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THEGrandRapids
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01/15/2019 04:16PM   (Thread Older Than 3 Years)
For all the white tarp users out there- what do you think? Does the tarp block enough sun on a bright day? (I've read it's really about material thickness, etc... but understand that real vs perceived can be a real difference- just because the color doesn't matter, doesn't mean that I would perceive the difference between white and another color.)

I've heard it amplifies the light during cloudy or lowlight periods, true? Does it get dirty? Everything I've ever owned that is white gets dirty (thought I didn't really care). Do other people shout up to you, nice tarp, or do they paddle by cursing under their breath?

Looking at either a 10x14 or 10x16 CCS tarp - color may be trivial - but studies show it isn't. I think I'm going to get a white one, but we will see. Maybe a green one.

And for all those non-white tarp users who decided to still click on the thread, is there a reason you specifically didn't get a white tarp?
 
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Savage Voyageur
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01/15/2019 04:38PM  
White tarp screams people are here. I just like earth tone colors better in the woods. CCS makes a tundra tarp that is bright colors and that’s great for signaling if in trouble. That’s ok for that because it has a purpose to signal. My CCS tarp is green. It does give me subdued light but that ok for me. I also like a darker tarp because it lets less light in on a hot day compared to a white tarp.
 
THEGrandRapids
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01/15/2019 04:52PM  
Savage Voyageur: "White tarp screams people are here. "


I have a red canoe and orange tent. I'd rather people not have to come close to see if the site is occupied or travel across the bay just to turn around.
 
MidwestFirecraft
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01/15/2019 05:06PM  
I purchased a green tarp for the benefit of everyone else. It's amazing to me how much someone with a red jacket sticks out in the wilderness. As long as everyone has earth tone clothes and equipment, you can still feel that sense of wilderness on Alton Lake in July. One red tarp across the lake and you know your not alone. If I did a lot of wilderness river tripping I might think differently.
 
OCDave
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01/15/2019 05:21PM  
THEGrandRapids: "...
And for all those non-white tarp users who decided to still click on the thread, is there a reason you specifically didn't get a white tarp?"


My CCS Tundra tarp is green. I picked green so it would protect against both rain and sun. I once had a Cuben Fiber tarp but the light color failed to create much shade. When hot and sunny, I find the ability to pitch my own shade to be useful.

While I can see that on grey overcast days, a white tarp might be more cheery, I have never felt "I have this protection from the rain but it feels too gloomy."

I am also a muted colors are more compliant with Leave No Trace principles guy.
 
01/15/2019 05:22PM  
If you are cooped up for a day or two under a tarp due to weather, you'll appreciate the cheerfulness of a light colored tarp.
 
01/15/2019 07:13PM  

My budies but have used on several trips. White CCS, is an off-white, and I felt hot under it and squinted as much as in sunshine. Might have something to do with red hair and Scandinavian heritage. Do like my green tarps though!

butthead
 
01/15/2019 07:22PM  
I like em all... my multicolor has a white area. It does let in more light... best of both worlds. As far as leave no trace... I never leave my tarp. Haha. I’m with those that like a little color and let people see better to save potentially miles of paddling... Dan’s colors are really not that bad...
Btw: we should get together sometime. I live just east of you...
 
Arcola
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01/15/2019 07:28PM  
I believed for many years that an earth tone was the least offensive, then I spent three days under a green tarp in the rain and my eyes and brain went nuts. Stood out in the rain for a break. I'm buying a white tarp.
 
MidwestFirecraft
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01/15/2019 07:57PM  
To be fair, I have only spent 2 days under a green tarp in the rain. That having been said, that is why I have a tarp, so I'm not in a tent, but outside. I pitch my 10x16 ccs tarp high so I have a great view and can move around freely in the fresh air. I have seen episodes of Alone where the tarp is pitched tent style and the only light they get is a green glow. That would get old to me as well, but setting it Hoop style and just can't see it mattering.
 
THEGrandRapids
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01/15/2019 08:27PM  
MidwestFirecraft: I pitch my 10x16 ccs tarp "


MidwestFirecraft- How do you like the 10x16?
 
