My brother insisted I buy a cheap tarp instead of a name brand one

My brother has been camping for about 30 years so when he told me to save my money and just get a heavy duty blue tarp from the hardware store I listened. I needed a new ground cloth for my tent and the brand ones at the outdoor store were 40 bucks. The blue tarp was 8 dollars. I used it for the first time last weekend at a site near the Blue Ridge Parkway. After a night of heavy rain I woke up to water seeping through the tarp and soaking the bottom of my tent. The cheap tarp just does not have the same waterproof coating as the nicer ones. Now I have to dry everything out and I am pretty sure I will need to buy the proper ground cloth before my next trip in June. Has anyone else had a tarp fail like this or did I just pick a bad one?

2 comments

2 Comments

mary_patel5917d ago

Oh man that exact same thing happened to me last year with a cheap tarp from Lowe's, woke up in a puddle in the Shenandoah after a storm and had to cut my trip short because everything was soaked.

adam_robinson17d ago

Man that "woke up in a puddle" part hit close to home. My buddy Dave tried the same thing on a trip out in the Smokies... used a cheap blue tarp from Home Depot thinking it was fine. Storm blew in around midnight and he woke up with his sleeping bag totally soaked through, water pooling right under him where the tarp sagged. He spent the rest of the trip trying to dry stuff out by the fire, but it was a lost cause. Had to hike out a day early... never seen someone so mad about a five dollar tarp.