White Cammo Tarps

Sharky · Post by **Sharky** » Thu May 12, 2005 7:12 am

Just thought I'd pass this on to anyone who is looking for some good cheap sunshade material.
Major Surplus and Survival is selling surplus Swedish Snow Break-up Nets, 16' x 20' for $9.95, oh yes, and they are new and unissued. They are made of white Tyvek and have a digital camo pattern perforated in it. Very cool looking stuff! I ordered one a few days ago, but haven't received it yet, so I can't vouch for quality, but it ought to be good.
I bought two surplus parachutes from them last year and got both at a great price with great service...great catalogs as well.

www.MajorSurplusNSurvival.com
1-800-441-8855

The item number is # 8-6201 it is a close out item so you may have to give them the stock number.

Sharky · Post by **Sharky** » Mon May 16, 2005 7:11 am

I just received the tarp on Friday.... it's great! Now I wish I'd have bought a couple more. It looks like it will hold up great on the Playa and has the added bonus of ties along the edges. I can't wait to try it out! Definitely worth the money.

dragonfly Jafe · Post by **dragonfly Jafe** » Mon May 16, 2005 7:19 am

Thanks for the tip - I bought three. Tyvek is extremely resistant to tearing, so I have high hopes...should look better than tarps anyways!

I plan to use one to cover the truck (don't care about finish, it's a beater...), and two to cover my tent/create a shade area out front.

Sharky · Post by **Sharky** » Mon May 16, 2005 7:37 am

Glad someone else found them worth the gamble! These things look "bulletproof". They are reinforced around many of the digital camo holes and it looks like even the strongest Playa wind won't be able to shred them! They look like they're made for the Playa: sun reflecting white, ripstop strong, large, perforated for the wind, with a very cool camo "art". I'm planning on using mine to partially cover the car and give a little shade off to the side, next to the dome......

HughMungus · Post by **HughMungus** » Mon May 16, 2005 11:03 am

Thanks for the info.

Direct link: http://www.majorsurplusnsurvival.com/Me ... ry_Code=31

I wonder how much shade it provides compared to, say, silver UV tarp...?

Post by **AntiM** » Mon May 16, 2005 11:18 am

We acquired three right after B-man last year, so ours have yet to be playa tested. I think I will cut up one for the bike canopy.

I visited a couple camps last year which had these; the shade was dappled and breezy as opposed to solid and stifling. Dappled shade works just as well for lounging, but I imagine a heavy rain would suck.

blyslv · Post by **blyslv** » Mon May 16, 2005 12:34 pm

Camo netting is also great for softening the lines of a carport-type shade. It's also good for extending the coverage area.

Placed over a tarp, it increases the shade value dramitically.

Janka · Post by **Janka** » Mon May 16, 2005 12:46 pm

I've heard it said that Tyvek is a very "loud" material, meaning it makes a hideous sound when hit by the wind (this is from a sailor friend who's seen Tyvek sails). Any info on this considering the net stuff? It is very possible I have been misinformed, too. :) Just while I know it would not bother some, but I also know I would go crazy having a rattling sail next to my sleeping tent...

(People talking, singing, etc from a bit farther away is fine, though, as is the sound of just wind hitting something. Call me weird. :))

Sharky · Post by **Sharky** » Mon May 16, 2005 1:06 pm

The tyvek material that these tarps are made of is much thinner than sail material and much softer. My guess is that this tyvek will be quieter than your run of the mill blue or silver tarp...... Any tarp, of just about any material, will "snap" in the wind if it's not tightened up. When a sail snaps, it's because it is allowed to go slack in the wind, when it's tightend up, it's quiet as can be! A little pre planning and test runs with any shade structure before you hit the Playa will help you work the bugs out before you start going out of your mind in the middle of a windstorm!
The tarps also have perforated holes across the surface which should help let the wind pass through and keep it from becoming too much like a sail.
I'll be setting mine up for some test runs while we still have some bad weather her in the NW. "Sea trials" to follow...............

the_iconoclast · Post by **the_iconoclast** » Mon May 16, 2005 1:37 pm

Members of Kamp Apokiliptika just tried one of these out on the recent MOOP clean-up weekend on Playa. They offer ample shade and resisted tearing during a few good wind gusts. I have two more on order. Not very loud in the wind and the perforations seem to give it enought room to breath..

Janka · Post by **Janka** » Tue May 17, 2005 1:37 am

Thanks for the info.

When a sail snaps, it's because it is allowed to go slack in the wind, when it's tightend up, it's quiet as can be!

That's true for sure, but most of the time on the playa you do not want your tarps to act like sails. ;) (We had one trying to do exactly that when attached to our canopy last year, it was extremely not practical. ;))

dragonfly Jafe · Post by **dragonfly Jafe** » Tue May 17, 2005 8:13 am

[quote="Janka"]I've heard it said that Tyvek is a very "loud" material, meaning it makes a hideous sound when hit by the wind (this is from a sailor friend who's seen Tyvek sails). Any info on this considering the net stuff? [quote]

I had some 24" wide tyvek roll-stock that I salvaged out of the trash, tried using it for side covering for my mutated vehicle last year. I ended up using shade cloth, partly because there was a high-pitched crackling/snapping sound when the sheet would catch the wind.

