Tarp and Net-Tent by Moshe J.

Questions and Answers

Question: "I have viewed the AT Gear Video and read about tarp set-up in Trail Life, but was surprised at how low you pitched the tarp on the video. Actually thought it would be pitched with more headroom.

Reply: The lower pitch was due to the very-early season, and the Spitfire.

The weather in the very-early season is typically cold and windy. So I pitched the tarp lower to block the wind. And because of the wind, I never had a condensation build up on the tarp's underside. Also, the colder the weather, the less condensation. So even without the wind, I could get away with a lower pitch.

In the warmer summer months I pitch the tarp higher.

How to tell? If a person experiences condensation on the underside of the tarp, that means the pitch was to low.

Now, because I was using a Spitfire, I didn't need much headroom. All I needed was enough space to accommodate the Spitfire. In fact, because of the Spitfire, my tarp did not even have lifters, as one might have noticed in the video.

Question: "Ray, Is there a difference in condensation with a tarp made of the urethane as opposed to silicon? I like the sound of the urethane being tougher but worry about condensation.? - Al H.

Reply: Condensation is the tiny beads of water that form on a humid night. This is not the real problem for a camper. Rather, the problem is the increased moisture emitted by the sleeper in a tent. This is a vapor, so it permeates one's insulating clothing and sleeping bag or quilt, and it absolutely sucks the heat out of them. Under a tarp, the vapor wafts away in the breeze, leaving the insulation dry. This is true whether it's raining or not. And whether the ground is wet or not.

Both the tent and tarp can form condensation, but it is only a tent that must be dried out during the day. The tarp works just as well, wet or dry.

However, with a tent you are pretty much stuck with the condensation. With a tarp you have a excellent option. Simply raise the tarp several inches.

In general, if your tarp is condensing, that simply means that you pitched it too low. Granted, there are situations where no matter how high, the tarp will condense; but in my experience these occasions are very rare. But under a tarp I have never had so much condensation that it drips on me. But then, I don't pitch the tarp low, unless the wind is strong.

The urethane and the silicone are pretty much the same as far as condensation is concerned. So is polyurethane sheeting and things like Gore-tex.

But again, if one's tarp is condensing, that simply means that it is pitched too low.

Someone posted this photo on the internet. The board was left out during the night, and heavy condensation formed, but only in the dark-colored areas. Under certain conditions, color makes a big difference. We have experienced the same phenomena with our Tarps. Our Cloud-White color condenses much less than the other colors. Silver-Gray is second best.

Question: "Are the kit tarps a catenary cut design?"

Reply: Some tents benefit from a cat cut, but not our tarps. With some (not all) tents, a catenary cut evens the stress and reduces wrinkles. But with our tarps, the stress is already evenly distributed due to the stretch in the nylon, which easily conforms it to the catenary curved ridge. A cat cut would offer no advantages to our tarps. It would waste materials somewhat, and would make them much more difficult for the average home-sewing person to cut out and sew. Imagine drawing a curve on a piece of nylon nine feet in length and only 1.5" of curve at its mid-point. The average person could not achieve that with any degree of success. A computer laser cutter could, but the finished results would be no stronger and no better looking.

Question: "On the tarp material, are the rip-stop lines perpendicular to the sides of the material? When I marked off 108 inches on both edges, one mark was off by few squares."

Reply: When rip-stop fabric is manufactured, the thin lines in the warp and fill are essentially perpendicular. But further processing usually distorts them. So the rip-stop lines are not to be used as guidelines. Jenny cuts the fabric at 90 degrees, or near enough. But depending on the persons sewing skills, the two panels can shift while sewing them together. So after you have sewn the ridge seam, you might find that one panel is slightly longer than the other. But even this is not a problem. Simply trim the excess.

Question: "I am wondering about using an iron on the tarp material."

Reply: The heat of a clothes iron, even at its lowest setting, would probably damage the nylon tarp fabric beyond all repair. Don't chance it. After you have used the tarp a few times, the wrinkles will relax on their own, and will be much less noticeable.

