better value for money, I believe that the old adage 'You get what you pay for' to be true. No I haven't seen all the other X and Y tarps and this is a personal opinion but I would happy to recommend Rays tarp to anyone that wants to be assured of a quality product.
As always - I have no self interest here - just offerring an opinion.
I've been using tarps for a few years now in various guises but have never really felt happy with any of the four that I've collected. For the last couple of years I've been using a standard Hennessy Diamond in the summer and a Hennessey Hex when it looked like heavy rain or I was needing a two man setup. However both had limitations. The standard was a bit small if you got caught out in some bad weather and the Hex was better suited to Kite-boarding if the wind got up!
Anyway I decided to get rid of the Hex and get something I was happy to use all year round. I'm a lightweight backpacker so I was aware that there are some incredibly lightweight/expensive tarps out there but I also needed to consider durability when not backpacking.
I did the usual research on this forum and elsewhere for reviews and opinions and almost plumped for a lightweight Silnylon model but decided that the 1.45m width was just a little too small. Looking at the RM Aussie Hootchie I decided that the size was about right and that the weight still wasn't too bad considering the increased durability - no surprise there then as the Hootchie has been praised by many! However like many others I initially balked at the price of £60!
More research on opinions and cheaper options showed that there are plenty of alternative 'Hootchies' out there but many differ slightly either in construction or size. How could I be sure I was getting a good quality one and not simply a cheaper less robust copy? Eventually I decided to stump up the £60 on buying Rays Hootchie. I guess the final decision was based on the premise that Ray surely wouldn't use/sell anything that didn't come up to the mark, so even if I was paying over the odds I could be assured of the quality and wouldn't be dissapointed once I'd forgotten the price!. In went the order...
Two days later it arrived and on unpacking the tarp I realised the reasoning had been sound. The quality was superb. All corners are reinforced with a heavy duty material similar to that found on waterproof boat covers (not sure what it's called). The stitching and seam proofing were also of a very high quality. And theres a Company logo stamped with a 'Made in Australia' text.
Corner details showing reinforcement patch on under side.
Corner details - topside
Label details
Last Saturday I took a long walk in heavy rain and cold winds to a wood to give it a go overnight. I'd already used it at lunch to get out of the rain and arrived just before dark. All lines were pre-rigged so once I'd found a suitable site it was quick to put up. I was in a thinnish birch wood so wind was still penetrating from the NW. I pitched one side lower to shed some of this and got into the s'bag before cooking up.
During the night it rained half a dozen times sometimes quite heavy. Initially I woke to check that all gear was well away from the tarp side as I could hear some good runoff'!. This was a habit developed from using a smallish tarp. No problem though, the size gave me enough room for comfort without the worries of anchoring a large tarp if the wind got worse.
All in all I'm very pleased with the decision and although there will always be others that will find what they consider to be better value for money, I believe that the old adage 'You get what you pay for' to be true. No I haven't seen all the other X and Y tarps and this is a personal opinion but I would happy to recommend Rays tarp to anyone that wants to be assured of a quality product.
As always - I have no self interest here - just offerring an opinion.
