RumiDude
Trail Wise!
Marmota olympus
Posts: 2,361 
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Post by RumiDude on May 26, 2023 13:19:59 GMT -8
It is a thin 10D fabric silicon coated 9.5' X 10' flat tarp. I kinda like how it is catenary cut for just the corners. At just over 12 ounces for just the tarp and coming in at $220, it's an attractive alternative to DCF for the budget minded. SlingFin NFTRumi |
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BigLoad
Trail Wise!
Pancakes!
Posts: 12,937
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Post by BigLoad on May 26, 2023 14:04:11 GMT -8
Do they have actual tarps as well as NFTs?
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Post by trinity on May 26, 2023 14:15:06 GMT -8
Do they have actual tarps as well as NFTs?  Ryan Jordan spent a fair amount of time talking about this shelter in a recent BPL Q&A livestream event. He was deeply impressed with this tarp, from a weight, flexibilty, stormworthiness, and durability standpoint. For tarps, he thinks this is a superior material to DCF. I must admit, I am sorely tempted, and I already own way to many tarps.... |
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RumiDude
Trail Wise!
Marmota olympus
Posts: 2,361
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Post by RumiDude on May 28, 2023 17:04:12 GMT -8
Do they have actual tarps as well as NFTs? Ryan Jordan spent a fair amount of time talking about this shelter in a recent BPL Q&A livestream event. He was deeply impressed with this tarp, from a weight, flexibilty, stormworthiness, and durability standpoint. For tarps, he thinks this is a superior material to DCF. I must admit, I am sorely tempted, and I already own way to many tatarps.... Henry Shires has stated that silnylon is stronger than silpoly. I will take his word at that. Rumi |
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Post by trinity on May 29, 2023 6:56:10 GMT -8
Henry Shires has stated that silnylon is stronger than silpoly. I will take his word at that. This is certainly true, not only because silnylon is just stronger, but also because the stretch better distributes the force of wind across a panel. Here is a decent comparison of the 3 tent/tarp materials on the Slingfin website. However, I generally prefer silpoly for a tarp material. It requires much less retensioning, isn't as slick which makes it a little easier to handle, and absorbs less water. Even Mountain Laurel Designs has moved to silpoly. |
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Post by High Sierra Fan on Jun 1, 2023 19:34:46 GMT -8
I’ve been a mid user and fan for quite a while now (MLD Solomid in particular) what’s to be gained or lost with a tarp instead?
I do like shelter options so this looks interesting but I’ve reached my annual quota so this would be just research…
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Post by Coolkat on Jun 2, 2023 3:57:12 GMT -8
I have a question for those involved in the discussion here.
Are you using tarps in conjunction with a hammock or is the tarp itself your shelter?
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Post by swmtnbackpacker on Jun 2, 2023 5:25:03 GMT -8
Henry Shires has stated that silnylon is stronger than silpoly. I will take his word at that. … However, I generally prefer silpoly for a tarp material. It requires much less retensioning, isn't as slick which makes it a little easier to handle, and absorbs less water. Even Mountain Laurel Designs has moved to silpoly. TT is switching over to more sil-poly designs (their non-DCF Pro-trail is now poly). Believe it was MLD that said the batch of silpoly (or silnylon) was important too. There’s some substandard fabric of both types out there. Of course MLD sews their stuff in Virginia, so maybe they’ve got an upper hand in choosing or rejecting material? Then there’s design. A simple mid could just require a light pole extension to get rid of sag provided decent enough staking. Water logged nylon and polyester’s UV resistance really tilts the scales on multi-day hikes though. DCF can still play a role on dry trails where it’s usually left in the pack (i.e. “cowboy camping”). Of course if money is no object, even on a special long hike, a pure DCF enclosed shelter is the gold standard for UL. I have a question for those involved in the discussion here. Are you using tarps in conjunction with a hammock or is the tarp itself your shelter? Mostly in the desert or arid areas where any trees are usually too thin for hammocks. I’ll use a fitted net inner (almost like a tent) or wind resistant bivy inside my tarps. |
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Post by trinity on Jun 4, 2023 4:05:06 GMT -8
I’ve been a mid user and fan for quite a while now (MLD Solomid in particular) what’s to be gained or lost with a tarp instead? Flexibility, but that's probably about it. I have a couple of flat tarps, and a couple of tents, but the shelter I use most frequently is a Duomid. It really is a great all around shelter. Are you using tarps in conjunction with a hammock or is the tarp itself your shelter? Both. But I have a hex tarp that is dedicated for hammock use. On the ground I usually use a shaped tarp (Duomid or poncho tarp), or occasionally a flat tarp. |
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zeke
Trail Wise!
Peekaboo slot 2023
Posts: 9,886
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Post by zeke on Jun 4, 2023 4:39:06 GMT -8
Are you using tarps in conjunction with a hammock or is the tarp itself your shelter? If there are few bugs and a threat of rain, I'll put up a tarp. No bugs and no rain. I just sleep cowboy. Bugs will drive me into the hammock. |
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rangewalker
Trail Wise!
Agitate, organize and educate.
Posts: 1,029
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Post by rangewalker on Jun 17, 2023 5:25:32 GMT -8
Death by UV and PU degradation is a big deal for me in the silpoly versus silnylon debate. In the last five years, I have had to let go of some of favorite all time shelter because of those factors. Especially the Sierra Designs Origami hex tipi tarp. I have an older MSR eTarp, way too small catenary cut mini tarp that needs replacement. RumiDude, thanks for posting this. I need a tarp for hiking and bike touring to go with my bivy sack for day and half trips. I have been looking at DCF but none of the ones I have looked at have the versatility of this one. And I like for newbs this kit comes with better cords and stakes in the package. I have nearly $50-60 in cords and line tighteners on my aging tarp. Even when tenting, in some of the rainy falls and spring we have here in WY and MT, is a having cook or assembly tarp along has been a trip saver. |
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Post by trinity on Jun 22, 2023 12:49:37 GMT -8
Only one person's experience, but this is from a fairly knowledgeable poster over on BPL:
Previously, I ordered another Sling Fin tarp, and checked out the performance of the fabric. While only 10 denier gave me some pause about fabric strength, wanted to see how the 10D performed, compared to polyester and nylon. The manufacturer states:
“Our 10D NY66 ripstop sil/sil fabric is perfect for the NFT. It has already been field-proven in our Portal, SplitWing, and 2Lite. It’s ludicrously packable, has a terrific strength-to-weight ratio, absorbs less water (and sags less) than PU-coated fabrics, and has astounding UV resistance.”
Unfortunately, even though the sil coated 6.6 nylon fabric was initially more resistant than others to water absorption and sagging, after over 10 hours, the sagging was greater than the many 20D nylons previously tested. This may be because of the lighter weight. We have had much heavier rainfall this spring, and while the fabric was not subjected to direct pouring rain, the humidity was extreme.
Nylon, including sil coated nylon, is a super fabric in dry weather; however it is protection in rain storms, including severe storms, that is the main object of backpacking a tent. For me, sagging and flapping in severe weather is something to be avoided; so will stick with polyester. Although polyester is a very general term, so each fabric must be tested.
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