I know when buying quality, that you get what you pay for. Wallyworld has a 5'x7' nylon tarp for $9.88. It is listed as water resistant, but I figure that a fresh coat of silicone will make it more resistant. This appears to be a deal even if it only lasts a couple of seasons. I have not weighed it yet, but it will be light, not UL. Hope that this tidbit helps a newbie like myself out!!!


Edit: I forgot to mention that it only has 6 grommets that are kinda weak looking.


Edit, Edit: I stand corrected after Greg stated 8 Grommets. It has 8.


JLane

Edited by niit_train on 03/12/2011 10:26:51 MST.

I just bought one yesterday. It's urethane coated nylon & weighs 8.8 ounces with bag. Certainly worth the price for an emergency lightweight shelter.

So funny. I was looking at it today too.
Wally world is really stocking up for the season.
The hiking poles for $20 would complete the package.
Did you see the day pack?

The day pack does look interesting. Probably weighs around 5 oz?

Here's some details of this tarp in case anyone is interested:

Tarp weight (by itself): 8.0 ounces or 227 grams
Stuff sack weight: .74 ounces or 21 grams
Dimensions: 5' x 7' or 1.52 x 2.13 meters
Tieouts: 8 Brass grommets, 4 on the corners, and 4 along the edge the midpoints
Material: PU coated nylon taffeta
The material appears to be either a 40 or 70 denier PU coated nylon taffeta. The coating is only on one side.





Now I just have to go check out that daypack that I missed. Anyone remember how much it was?

They makes these things in 5 sizes, up to 9.5x12. Could be the ultimate beater tarps! But the ones listed here have listed weights that are much heavier.

http://www.outdoorproducts.com/Search?x=13&y=12&query=tarp

Edited by hyperslug on 03/12/2011 07:41:16 MST.

Jeff said, "They makes these things in 5 sizes, up to 9.5x12. Could be the ultimate beater tarps! But the ones listed here have listed weights that are much heavier".

I went to their site and ran some numbers in relation to their posted weights versus their square footage. I really believe that their numbers are off and on the heavy side. I believe that the tarps are really lighter than the posted weights.

Greg said, "Tarp weight (by itself): 8.0 ounces or 227 grams, Stuff sack weight: .74 ounces or 21 grams, Dimensions: 5' x 7' or 1.52 x 2.13 meters".

If these weights are by his own scale then Outdoor Products must be including the stuff sack, cardboard and plastic wrap packaging in their posted weights. :-)

BTW what is up with the color on the 7' x 9' tarp. I'm very secure in my masculinity but lavender/pink for a shelter! LOL

Still these tarps seem too good to let lie on the shelf at Wally World. I hope they will stock the larger ones also.

Party On,

Newton

John said: "I believe that the tarps are really lighter than the posted weights."

I hope your right John!

If you hit the retailer button they are available at several places including Amazon. I'm hoping someone will buy one of the larger ones and confirm the weights. I'd do it but waiting for someone to buy my kidney to support my gear habit.

I've seen these at REI, Walmart and Sport Chalet, but all of them had only the small tarp (same as one in walmart). We have Big 5 close by, which is a discount type shop - i'll stop by there to take a look if they have larger ones.

I was thinking that int he worst case we could take two tarps and make one larger out of them.

I found this site where someone gave it a review with pictures.

http://bushcraftusa.com/forum/showthread.php?t=31333

Edited by jpovs on 03/12/2011 17:27:20 MST.

The weights that I gave were measured by me on a scale accurate to the gram. I took the measurements from the bag, but I've gone back and taken my own measurements. It looks like it's an inch smaller than spec'd in both dimensions, 59" x 83". I have a feeling that once guyed out, it would be 5x7. The seams are about 1 5/8", so doing some quick calculations there's about 3.94 square yards of material there. That makes 2.02 ounces per yard, including grommets--i suspect that if you subtracted the weight of the grommets, you'd find that it's 1.9 oz/sqyd fabric.

The only extra packaging was the card stuck to the front and it weighs .14 oz. So, even including all packaging, the total package from the store weighs 8.9 oz or about 75% of the stated weight of 12 oz.

It's not built as well as nicer tarps, there's no reinforcements and the stitch spacing is pretty wide. I can't complain too much though for the price. I also hope they start carrying the larger sizes. I've been wanting to get into tarp camping and an 8x10 seems like it would work best for me. This would allow me to see if I like it enough before I spend the big bucks on a silnylon or really big bucks on a cuben fiber tarp.

Greg,

If my memory serves me correctly, the daypack price was $5.88.

Wow, $6 for a 5 oz, 15L daypack, guess I'm making another trip to the store today.

Just when I was about to pull the trigger on a gossamer gear riksak. I guess I can also file this one under "see if I like it, and if I do, I'll buy the better one". :)

Edited by ghgeiger on 03/12/2011 09:59:12 MST.

Hey, I'm no snob, lotsa good stuff at WalMart.

They carry a $1 folding knife in the camping section, stainless blade, locks, belt clip, 1.5 oz. Also a handy Winchester brand $10 Leatherman knockoff SS pliars/multitool set that's lighter than many I've seen in pricey shops.

What else? A pretty good $1.88 noseeum head bugnet, a $9 three-pack of pretty good fold-lock dry bags, decent compact compasses under $4, cheap carabiners, and lately they've had under-$1 parts packs for spare buckles, belts, clasps etc for general backpack repair or modding.

There's a long post somewhere around the Internet forums about outfitting yourself for a through-hike entirely at WalMart for under $200 or so. Pretty interesting/entertaining. Worth a google.

Well, I stopped by WMT and checked out their $5 daypack, (there was an opened box). It's 4 ounces on my scale. Does fold up to about the size of an orange. But...really flimsy fabric and stitching, I could see the threads straining when I exerted just a little tug.

I don't believe it's really 15 liters. A gallon of milk from my shopping cart filled up 50% of its volume. With the milk in it I couldn't fit in a small box of Raisin Bran. I can't see using this even as an urban daypack unless all you're going to carry is a sweater and a Snickers.

But WalMart does have a great daybag over in its regular bookbag/fanny pack/gym bag section. For $10 they have a drawstring bag, black, sturdy, two zippered compartments, hydration tube slot, better fabric that weighs around 7 oz and holds twice what the daypack holds. I've had this one awhile, very sturdy, holds a lot & will hold up. Balls up almost as small as the daypack if that matters.
They also carry a $7 version, same size and construction but a mesh outer pocket instead.

Ha anyone actually used this in the rain yet? I stopped by WM and checked one out but it didn't look too waterproof. So I am wondering if anyone has experience with using it in the rain or with adding a waterproof coating.

KT

A 5' x 7' tarp made from silnylon seconds and grosgrain would weigh about 6 ounces and cost less than $20 to make. Of course that requires a sewing machine and a couple hours of labor, but it would be lighter and much more waterproof.

I have already bought the OP 3 pack of dry bags and found them to work well. I was out this past weekend and it was extremely humid and rained most of the time. The only things that really stayed dry were those packed in the dry sacks.

I saw these tarps for the first time yesterday and snagged up 2 of them. I am a bigger guy (6'1"/250lbs) and think that 1 might not give me enough coverage in the rain. Even with 2 and stakes, the system weighs less and take up less space than any shelter I have previously used. I plan on adding silicone spray to beef up the waterproofing quality.

Based on my satisfaction level with the dry bags, I am pretty confident these will be a nice light weight option for a decent shelter. I will be testing them out on a trip next month.

I'll 2nd this deal. $10 for an almost UL tarp. My scale (also accurate to the gram) listed the tarp itself @ about 7.65oz and the bag @ approx .7oz

I'll carry it without the bag until I can afford a lighter silnylon tarp - or maybe I'll just keep using it.

One weighs 8.8 ounces with sack

Other one weighs 9.0 with sack.

That's both with packaging & silica gone

Looks like there is some slight variation. I haven't taken the time to measure them.

For $20 it won't be too hard for these to impress me