MidwestFirecraft
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01/15/2019 09:17PM  
THEGrandRapids: "
MidwestFirecraft: I pitch my 10x16 ccs tarp "



MidwestFirecraft- How do you like the 10x16? "


I love it! Purchased the tarp bag and set it up like Wintertrekker with 50 feet of Dyneema for the ridge line. Doesn't touch the ground, super easy to set up and take down, and lots of room solo or group of 6. I was worried it would be to big, but it is easy to adjust the shape to fit the space required and the extra weight is negligible.
 
mjmkjun
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01/16/2019 06:26AM  
THEGrandRapids: "
Savage Voyageur: "White tarp screams people are here. "



I have a red canoe and orange tent. I'd rather people not have to come close to see if the site is occupied or travel across the bay just to turn around. "

I recently sold my green 10 x 16 CCS tarp because I personally found it to be too much tarp for this soloist. I attest there's plenty room no matter the configuration.
I replaced it with an 8' x 10' CCS multi-color tarp that's half robin's egg blue & half green (1.9 oz). Love it! I find the color combo to be pleasant to look at. My second color choice would have been orange.......as is my tent. I find being inside an orange tent to be spirit-lift on a stormy day with no eye-squinting on a bright sunny day.
I suspect white would show up dirt and smudges much more than colored choices but that fabric cleans up easy.
 
HowardSprague
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01/16/2019 08:00AM  
I couldn't really decide, so I got a 10x14 CCS 1.9oz tarp which is a green and white combo. Best of both worlds - soothing, yet not too dark.

Yellow or orange would give you a nice "shady, yet not dark" aura as well.

I can't imagine anyone paddling by and being irritated because of someone's tarp or tent color.
 
MidwestFirecraft
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01/16/2019 09:49AM  
HowardSprague:
I can't imagine anyone paddling by and being irritated because of someone's tarp or tent color."

It's not so much when you're paddling by it's when your at your site looking out at the lake and all you see is bold and unnatural colors that stick out like a sore thumb and detract from the wilderness experience.
 
HowardSprague
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01/16/2019 10:04AM  
Funny thing is, what blends in differs some by season. With fall colors, a yellow, orange or red tarp kind of blends in with the trees. I suppose that's good enough reason to buy another CCS tarp! :) :)
 
01/16/2019 10:14AM  


I went with a yellow tarp and am very happy with it. Mine is homemade, so I had a lot of colors to chose from. I went with a slightly olive yellow rather than the vivid yellow. I didn't really consider white just because I didn't care for it. This yellow still lets lots of light through which to me is very important on dark days. I also think mosquitos are less likely to congregate where there is more light. I once had a navy blue tarp and tent, and found them dismal on cloudy, stormy days. Never again.

I would not worry about anyone paddling by yelling up at you because they think your tarp is too brightly colored, whatever color you pick. Seriously, who would be that rude? Besides, I think sometimes people are mistaken assuming certain colors are more or less visible at a distance. You would think red would pop, but I've seen some red tents that just fade into the shadows, and some green tents/tarps that pop much more than you would expect.

My light yellow tarp shows not signs of dirt at all, but then again I use a ridgeline like MidestFirecraft below (as do others), so my tarp never actually touches the ground.

 
mjmkjun
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01/16/2019 02:51PM  
a nice shade of yellow, jaywalker. mellow yellow. :-)
 
MidwestFirecraft
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01/16/2019 03:35PM  
HowardSprague: "Funny thing is, what blends in differs some by season. With fall colors, a yellow, orange or red tarp kind of blends in with the trees. I suppose that's good enough reason to buy another CCS tarp! :) :)"

Totally agree. My next tarp will be yellow.
 
yellowcanoe
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01/16/2019 07:19PM  
Me too.

Yellow or rainbow. Blending in is not what I want.. I really want to announce that I am here.

I have a green tarp and am tired of fending off unwanted company that does not know I am there till they walk in my site.
 
jhb8426
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01/16/2019 11:31PM  
I've got a Kelty Noah's tarp. Choice of color is light gray or light gray. My experience is that it shades sufficiently, yet lets enough light though. Nice on a cloudy day. Prior to that I used a blue poly tarp which always seemed too dark. Similar with an outfitters dark blue nylon on one trip.
 
Tomcat
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01/17/2019 10:23AM  
 
HowardSprague
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01/17/2019 10:58AM  
Love the setup on your first one.

I need to work on setups with poles - other than one in the middle once it's already secured & taut, I have no confidence in poles holding up my tarp when I do it.
 
mjmkjun
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01/17/2019 02:55PM  
jhb8426: "I've got a Kelty Noah's tarp. Choice of color is light gray or light gray. My experience is that it shades sufficiently, yet lets enough light though. Nice on a cloudy day. Prior to that I used a blue poly tarp which always seemed too dark. Similar with an outfitters dark blue nylon on one trip."


I read a review somewhere that claimed Noah's Tarp is more suited for shade and not waterproofed for downpours. True?
 
01/17/2019 03:41PM  
I used a Noah's Tarp I got on the cheap until buying a CCS. Never had a problem with it leaking.
 
01/18/2019 06:26AM  
I've used a Noah's tarp for 10 years and 20ish trips. It has never leaked. It has also supplied adequate shade.
 