That material was solid, I am hoping that the nature of these traps will minimize such noise. Of course, blue tarps are not quite either!

safetythird · Post by **safetythird** » Fri May 27, 2005 1:46 pm

That cammo was great side shade for a campmate's structure. I don't remember noise being any concern at all.

He ran 1 rope through all the tiedowns on a side, pulled the cammo out as far as he could (with slack) and secured the rope to rebar stakes. Seemed to distribute the force well in high winds.

S3

Post by **AntiM** » Wed Jun 08, 2005 11:51 am

We road tested our white cammo tarp at the Utah Burn last weekend. Provided nice shade, was quiet in the wind ... too much so; we didn't know it was shredding into pieces as the stormfront came in Saturday night. Steady 30 mph winds with gusts to 50+ beginning after midnight and continuing all the next day. We had no idea it was falling apart as we slept. It did rip along one of the sides with the cording also.

We had the tarp up over my Home for Wayward Art and then stretched back over the flatbed trailer. It rapidly disintegrated wherever it touched any protuding wood or metal, made lots of fluffy moop too.

We're still planning on using the other two tarps at Bman, but they'll be stretched out as shade canopies without being draped across anything. If it doesn't rub it works well. We're still planning some back-up shade in case it craps out on the playa.

Lady Zooty · Post by **Lady Zooty** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 2:16 pm

we used one of these last year, it gave very pleasant dappled shade but we also had a centre of solid cover, much appreciated in the noon heat.
the only problem was that the reinforced side/ties soon began to tear away; we thought that running continuous ties in and out of the holes from one side to another might minimise this - we'll find out this year.

Winsurf · Post by **Winsurf** » Thu Jun 30, 2005 3:57 pm

I built a shade structure out of this stuff. I connected 12 tarps together with electrical ties every six to 12 inches. I did this around the entire tarp circumference reinforcing the connections with 3/8 climbing rope. Load areas I dispersed further by dividing the tarp into four sections with 3/8 rope connecting the tarp again every 6 to 12 inches with 75 pound test electrical ties as are all connections. The structure is held up with eight 4”x4”x 8` three 4”x4” x10 foot post. Each post has rebar built into it’s center. The rebar goes 4 inches into the post and 8 inches into the ground. The top of each post has an eye bolt built into it where the ropes that hold the tarps connect. The top of each post also has a padded vinyl panel that the tarp can hit at top post height. The top and bottom of each post is also reinforced with chain going around it in two places both top and bottom preventing post from splitting. On three sides of the structure the tarp meets the ground at a 45 degree angle from the tops of the 8 foot post. Where the tarps reach the ground there is chain. This chain goes completely around the structure. This is what the tarps attach to at ground level. All chain and support lines are held to the ground with a combination of ½ rebar 4 feet long plus 3/8 rebar 18 inches long plus screw type anchors.

Basically the structure is eight feet high on the sides sloping to the ground at a 45 degree angle, the center of the structure is ten feet high. Because the sides are sloped to the ground, when the wind hits it on the windward side this will cause the sides to be pushed down, the center being ten feet high will also cause the area between the eight foot height and ten foot height on windward side to also be pushed down. On the leeward side the wind’s force will be up or lift. I think the lift forces will be minimized by the holes in the tarp and wind distribution by the leading faces of the tarps. I did not use the small ropes or tie downs built into the tarps at all. Instead I used electrical ties. They are stronger and easer. I also connected every edge of the tarps every 6 to 12 inches to 3/8 climbing rope or chain. On the inside of the structure we intend to hang fabric delivering the structure into sections and to help minimize dust.

This is my first time using this material and second time at burning man. My first time at burning man I used coolaroo material. I think it is better than this snow tarp but rto cover the same sixe area would have been $800 as opposed to $120 with the snow tarps. The structure I built is abut 1600 sq feet inside.

bdeywoo · Post by **bdeywoo** » Mon Jul 25, 2005 1:41 pm

Sharky you rule! Just recieved 4 of em thanks for the info.

Sharky · Post by **Sharky** » Tue Jul 26, 2005 12:39 pm

Why gosh........ thanks!

At this rate BRC will paved in white!

dragonfly Jafe · Post by **dragonfly Jafe** » Tue Jul 26, 2005 11:03 pm

we are using over 20 in Blunderland this year....(having passed the field test). You do have to take exceptional care in how you support them, or they will shred in high winds.

blyslv · Post by **blyslv** » Wed Jul 27, 2005 4:10 pm

I just ordered two more! Wheee!

Last year I collected nets pell-mell and I ended up with red, white and blue camo netting. Look for the patriocit shade strucutre and stop in for a beer or a spanking, your choice.

callmecrazy · Post by **callmecrazy** » Mon Aug 15, 2005 9:40 am

Anyone have any pics or ideas (hopefully easy ones) on how to support this camo netting over a tent? I was thinking of emt or perhaps pvc with rebar support at the bottom polls. Then maybe using some rope to really anchor it so it doesn't sway side to side.

Any suggestiongs would be appreciated.

Danka

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