I know Brian is busy, which is an understatement.I went through the checkout 3 days ago and it says to wait to hear back from him to make payment. How long does it usually take to hear back?I just want to make sure I get the tarp in time for my hike on the 29th.

hey if your trying to get something on-time, brian is not the best. He makes some of the best tarps though. Not because he doesn't care, but because he is busy, as you stated. I was in your boat and i ended up going with a sil superfly from brandon, great tarp. Not the lightest at 14oz, but still great. There are lots of options out there, don't wait too long.

Difficult to say. I've had a couple times where I never heard back from him on order inquiries. On another occasion he was very prompt and my tarp arrived on the committed date. If you have the patience (or time)to deal with Brian's hectic and unpredictable schedule, he makes a fine product. There are other vendor options out there if you don't want to deal with that.

I ordered a tarp from Brian and it indeed is an outstanding piece of workmanship. But it did not arrive in time for a trip as promised. The shipment also neglected to include an alcohol stove set ordered at the same time. I am still waiting for that item over 2 years later. Not a big cost and I no longer care.

Brian is still in school and his business is not where school is if I recall the details. If you have a critical deadline I personally would not count on him.

http://backwoodsdaydreamer.webs.com/tarps.htm

an alternative. Scott has always been prompt to answer my questions. i cannot say for sure, but i think that is a hint of his shipping practices as well.

also, speer tarps are cheap, and Ed has always shipped fast for me.

you look like vince vaughn in your avy...


OES

A - workmanship
D - customer service

i have a tarp from him that i consider my best piece of gear. it is elite. however it was a terrible ordeal to get that tarp. as others have posted, i share the same experience

I have purchased a tarp from Scott at Backwoods Daydreamer and he was a real pleasure to deal with. Good communication and prompt shipment. He has some great products. I recently heard that he moved his home and was temporarily unable to ship anything, but I just got on his website and it looks like he is back up and ready to do business.

YES.

I had order from Brain twice, the workmanship of OES is execellent, but you need patient to get the trap.

Brian posted over on HF a few days ago that he is in the process of finishing up his degree and taking some state tests. I'm not sure you'll be able to get a tarp from him in the time frame you are looking at.

I guess I lucked out. I have two of his tarps ordered almost a year apart and got them both times in a timely manner. That said, hey, he is a college student and it is the end of the semester in a lot of schools.

Here are some websites of folks that make and sell tarps. (Not an exhaustive list by any means, but maybe useful)

http://warbonnetoutdoors.com/tarps.php

http://backwoodsdaydreamer.webs.com/

http://www.jacksrbetter.com/11%20x%2010%20Cat%20Tarp.htm

http://www.outdoorequipmentsupplier.com/products-maccat-tarps.html

http://www.mountainlaureldesigns.com/shop/index.php?cPath=21

http://www.zpacks.com/shelter.shtml

http://www.hennessyhammock.com/catalogue.html#cat

http://www.alpinlitegear.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=4

- Mark

Mark, great post for those who are lost. I just got the notification that my tarp was shipped by Brian:)I paid for it yesterday:)

Peter, I think you are going to like it. Brian does top notch work.

- Mark