Reader Reviews

Rating: 5 / 5

With Ray's help I scaled up the 2-person tarp and net tent geometry to make a 3-person tarp and net tent. These worked great on a 14-day trek around Mt. Rainier, although we did not have any rain to speak of.

3-person tarp weight is 1 lb 8.4 oz (692g) and the net tent weighs 1 lb 5.2 oz (602g) including carry bags and extra long guylines. I used 1.3 oz silnylon and 1.0 oz no-see-um netting.

Note that the 3-person net tent has acres of mosquito netting, but my wife insisted on having a large, fully enclosed space to escape the bugs! A simple ground sheet instead of the net tent should save a lot of weight.

One minor problem: the 3-person tarp is best pitched higher than is possible using fully extended trekking poles at the two ends. Trees come in handy here.

Contact me (elliott@wolinfamily.net) and I will send you the tarp and net tent fabric dimensions if you are interested in making one.




Later...here are the dimensions:


Even later...there are some concerns from Ray-Way products concerning the ownership of the design of a three-person tarp and net tent based on the Ray-Way design. I have thus removed the dimensions from this post. Ray-Way products asks that you contact them concerning three-person tarp and net tent cutting dimensions.

Edited by ewolin on 10/08/2006 12:15:05 MDT.

Rating: 4 / 5

Att: Mrs. EW! You do not need all that extra weight of overhead netting, plus you will have even more room under your tarp without it. Just add several inches of netting along the side edges, and make a netting door. Check out Henry Shires' Make-Your-Own pattern at tarptent.com. I do like all the tie-outs used in Ray's tarps, and his tarps provide great coverage. I also like tarps with beaks. They not only help with rain coverage, but with wind protection as well. Ray gives directions on how to add beaks to any tarp. Somewhere in the bottom of my gear closet sits a Goilte bug "inner nest". It fits in my Ray-Way tarp, but never made it beyond my backyard testing ground. It's too heavy! Of course, one main advantage of using the nest, is that you can leave it at home when bug season is over, and attached netting is combersome when you want to set the tarp at other angles.