A while ago I made myself a copy/clone of a Thunderfly/Badlander style hammock tarp - viewtopic.php?f=13&t=22668 but hadn't actually used it - the seemingly never ending gales around us through winter putting me off.

It's actually been quite still the past couple of days so I thought I'd try it out. Last night was forecast to be anywhere from -5C to -10C so I decided to set things up in the garden as my underquilt is only rated to -6C and it's recommended to have a few degrees leeway. If it did get to -10 and I started getting properly cold I could always chicken out and head back inside. Given the forecast temps I wasn't going to use the 150 quilt so grabbed Cath's Cumulus 350.

I got into the hammock just before 10pm and it wasn't long before the cat decided to play with the end of the tree straps - I had visions of him tugging and releasing one end of the hammock so tidied things up a bit and got back in. I ended up having the best night's sleep yet in a hammock! Obviously it got nowhere near -10C, probably in the -3 to -5 range, as I was toasty warm all night.



Lying there this AM I wondered why the edge of the tarp was so close to my head? After all it's way bigger than other tarps I've used. Then I noticed that the structural ridge line of the hammock wasn't lined up with that of the tarp. A bit of thought and I realised that it was how I was fitting the tree straps around the tree. This is at the left end of the tarp in the image. The line holding the tarp goes through a ring at the end of the ridge, round the tree then back to the ring forming a 'V' shape when looked at from above which self-centres on whatever sized tree you use. The hammock strap on the other hand goes round the tree and is then threaded through itself (actually through a soft shackle) so when it's loaded it tends to align with the load, i.e. to the side of the tree. I'm right handed so tend to feed the strap from the right. I also prefer to sleep "head left, feet right" meaning my left shoulder is at the edge of the hammock. This combination of the strap and my head being to the same side meant that I ended up being much closer to that corner of the tarp. I swapped the tree strap around and hopped back into the hammock - all was lined up and I felt much more centred under the tarp.

The shot below shows the foot end which has the strap going through the doors "centred" whereas that at the head end was pushing against the right side, in fact pushing the gap open quite a bit.



Just goes to show: always test; always be prepared to learn and adjust.

That's great
I've seen the tarps that can close on each end like that but always baulked at the cost. Even flat tarps get silly prices (in my opinion)

I'm using 3x3 DD tape with my hammock but have to use it diagonally as the hammock is 12ft so even with hammock sag using it square would only just go to each end. I do worry that with any real/driving rain I'd stay properly dry.

We have a sewing machine and I've made myself a trailstar copy (and other stuff) before, but it didn't quite work right as I'd adjusted the sizes down just a bit too much for my anticipated needs

I may look at doing something similar to you or maybe just adding to one of my existing 3x3 tarps to do the same as I'm really finding that the hammock is the only real way I can comfortably camp.

I've resorted to buying a big fishing bed for use on family stays on campsites in the big bell tent

I think the total cost of mine was about £55 - that's importing the material from Ripstopbytheroll in the states plus a couple of bobbins of thread and a few D-rings and Linelocs. That compares very well with a Thunderfly (which is almost identical, the Thunderfly has deeper doors) at just shy of £200 - https://www.hengehammocks.com/product-p ... erfly-tarp

I know what you mean about tarp sizes, my hammock is 3.3m (11ft), take 83% of that to allow for sag and add 2 x 30cm for weather overhang gives 3.4m as the required length. 3m is too short, 4m is way too big. DD hammocks do a 3.5m x 3.5m tarp - https://www.ddhammocks.com/product/ddta ... rom_cat=33 a bit on the heavy side though. I had to use the Alpkit Rig7 on the diagonal to get enough coverage and even then I wouldn't want to use it in inclement/windy weather. Also the Rig7 is 60% heavier than mine and doesn't have as much coverage.

Something to search out for a simple sewing project are "Grizz beaks" - basically they are door ends for a hex or A-frame tarp that just sit on the tarp end and turn the tarp from a summer one to one suitable for winter/wilder conditions. You just need to be able to sew two identical pieces together, sew a double rolled hem round the edges and sew on some tie-outs. Because the main tarp is sealed along the ridge and the beak sits on top of it you don't even need to seam seal anything. They don't extend the length of the tarp though.

Cheers the grizz beaks sounds like an easy way forward for now, probably with existing bits I have

I’ve got some frizz beaks if you’re looking for originals.
Never used.
Bought a superfly before they were fired then they’ve sat in my hammock drawer since.
Would part with if anybody interested.

Cheers for the heads up Taylor, but I'm not looking to buy.

I have enough old and smaller tarps around to fanangle something for one end of the set up. Last time I was out it was windy and I actually just hung my WP jacket around that end of the hammock.

Here's the thread I got my plans from - https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/sho ... Beaks-quot

(If you can't see the image - you might have to be a registered user - then let me know and I'll grab a copy)