Tarps

[still water]

Hay guys just a quick question to any of you who use a tarp.
i have just been using a standard tarp made for covering up stuff in the garden, to camp under and have yet to find one that is water proof.
my dad has an old canvas tent with no poles(a frame style) it was huge as i remember from my youth. He has told me that i can have it so result.
The question is what do you think the best size would be for making a tarp?
As we all know canvas is heavy but strong as hell when sowed up right and can be water proofed whenever needed.
thanks for any input

[Wrighty28]

theres quite a few people on here who may be able to assist you with this as they make there own. the tarp i use is army surplus which measures 3x2m which does me perfect for my requirements. however a little extra room would never be missed

[jus_young]

I have used both a 2x1.8 and a 3x3 and to be honest the bigger is better. After the rain that was encountered on Exmoor last trip out I don't know what we would have done without the DD 3x3 ( other than get wet ). I will not go anywhere without the 3x3 again but being a DD tarp is weighs next to nothing anyway. As you are using canvas a compromise may have to be made between weight and size so 2x3 would be my suggestion and see how you get on with a view to reducing to a 2x2.5 if some weight saving is needed.

[Dan XF]

I ended up carrying a 3X3 tarp across Dartmoor. It was canvas and would be handed to the person as a punishment. It weighed a ton and it felt like your knees would give way. I spent all my time praying that someone else would upset the Sergeant just so I could hand it over to some other poor chap. I would never want to carry something that heavy again. My tarp is a DD 3X3 and weighs about a pound. I don't have to worry about finding a warehouse or hangar to dry it in and don't have to wait a week for it to dry out. Also it doesn't need to be waxed and sealed and proofed or cosseted or generally treated like an exceptionally well off incontinent aunt who might just leave you her mansion in her will.

[still water]

dan you have just made me think how blind i was to the pitfalls of a canvas tarp. The weight was on my mind from the get go but never did i think how i would dry it if it got a soaking. thanks dan im now looking for a 3/3 ex mill tarp. how much do you think a good second hand one will set me back.?

[Silverback]

<shudder> I'm suddenly reminded of my D of E bronze expedition. Canvas Karrimor rucksacks that tripled in weight when wet, and having to travel in groups of 3 to carry the tent a canvas Vango Force 10, no one wanted the outer...no one.

[Colliewobble]

The first backpacking trip I did at the age of 15, I borrowed my grandad's pup tent...wooden poles with big wooden knobs on the top for the ropes, single skin, cotton...weighed a ton, leaked like a sieve but I didn't know any better then. I remember getting a nosebleed going up Rosset Ghyll in the lakes, carrying that tent, and an old frame rucksack with a frying pan tied on the outside, etc.
..there's a lot to be said for lightweight gear!

[andy202wr]

Try ebay for an ex military tarp, mine are desert camo. Just got two for £15:00p including postage.

[Ashley Cawley]

lol @ some of the comments on here!

I use a 3x3m polycotton Tatonka Tarp and I think it's a good size for me

[still water]

just had a look at one on google images they look good and strong ash, how much did you pay if you dont mind me asking.