I bought a CCS tarp this winter and tripped with it for the first time in June. I'm a little shocked that the tarp I'm writing about is a $10 cheapo I've had for 20 years, but that was what stood out. The weather was such that we basically didn't use the CCS tarp at all.

For summer trips, we generally get up early and fish, nap in the middle of the day, and head back out fishing. Last year it was screaming hot and napping in a tent baking in the sun was tough. Forecast was hot again this year.

This year, I brought along a space blanket-type tarp (link below) specifically to shade my tent during naps and it worked wonders. My tarp has a lot of miles and a few holes/thin spots, but aside from those it provides almost 100% shade. You can see a tiny amount of light through it, but you have to look for it.

I took the rainfly off (to encourage airflow) used the clips that secure the tent body to the poles to secure one edge of the tarp and used two thin strings to secure the other two corners out so the tarp was horizontal in front of my tent. Lots of other configurations would work.

I'd estimate it lowered the temp inside my tent by 20 degrees; totally different from last year. I slept for 2 hrs happily. I was awoken by one very hot leg; the sun had shifted and it was in the sun. I scooted to one side of the tent and slept for another hour before the sun shifted enough that I had to reposition the tarp to get coverage, but that was the perfect time to get up anyway.

I also brought along the super thin mylar blankets with the thought of testing them, but they're smaller and not easy to secure. The tarp worked so well, I skipped all other testing.

This was a gear home-run for me and wanted to share.

Mylar tarp

Great idea!

I have been carrying one of these with me many years and I recall a friend used once while fishing in the fall. Otherwise, I have never used it myself - now I can justify bringing it along.