Spent $40 on a tarp with grommets and it failed on night one

I was camping near Lake George last month and bought one of those cheap green tarps from a hardware store for like $40. Figured it would be fine for a weekend trip. First night, a light wind came through around 2 AM and the grommets ripped right out of the fabric. The tarp flapped around and woke up everyone in my group. I had to use paracord to tie it around rocks on the ground just to keep it from blowing away. The whole thing was useless for keeping rain off our gear. Anyone else had bad luck with budget tarps or found a better option that holds up? I'm thinking about trying a poly tarp with reinforced corners next time.

3 comments

3 Comments

alicew682mo ago

Oh man that sucks so much! $40 for a tarp that dies in one night is such a rip off. Ive been using those blue poly tarps from the hardware store for years and they hold up way better. The key is getting the ones with the double stitched seams and the plastic rings that are embedded not just punched through. I had a cheap green one do the exact same thing to me. Grommets popped right out like they were made of paper. Stick with the thicker poly tarps and youll be golden.

ray18928d ago

Totally agree man. Its wild how they market those green tarps as heavy duty when theyre basically just glorified trash bags with some plastic rings slapped on. I learned my lesson the hard way too, had a tarp shred on me during a camping trip and woke up soaked. The blue poly ones are the real deal, they might not look as fancy but they actually work. Ive had one covering my firewood pile for like two years now and its still going strong. