Tarp performance in very heavy rain?

[coln18]

I have about 4 different tarps, and without doubt the best quality by a country mile is the True North tarp, its constructed in a bomb proof manner, and the minute you pull it out of its cover, you stand back and can really see the quality shine through... If i had the money and had to buy one tarp it would easily be this one...

As usual not connected to my uncle Jed, hes my mate, sorry i meant brother, ok i confess hes my mother!

just a happy customer

Colin

 

[gsfgaz]

I have about 4 different tarps, and without doubt the best quality by a country mile is the True North tarp, its constructed in a bomb proof manner, and the minute you pull it out of its cover, you stand back and can really see the quality shine through... If i had the money and had to buy one tarp it would easily be this one...

As usual not connected to my uncle Jed, hes my mate, sorry i meant brother, ok i confess hes my mother!

just a happy customer

Colin

Awrite Colin, u could have a tarp boot sale ...

 

[leon-1]

I have been in Kenya when it rains and like Brunei and Cyprus when it comes down it comes down in sheets that turn everything grey, it thunders on the ground and mutes all other noise apart from that in the very immediate vicinity.

It can be followed by almost immediate heat and sunshine that turns the area around your ankles to a steaming mass and it can become oppressive to breath. Later it becomes exceptionally clear and all colours become deeper and more wholesome.

I would be tempted to double tarp with most tarps.

The angle at which you set the tarp up at will have an effect on whether the larger more powerful droplets penetrate the hydrostatic head of the tarp that you are using and that's when a secondary shelter sheet will be of use.

Keep the outer tarp nice and taught and not too flat it needs to be like a roof. If it's too flat it will reduce it's effectiveness providing an anvil for the 90 degree hammer blow of the rains, meaning that the weave of the material and the coating will have to endure more than just a glancing blow that it can shed / deflect easier.

More guy points will reduce stress so in high winds you don't have just the four trying to act against the wind (many hands make light work principle).

You may also find when using a single tarp that a good mosi net will keep any "mist" that has made it's way through the tarp off you, but it may mean you getting slightly damp through capilliary action.

What John mentioned earlier sounded like a creating a micro-climate with the outer keeping the majority of the elements at bay and creating a barrier with an airspace between you and that outer using the inner shelter sheet. This is how I would look at it. It was well brought out.

 

[Scots_Charles_River]

What do the locals do in the rainy season, get wet ?

I would suggest an ex-army bivvy bag to sleep in under the tarps but in the hammock as a saftey bet.

Nick

 

[Omegarod]

What do the locals do in the rainy season, get wet ?
Nick

Yup.

They do have a rainy season, and sometimes a few months without any rain at all, but despite visiting there at various times of the year and twelve times in total over the last few years, it has always rained! Actually, the locals joke about it and consider that I am a "rain bringer", because they have been told that it always rains in England. I always get some kudos for bringing rain. Rain to them is a God sent blessing, which far outweighs any discomfort. It makes their meagre crops grow.

The traditional local house has a grass thatch roof. But that needs replacing every three or four years as it develops leaks.

Below is the same house under construction.

It is made from vertical sticks in the ground, intwerwoven with a few small sticks, and then stuffed with mud and grass to form a wall. After two or three years the rain wears away the mud, as in the example below. (These houses really last a maximum of seven years, because the termites destroy the wooden frame anyway. The ones below have the luxury of a corrugated iron roof. Those are NOISY when it rains. Impossible to sleep, and impossible to hear someone talk standing right next to you!

I have even thought of asking the locals to build me one of those houses with a thatched roof. Its probably better than a tarp.

Rod

 

[DavidJT]

I know from bitter experience that paracute canopy won't stand up to a heavy down pour, just sort of seives it.
Sounds like a double tarp set up is the way to go. If wieght is problem could
you have one huge tarp, and a standard sized one pitched underneath as asort
of inner sanctum. Just a thought, not sure if it would work.