can you buy polyro at home depot or lowes?

Posted by: toddfw2003

can you buy polyro at home depot or lowes? - 01/29/17 05:57 PM

and what do they call it
Posted by: OregonMouse

Re: can you buy polyro at home depot or lowes? - 01/29/17 10:31 PM


Here's an example
Posted by: toddfw2003

Re: can you buy polyro at home depot or lowes? - 01/29/17 10:40 PM

awesome!! thanks
Posted by: 4evrplan

Re: can you buy polyro at home depot or lowes? - 01/30/17 01:10 AM

If you're building a tarp, let us know what you think. I haven't evaluated mine yet. I still have to rig the tie-outs.
Posted by: toddfw2003

Re: can you buy polyro at home depot or lowes? - 01/30/17 05:35 PM

Dang, you read my mind. Actually I was going to replace my tyvek floor on my tarp with polycro to save a few ounces but then I thought I might be able to make my own tarp thats 8oz. Ditch my sleeping pad for reflectix. Get a Zpack arc blast. Bamm!! Then my base weight would be around 4lbs. Ok, back to reality, not buying a Zpacks arc blast. Just bought a Osprey exo 38. Happy with a 6 pound base but I am really thinking about making my own tarp out of polycro
Posted by: toddfw2003

Re: can you buy polyro at home depot or lowes? - 01/30/17 05:37 PM

Originally Posted By 4evrplan
If you're building a tarp, let us know what you think. I haven't evaluated mine yet. I still have to rig the tie-outs.



I saw where I guy you some stuff kinda like duct tape where the tape hangs out a few inches. He put a plastic washer in the middle and poked a hole for his guylines. The other way with out a washer or grommet the tape would tear
Posted by: 41253

Re: can you buy polyro at home depot or lowes? - 02/04/17 03:46 PM

I used a piece of the Ace Hardware version (I think) as a ground cloth and it tore easily the first time I tried to drag it with stuff piled on top just a few feet. A tiny puncture became a full-length rip instantly. Others have said that the material is pretty tough so I might have been unlucky or used the wrong brand. If you make something I'd rough it up a little in your backyard before counting on it on a trip.
Posted by: BarryP

Re: can you buy polyro at home depot or lowes? - 03/31/17 05:49 PM

For a ground cloth, I use the ‘indoor’ polycro. It’s easily ½ the weight of the ‘outdoor’ polycro. And they last me easily 100 nights. But for a tarp, the ‘outdoor’ version looks tough; though I’ve never tried it tarping. A tip of the trade: let it sit out in the sun before you cut it to shape. You don’t want a perfectly cut ground cloth shrink on you while backpacking (because of sun or hot backpack).

-Barry
Posted by: topshot

Re: can you buy polyro at home depot or lowes? - 04/04/17 09:15 PM

Originally Posted By toddfw2003
I saw where I guy you some stuff kinda like duct tape where the tape hangs out a few inches. He put a plastic washer in the middle and poked a hole for his guylines. The other way with out a washer or grommet the tape would tear


Could have been me. I've documented most of my experimenting at BPL. Anyway, if you make a loop of tape, it will hold pretty well. Otherwise, using a plastic grommet (preferably with a flat side toward the outside) is the ideal it seems. Don't poke a hole through the tape unless using a grommet or something to prevent the line from tearing through the end.

Originally Posted By BarryP
For a ground cloth, I use the ‘indoor’ polycro. It’s easily ½ the weight of the ‘outdoor’ polycro. And they last me easily 100 nights. But for a tarp, the ‘outdoor’ version looks tough; though I’ve never tried it tarping. A tip of the trade: let it sit out in the sun before you cut it to shape. You don’t want a perfectly cut ground cloth shrink on you while backpacking (because of sun or hot backpack).


Indoor and Outdoor are usually the same thickness 0.7-75 mil though the density may be different. There are a few kits specifically labeled "heavy duty" that are 1.5 mil.

It won't shrink if set up in the sun or in a backpack. It may deform if you leave it compacted in the sun where the little air pockets hold much more heat! My son sort of ruined my tarp that way so he could mow the lawn. I still used it for 6 nights in the Wind Rivers since I didn't have time to make a new one.

I normally have gotten my kits from Walmart (on clearance or online). There was one kit (wish I could recall which one) I'd gotten somewhere that was useless for even a groundcloth.