Why Selecting a Heavy Duty Tarpaulin Sheets ?

I thought I'd put a few thoughts together on selecting a Tarpaulin Sheet to help with choosing the right one.

For me a big part of bushcraft is connecting with the natural world, it's an exploration and appreciation of the marvels that mother nature provides. And thus while I'm sleeping in the forest I prefer to utilize a tarpaulin, it gives me a feeling of immediacy, of being a part of the woodland, it makes me feel connected to the land.

There's nothing quite like lying under a tarp and watching the sun come up, in fact I also rather appreciate lying in bed and watching the rain fall all around me! Presently I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with sleeping in a tent, because there isn't, but I find a tent puts an unnecessary barrier among me and the very things that I want to experience and appreciate. So in this article I want to talk about tarps, or more specifically, what to pay special attention to while you're buying a tarp.

In case you haven't read them yet, here's a post on putting up a tarp and another on taking it down again.

Features

There're a ton of tarps on the market and selecting a tarp which is right for you can be a tricky task. Here's a few things to bear in mind.

Size

How big a tarp do you want? This will be affected by factors, for example, what number of individuals will utilize it and what you're using it for, so is the tarp only for you; is it for a few of you; is it for a communal area, is it for a cooking area?

Remember that the bigger the tarp clearly the more space you'll have underneath, but it's also likely to be proportionally heavier. Throughout recent years I've noticed a trend towards increasingly big tarps and at least one issue I've seen is finding trees that are far enough apart to hang the tarp!

Shape

Which leads us into shape. Whilst there are some awesome 5 sided tarps out there, in general you're looking at either square or rectangle shaped. Probably a personal choice, although I prefer a square tarp as it can then be utilized in a diamond shape as well, which can be helpful if you're using the tarp in conjunction with a hammock. With that said, a lot of individuals utilize a rectangular tarp over a hammock as, depending which way around you have it, you can get extra protection on the sides.

Fixing points

The quantity of tabs around the sides and along the ridge line of the Heavy Duty Tarpaulin. In some regards it's a case of the more the merrier as the more fixing points you have the more configurations are available to you.

I would definitely recommend staying away from tarps with a much number of fixing points. If there are, say, 4 fixing points along the side then there won't be one in the middle; you really want an odd number to have a middle fixing point, and a middle fixing point gives much more flexibility regarding configurations.

Also check how the fixing points are attached to the tarp. Search for a decent, solid attachment, maybe even re-implemented. This first photo shows the fixing point on my own tarp.

This next one shows the re-enforcing on a DD Tarp, you can see it's very robust.

There are cheap tarps on the market for a fiver, but these invariably have balance eyelets that draw under even moderate tension, so whilst they have there place I would have no desire to rely on one in even breezy conditions.

Material

Often today tarps are synthetic, for the most part nylon or polyester, and this generally means they're fairly lightweight, but a great deal of bushcrafters like their oilcloth or waxed canvas. Know that these outdated tarps can be bulkier and heavier.

I've had my tarp (displayed in this photo) for the most amazing aspect of 15 years currently; it's a synthetic tarp, 2.8 x 2.8 meters and has 5 fixing points to a side and 3 down the ridgeline. For me this is a great size for a solo safe house, a lot of space for myself as well as my kit but it will also comfortably get 2 individuals under; it accommodated me and a friend during seven days long paddle along the Wye 12 years ago.

Variety

Maybe not at the top of your list with regards to selecting a tarp, but variety choice is important. Generally in bushcraft individuals utilize a tarp that will mix in. In the spring, summer and early autumn green is probably best for blending in, but it can stand out in the winter.

Whereas a brown tarp is probably better in the winter but not so much the rest of the year.

Putting up tarps and hammocks is something we do on both our 2 Day Bushcraft Course and 5 Day Bushcraft Course. It really is a fantastic way to camp out in the forest, really helps with 'leave no trace', is quick to put up and comfortable for sure. You can see photos from those courses, as well as all of our others, on our Facebook page.