Question: "In reading the instructions, I see you request a flat-felled seam for the roof seam. My question is, if I offset the fabric 1/2 inch, won't that make one side shorter than the other?

Reply: No. According to our instructions, you offset one piece of fabric 1/2 inch, but then after sewing the first seam you fold (flat fell) the other piece 1/2 inch back. So the finished seam comes out centered.

Question: "I'm planning a December winter hike on the Long Trail in Vermont. Would your tarp kits be appropriate for this kind of winter backpacking?"

Reply: Throwing oneself into a winter trip with unfamiliar gear could get a person into trouble. I have seen it happen far too many times - with tents mostly. A winter trip can be much more rewarding, granted, but also more unforgiving. Mistakes are inevitable while learning to use unfamiliar gear - be it a tent or a tarp. So I recommend making one's mistakes in summer time, and then using the knowledge in winter.

As such, I discourage using a tarp in winter if the person has not become familiar with its use in summer. The same holds true with a tent, stove, compass navigation, and all the rest.

Another way to become familiar with the gear in winter is of course car camping. Pitch the tarp or tent near the car and enjoy a good night's rest while you let it snow. Then next time, pitch a ways further from the car, and so forth. A person might be happily surprised how fun this can be.

Question "Is there good thread available in white? I Would like to sew a second tarp in cloud white but don't like the look of black thread on white material"

Reply: We use the black Ray-Way Thread on everything because it is much stronger than other threads, and lasts much longer due to it's special treatment. It also gives the project a home-made Ray-Way look. The color contrast is minor and we seriously doubt that anyone else will notice. And we doubt that even you will notice as you pitch your tarp in a pouring rain. By our way of thinking, function always takes priority over fashion.

Question "You have storage bags for your quilts, but not for the tarp. Any suggestions?"

Reply: This is what we use to store our tarps at home. However, for carrying a tarp on the trail, we use a Ray-Way Tarp Stowbag Kit, as listed on our Order Form. NOTE: We never store anything with urethane-coated nylon (such as a Backpack or Net-Tent) in a plastic bag or even a plastic storage bin with a tight fitting lid. The urethane coating must have at least some air circulation. The silicon coating of the tarp does not need air circulation.

Ray-Way Tarp folded for storage. We have a whole pile of them, because we make a new tarp for every year's trip.

Question "Sewing one of your tarp kits, the beaks are sewn to the tarp--and it was going well up to this point--but there is simply no gap to feed the ridge pull through. That is not to say that the gap is sewn shut (I interrupted the stitches at the ridge as instructed), but that by forming the flat-felled seam that connects the beak to the tarp body, any possible gap is permanently closed by the spiral nature of the seam. In other words, how could the ridge pull be fed through a gap between the tarp body and the beak when the two are components of a flat-felled seam? I have made every effort to follow the instructions EXACTLY. Thank you."

Reply: If you were working with sheet metal, of course the ridge pull could not be fed through the flat-felled seam. But instead you are working with highly flexible nylon. So just follow the instructions without trying to reason it through. Thanks and best wishes!

Question "I purchased and sewed the net-tent to attach to my Ray-Way tarp. The instructions for sewing snatch tabs onto the tarp say "Sew a Snatch-tab to the underside of the tarp at each of the two side pulls". However, the net tent has only two side suspension lines, each coming from the center of one side. So, it does not work to attach the side suspension line to either of the two side snatch tabs of the tarp, since neither is in the center."

Reply: The side suspension lines are not meant to hook directly outward, perpendicular (except for the X-Large size which has four side suspension lines). If you look at the top right corner illustration on page 12, in our instructions, you might notice how the side suspension lines angle forward. You have a choice of connecting them forward, as shown in the illustration, or backward. I angle them toward the feet, and this helps keep the netting tight and away from my upper body.

Question "I received a tarp kit a few days ago. The silnylon appears to have ridges in it (see attached picture). Is this still waterproof and workable?"

