Camping Tarps

One sheet of fabric, several shelters

Camping tarps earn their keep by refusing to be one thing. The same rectangle becomes a ridge shelter for two, a lean-to opening towards a view, a porch over a tent door, or a cover thrown across kit when a shower arrives. What sits in this range is broader still: woodland-pattern camp sheets, garden shade sails cut as triangles and squares in sizes measured in metres, and hooded waterproof ponchos that fold into a lid pocket.

Shade sail or camp sheet: what is the difference?

A shade sail is tensioned semi-permanently between fixed points, hemmed and reinforced at the corners so a rope or turnbuckle can pull it drum-tight over a patio. A camp sheet is a temporary pitch, tied to trunks or lifted on poles, sized against a sleeping body rather than a garden. Neither replaces the zipped, insect-proof space of camping tents in midge season, which is why plenty of people carry both and pitch the sheet as a dry porch outside the door.

Which details on a camp sheet are worth checking?

• Attachment points: corner rings and edge loops decide how many pitches are possible, and a sheet with corners alone limits the choice to two or three shapes.
• Reinforcement: load concentrates at the corners, so extra layers of webbing there matter more than anything sewn across the middle.
• Hem: a rolled and double-stitched edge stops fraying once wind sets the fabric flapping for hours.
• Size against the job: a square covers two sleepers or a slung hammock, a triangle suits the corner of a garden or a lean-to against a wall.
• Colour: cream and pale shades keep the space beneath them bright, while camouflage and dark tones stay discreet under trees.

How is a tarp pitched so it holds through a night?

Tension is the entire trick. A ridgeline pulled taut between two trunks, corners pegged low on the windward side and lifted on the sheltered one, and each guy line running in the direction of the seam it pulls on: that is what stops the flapping that eventually tears an eyelet out. Slung above a camping hammock, the same sheet keeps rain off the suspension as well as off the sleeper. Always pitch with a deliberate slope, because a flat panel bags water, stretches and then empties itself down a neck.

Which sheet suits ground work rather than camping?

Covering a woodpile, a trailer or a stack of timber asks for abrasion resistance and eyelets close together rather than light weight, which is the job of the heavier sheets in waterproof tarpaulin. A light camp sheet dragged over rough edges wears through at the fold lines long before it leaks anywhere else.

How should a tarp be dried and folded?

Packed damp, coated fabric grows mildew that stains and eventually lifts the coating away from the weave. Shake the grit off, hang it until both faces are dry to the touch, then fold along different lines each time so one crease is not worked repeatedly. Ponchos in the range benefit from the same habit, since the hood seam is where water finds a way in once a coating has been creased flat too often.