I've been talking to someone over the last couple of days who may have the ability to produce one off tarps ... I love tarps but sometimes they do have limitations.
I've got my own ideas about what the limitations are but I'd like to know what anyone else thinks ... Stuff like tarps not offering any protection from midges, etc. So what would your ideal tarp be like, I'm thinking more about design rather than materials at the moment.
The more you add to a tarp the closer it becomes to being a tent. The limitations of tarps are just something for us to consider in the context of the intended use or anticipated conditions. As Thom says, you need several and pick according to your trip. The occasions where I've got wet under a tarp didn't make me think tarps are rubbish, just i didn't have the right one for the conditions.
I've no problem with bluring the line between tarp and tent ... it's not done Henry Shires any harm
The main potential problems with tarps in my mind are:
No protection from midges.
Having to deal with soddon ground.
The easy solution to those problems would be to use a tent but then there's often weight and complexity issues involved if you go that route. In my mind I'm thinking something along the lines of this.
But not quite so expensive, I know there's a few issues with the one above which I'm sure would be quite easily resolved.