Tomcat
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01/18/2019 12:12PM  


 
mjmkjun
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01/18/2019 01:11PM  
Thanks, guys. Happy to know it.
 
em8260
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01/18/2019 02:35PM  
I have a green tarp, yellow tarp and ill be buying a WHITE lean at canoecopia, because, get ready.......I like it!!!!! could care less about what others think about it. But i do feel it would keep me "cheerier" on gloomy, rainy days.
 
ozarkpaddler
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01/18/2019 04:20PM  
Well, two of four panels of my tarp is white. It is multicolored white, yellow, and blue. I've owned green and tan tarps. IMHO they are "Dreary" when you spend hours underneath? Give me my "Cheery" CCS St. Louis Blues tarp Dan made for me any day! Here's a couple dreary, rainy day pics and look how much brighter than a green tarp on a sunny day.

 
01/18/2019 04:23PM  
I now have 3 Guide Gear tarps which date back to when the Guide Gear tarps were good and not their most recent incarnation. Only one color - off-white/linen. Enough filtering on bright days to make it nice, and not a drop through the fabric or seams in a decade of tripping with the primary tarp. All 3 are factory taped. The primary tarp has a CCS ridgeline stuff sack which was acquired last year along with the necessary cordage & prusiks. Prior to that I used the Guide Gear stuff sack & a collection of different cords to get it set in campsites.
 
THEGrandRapids
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01/18/2019 04:49PM  
Maybe I should have emphasized that I really wanted to know if it was dark enough on bright days and whether it got brighter on dark days. How it affects your mood might also have to do with the moon phase :) The subjective comments are fun to read none-the-less.
 
01/18/2019 08:32PM  
Green tarps, green tent, green canoe. I like green in the woods.
 
jhb8426
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01/19/2019 01:00AM  
mjmkjun: "I read a review somewhere that claimed Noah's Tarp is more suited for shade and not waterproofed for downpours. True?"


Have always felt it was shady enough and never had issues during heavy rains, other than feeling like I was in a kettle drum a few times. But I'm guessing all tarps are a bit loud in a heavy rain.
 
mjmkjun
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01/19/2019 03:31AM  
double post removed
 
mjmkjun
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01/19/2019 03:31AM  
THEGrandRapids: "Maybe I should have emphasized that I really wanted to know if it was dark enough on bright days and whether it got brighter on dark days. How it affects your mood might also have to do with the moon phase :) The subjective comments are fun to read none-the-less. "

.......and we appreciate your tolerance. I've learned a thing or two and chuckled once or twice. :)

ozarkpaddler, yep, they are cheery tarps!
 
01/19/2019 10:02AM  
I don't think there's many people on this site that have chosen to go with an all white tarp, but my guess would be that yes it would show dirt more easily and would let in more light than other colors. My two tarps are both CCS 1.1 10'x14'. The green blends in nicely and blocks more sunlight than yellow. The yellow is much more cheerful in the rain, but on warm sunny days it can get hot under there......


 
01/19/2019 03:31PM  
The two or three of us take a green 10x10 and the green BWJ side panel tarp. We like the green for esthetic reasons and the BWJ for the side and back protection offered from the wind. A good view of the lake on rainy days while in our rocking chairs is as good as its gets on a rainy day. We store many items under the BWJ tarp in back to keep them dry. As a base camper, we have a lot of comfort items.
 
muddyfeet
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01/19/2019 07:14PM  
I've made several tarps. And I primarily hammock, so I have different uses for (shelter tarp) and (camp tarp). I like the hammock tarps to be darker to facilitate a mid-day nap in the shade on a hot day. If it starts to feel like a cave I just open the sides up a bit more.

For a general camp tarp, the lighter colors are much more cheery to spend a rainy day under. For a while I have been curious about cuben fiber (dyneema composite fabric). This are somewhat transparent, and can come in different colors. I have a few samples on order, and am considering using it for a new tarp.
 
01/22/2019 11:06AM  
I feel like my white/off-white tarps filter out the sun just fine, plenty of shade.
 
THEGrandRapids
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01/23/2019 06:20PM  
I can't decide what color to go with. Why is this so hard? It shouldn't even matter. Maybe because I know the CCS tarp will last me a very long time. I don't like selling gear either because i don't think I get the value out of it.. so basically I will be married to this tarp until one of us fails. On many of the older threads I'm seeing yellow as a good option- and people even have said to swallow your pride and just get the yellow one- you won't regret... Yellow tarp users out there?
 
01/23/2019 09:30PM  
I have a yellow one. Why? Because a lot of people said it was a good color - not too dark or light. I'm happy with it, but maybe I just don't know what I'm missing. I trip mostly in Sept.

Then again a lot of my clothing and gear is the highly discounted color. ;)


 
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