Tarp

A tarp is a rectangle of coated fabric with tie-out points. That is the whole product, and the two numbers that decide whether it works are the span in metres and the fabric weight or thickness. Both are on every listing here, along with the maker's water rating where one exists and a plain statement where it does not.

These are new, unbranded tarps. Not ex-issue, not graded surplus, and we describe them from the maker's specification rather than from rigging them ourselves.

Tarps fail at the tie-outs, not in the middle

Ask anyone who has lost a tarp in wind and they will tell you the same story: the fabric was fine and the eyelet pulled through. That is why the listings say what the corners are made of, whether the grommets are reinforced and whether corner guards are fitted. A thin panel with strong corners outlasts a thick panel with bare eyelets.

Read the thickness, not the adjective

Heavy duty means nothing on its own. What counts is grams per square metre or millimetres of thickness, and this shelf runs from 60g per m² up to 447g per m² and 0.47mm. The lightest will stow in a jacket pocket and will not survive a gale. The heaviest will cover a woodpile for years and is not something you carry up a hill. Both are useful, and neither is the other.

Shade sails are not tarps

Several products on this shelf are shade sails: cut for sun, rigged from fixed points, and rated for UV rather than rain. Some carry a light water figure and some carry none at all. Their listings say so in the first line, because a shade sail pitched as a wet-weather shelter will disappoint you on the first bad night.

Delivery and returns

UK delivery is free. Orders are processed within 3 to 5 business days and arrive within 10 to 20 business days. Returns or exchange within 30 days of delivery, unused and in original condition, approved before being sent back, with the refund issued within 7 days of acceptance. Return postage is paid by the customer.