Cover your camping hammock with a rain fly or tarp in order to sleep safely from the sun, wind and rain of the outdoors. If not included with your hammock tent, choose from your options to turn an ordinary hammock into an option for camping with a hammock rain tarp.
Sleeping under the stars is quite the romantic idea, but it can turn sour quickly if a summer storm moves through. Your next day of camping or backpacking will be quickly ruined if you get soaked by an unexpected shower at any point in the night. Better to spend a few extra dollars on a rain fly to protect you from it than suffer though the rain pooling in your hammock beside you.
Tarps have been an important improvised structure throughout history. They were used, among other things, by sailors on ships followed later by covering wagons for travel. It is derived from the word tarpaulin, which is defined as a heavy duty water-resistant or waterproof cloth.
We do not have a rain tarp for our hammock yet, but do carry a tarp that we occasionally put to good use while camping (and at other times). We have hung it over our tent when showers were in the forecast. It is a useful item to have and I would only imagine that a simple hammock rain fly would be similarly useful around the campsite.
If you plan to use your camping hammock in the winter, they make winter or all-season tarps to offer you additional warmth in cold weather. Some winter camping tarps even have doors to enable you to enter and leave in rough weather without dismantling all of your gear.
Choosing your rain fly: There are a wide variety of hammock tarps include asymmetric tarps, diamon tarps, hex tarps, rectangles and winter / 4-season tarps that reach to the ground. Once you have selected your favorite style, you will want to make sure that it sufficiently extends over each end of the hammock.
Hammock Tarp Brands / Manufacturers:
Bear Butt – This maker of high quality adventure gear including hammocks (and our tree straps) also makes a rain fly.
ENO – They offer a selection of camping rain shelters to keep your hammock both out of the sun during the day and dry when it rains. ENO was founded in Florida in 1999 – it is now based in Asheville, North Carolina.
Kammok – This industry leader in outdoor gear was started in 2010 after the founder fell in the night while on his first time hammock camping. it makes several camping tarps including a portable hammock weather shelter with a rainwater retention system.
Warbonnet – This outdoor gear company founded in 2008 is making camping hammocks with a number of tarps available for separate purchase including the Superfly, Mountainfly and Thunderfly, among others.
For Sale:
Wise OwlRain Fly Tarp – The WiseFly Premium
The WiseFly rainfly offers weather protection and water shedding capability. It packs down to just 5” x 9” and weighs a mere 26 oz. The premium version comes with 4 high quality aluminum tent stakes, six guy lines that are 10 feet each. The Rain Tarp LITE comes with 2 high quality aluminum tent stakes with 4 tie lines, also 10 feet each.
Bear Butt Double Hammock Tent Rain Fly
This hammock rain fly helps to shield you from the elements on camping and backpacking trips. This tarp cover is lightweight at just over one pound. The Bear Butt Rain Fly is made of waterproof polyester fabric to keep you and dry during rain storms and cool on sunny days. It also comes with two metal stakes so you can secure it easily. This rain fly is for the Bear Butt double parachute hammock and measures 12’ 10” down the middle, and 9’ 4” on the sides, giving you maximum coverage. Its top-stock polyester fabric won’t rip or tear with regular use and is tougher and stronger than similar nylon flies.
The HouseFly is versatile, durable, and made from ripstop nylon. The HouseFly Rain Tarp will keep you warm, dry, and comfortable in your fave ENO hammock, which boasts the most coverage of all ENO tarps.
Made of polyurethane-treated 210D ripstop nylon, the ProFly XL offers long-lasting wear and water-shedding capabilities. Ideal for weathering sudden downpours or building a waterfront basecamp due to its six points of connection. It weighs only 34 ounces. The ProFly XL is a full 2 feet longer and 3 feet wider than the ProFly. It includes a stuff sack for travel and storage.