Trek Parents

VS.

Tarp vs. Rainfly: How to decide

Let me start by stating that I am very cost conscious and I am always looking for a DIY project to save some money.  When you begin your search for rain protection for your new hammock you will be blown away at the cost of a rainfly.  Most of the rainflys that I thought were sufficient were anywhere from $80 to $100.  I could not believe how expensive they were.  That is what first drew me in to using a tarp.  The first tarp I purchased was the blue one pictured above.  It is a standard 8' x 10' tarp and I think it cost me 6 bucks.  It rolled up tightly into a small packable size and it was light weight, but as you can see even stretched out as tight as I could get it, was just to short to work as a proper method for protection from the rain.  The next tarp I bought was 14' x 12', it cost me 15 bucks and I was happy with the covering envelope it gave me.  The weight of this sucker was 5 times that of the previous tarp though and a pain to take down and roll up after a night of camping.  So while I was happy with the protection I was really disappointed with setup and take down.

Back to the drawing board.  Could I ever find a rainfly that was large enough and cost effective enough for me to justify spending my money on after I just wasted $21 on two tarps that were going to work for me.  ENO and Hennessy both had rainflies that I liked but were priced outside my comfort range.  Then I stumbled upon the Hammock Bliss XL Rainfly, at the time that I purchased it I only paid $49.98 on Amazon.  This is by far one of the best investments I have made in my equipment.  The Hammock Bliss Rainfly has its own stuff stack for quick takedown and the weight pales in comparison to a comparable tarp.

I should note that I am a backpacker and weight and space are very important to the gear that I use.  If you are just the typical camper and not all to concerned with weight or space then using a tarp is more than sufficient.  But if you are considering backpacking and are looking for gear that is ultralight and cost effective you can't choose any better than the Hammock Bliss XL Rainfly.