Smallest tarp for hammocking?

[bailout]

I have never used a hammock but the idea is appealing. I was wondering what is the smallest size of tarp that would still give protection? Would one of the military ponchos be big enough?

I was thinking of possibly getting a lightweight hammock to use when cycle touring in addition to a small tent. I have also been looking at the ponchos to use as a bike cover and 'bag' for transport and wondered if it would be big enough to use as a tarp for a hammock.

Looking at the Hennessy site, the tarp for the Expedition Asym classic is 87" x 58" which is very close to this poncho at 84" x 56"
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Waterproof-...sr_1_1?s=sports&ie=UTF8&qid=1298499879&sr=1-1

I suppose the tarp would have to be hung very close to the hammock but I am thinking for occasional use rather than a super comfortable setup. Also the hammock would have to be chosen to be not too long.

Anyone done this?

 

[PDA1]

The Hennessy tarp measurements are confusing, as they are assymetrical. The expedition tarp is quite a bit bigger than your figures suggest. The Expedition Hammock has a cloth length of 120" and a ridgeline of 100" the tarp ridgeline is 130" i.e. 15" overhang at each end to give adequate rain protection. You poncho diagonal length (which would be the ridgeline when used as a tarp) would be 100" so would have no overhang. It would not be practical to have a hammock length shorter than 120". It would be too cramped for anyone between, say, 5'6" and 6' . Thje Hennessey "Scout" intended for young teens is also 120" long with a 100" ridgeline. You could use the poncho, but the ends of your hammock will almost certainly get wet - not a good idea. Hennessey (in the US) offer a poncho to have the duel use a poncho and tarp. Its dimensions are 110" x 70" to give a ridgeline of 130". There are pictures of it on the Hennessey web www.hennessyhammock.com . For accurate Hennessey measurements look at http://hennessyhammock.com/comparisonchart.html

 

[DS1150]

You want your tarp to be longer than you hammock by, some people say 6" each end, others want more. You need to be certain that if it rains then the hammock body itself won't get wet. I've got an old UK army poncho and it's too small to have with either my DD hammock or my Nomads Land hammock used in a rectangular style. The rectangle shape doesn't lend itself well to an asymmetrical set up that well. I have a 3x2.5m tarp which is fine for the DD but is pushing it for the Nomads as it has a longer ridgeline.

For a rectangular tarp hung in the same style I'd say a 3m long is the minimum length. If you had a square tarp and hung it in a diamond shape i guess you could get by with a 2.5m.

The DD tarps are great. The 3x3 is very popular but I prefer the 3x4.5m: it's huge and great to make shelters with, but getting away from the topic of your post.

 

[Highbinder]

I considered a surplus poncho. IIRC on the diagonal most were around 2.8 meters, which matched the ridgeline length of my hammock at the time (worked out as 83% of the length of the total hammock). I gave the idea a miss, I live in Scotland after all. My original intent was to save some weight and pack space but the surplus (well, all military gear) is pretty heavy so there wasn't much saving over my DD 3x3m tarp! Not worth the sacrifice in coverage anyway!

Since then I've looked at a lot of options. I really like the lightweight poncho tarps, so may get one for summer weather. But I'll have to crunch numbers seeing as my current hammock is bigger by another 1/2 meter so I really doubt it'd fit underneath... I really do like the idea tho', it'd mean I could carry a poncho (300g) that'd replace my tarp, smock, waterproof trousers (over 1.5kg) which'd be perfect for when mild weather is forecast!

If you're goal is to save weight/space, your first consideration should be the lightweight materials out there. They're expensive but seriously impressive stats. In price it goes SilNylon > SpinnUL > Cuben fiber. I would love a CF tarp but it's well out of budget. My next purchase will be to change out my current tarp and I think I'll be going with a Spinn number from OES

 

[Teepee]

For me, using a poncho as a tarp didn't work well. If it was raining, I needed to wear the poncho to keep dry, leaving me unable to hang the hammock. Once the poncho was up, I couldn't leave the hammock in the rain, so I would need a seperate waterproof. The poncho was never quite big enough either for my DD travel hammock, windblown rain made for a poor nights sleep. Ponchos work muck better as a tarp on the ground than as a hammock tarp.

As HB said, If you want to reduce weight, then a light tarp is the best way to go. Cuben tarps are the ultimate but not cheap. Check out Team IO, they make custom tarps out of Cuben. OES tarps are great too.

 

[Exploriment]

Don’t skimp on the size of your tarp.

 

[Tilia]

if you can find a 2.5x2.5 and you use it diagonal it wil be 3.5m enough for a hammock
minimum imo is 2.2x2.2 but is not a standard tarp