Reply: These ridges are wrinkles from being on a roll. The fabric is still waterproof. Just ignore the wrinkles while measuring, cutting and sewing. They will disappear as you work with the fabric and use the finished tarp.

Question "Do you have a tarp that the net-tent (with floor) is sewn into, or attached to? That would lighten weight while providing more head room."

Reply: We don't agree that sewing a net-tent (with floor) to the tarp would lighten the weight. It would eliminate the roof of the net-tent, but increase the hight of it's walls and headwalls. It would also add two long seams on the tarp that would have to be seam-sealed. It would require the tarp to be pitched at the same height, every time. And when wet, the combined shelter would be much harder to dry.

More Info

Proper Measuring

A problem sometimes made during the construction of our tarp kit, is to lay out the material as it comes in the kit, measure the tarp panels, cut them out, and only then discover that the remaining material is too short for the beaks, by a few inches. The discrepancy is caused by not properly laying out the material flat when measuring. Woops!

This tarp can still be sewn together, and it will be just as serviceable despite the shorter beaks. This is because the stress runs through the tarp panels, rather than the beaks.

A better solution is to avoid the problem to begin with, by laying out the raw fabric as it comes from the kit, then measuring the tarp panels AND the beaks, before cutting anything.

Along the same lines, when starting our net-tent kit, lay out the netting as it comes from the kit, then measure and mark all the pieces before cutting any of them.

Sewing the flat-felled seam

The flat-felled seam comprises two rows of stitching, and these are easily sewn, even with lightweight fabric. However, if the sewing machine's thread tensions are out of adjustment, the seam can be a challenge. The material may seem too slippery or too stubborn. But the real problem is that the sewing machine's thread tensions, top and bottom, are not balanced. If one thread pulls tighter than the other, then this will distort the fabric and produce frustration and unattractive results.

Before sewing your actual project, we suggest you adjust the machine for even top and bottom thread tensions, while practicing on a few silicone nylon scraps. Examine these practice pieces to ensure that the stitching looks identical on both sides. If not, refer to our directions in our Sewing Tips for adjusting the machine. If you cannot achieve a balanced stitch, you might consider taking the machine to a sewing machine repair shop and ask them to try making the adjustments. Some machines, usually the cheaper ones, cannot be adjusted properly. You can often force them to do the job, but the results may be less than satisfactory. For a professional finish with no frustration and very little effort, make sure the thread tensions are balanced.

How to feed the micro-cordlocks

The micro-cordlocks we supply for the stow bags are very small. Here is how to feed the white cord through them:

Insert one end of the cord into the cord lock and pull it through. Melt the tip of the other end of the cord with the flame of a lighter, and quickly draw it through a rag to produce a sharp point. Insert this sharpened point into the cord lock and work it through, pulling the first end along with it. If this second end won't go, that means its point is not sharp enough. So re-melt and re-sharpen. If the point is sharp enough, it will go right through.

Camping under the stars.

Dyneema

Dyneema (formerly called Cuben Fiber) vs Ray-Way Silicone Nylon tarp fabric

This was not a pull test, but a tear test. The sticks were rectangular with square (not sharp) edges; and I positioned the fabric on one edge.

The Use of Other Fabrics

Using Other Fabrics with our Ray-way Tarp Design

When I wrote the Tarp Book Essential, I didn't think to include this statement.

The design of the Ray-Way Tarp, plans, and instructions are not the most import part. Far from it. The most import part - by far - is our tarp material.

Our Ray-Way tarp fabric is the only tarp fabric on the planet that is guaranteed to be mist-through proof. I consider this vital for safe and comfortable camping.

We treat our tarp fabric with a special, proprietary process, and this takes us a lot of work, and causes us a great deal more expense.

We are very concerned for the camping safety and comfort of ourselves and our customers, and that is why we do not authorize the use of our Tarp Design with other, non-Ray-Way tarp fabrics.

When you order a Ray-Way Tarp Kit from us, rest assured that you are getting the best setup possible, at the best deal.

first

previous

next

last