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one more tarp question

1871 Views 7 Replies 5 Participants Last post by  Atomicrider
In the past we have used a friends homemade tarp that had nylon webbing (strap material) sewn into the tarp along the longest axis. With a cam buckle on either end. When setting up the tarp you could create a tremendous amount of tension, more tension then the tarp could take alone. This made for a very durable pitch.

I would like to modify an existing Wing to this set-up

I would prefer that it all be one "piece," rather than rigging the webbing separately then draping the tarp over it.

I'm leaning towards sewing the webbing on the underside with spray on silicon to seal the stitching?

Other pitfalls I haven't thought of?

Anybody else done this?
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If this reinforcement is being sewn through the center I would want it on the underside. If it were to double as a ridge cord it would be less likely to tear away and also damage the tarp.

If the reinforcement were sewn along a higher pitch the potential for leaking is non existent. If the stitching goes through a low point, then leakage is a concern and the waterproofing a must.

The webbing doesn't need to be webbing. It could be a tape, (light webbing if you will), and still provide more than adequate strength.
The ultra light backpacking/hammock crowd has a number of custom tarp makers. Check hammockforums.net for custom makers- their sites can give you a lot of info.

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The ultra light backpacking/hammock crowd has a number of custom tarp makers. Check hammockforums.net for custom makers- their sites can give you a lot of info.

Sent from my SM-N900V using Mountain Buzz mobile app
+1 on this. I got my tarp from Wilderness Logics.
I modified a NRS tarp with steel rings and cam buckles on all of the corners a few years ago which helped it a bunch, so it is definitely worth the effort to modify the tarp. Depending on the tarp that you are modifying, sewing webbing down the spine of the tarp may have some adverse effects to how the tarp looks when set up, what I mean is that a lot of wing style tarps use the stretch of the fabric to have it fly properly and webbing would hinder that and the whole tarp may be baggy when pitched. I have some pictures of some tarps at dragonflytarps.com with the set up that illustrates the flex of the fabric.
It's an NRS

There is webbing sewn into the exterior hem. Negligible stretch.

The rest of the nylon material has a far amount of stretch.

I modified a NRS tarp with steel rings and cam buckles on all of the corners a few years ago which helped it a bunch
The NRS tarp stands up to the forces you can create with cam buckles?
Yes, it has held up well, but we got rid of the stock poles(bent the first time out) and the rings we used fit over oar handles, or we use army surplus tent poles when not on the river (the ends fit into the rings as well).


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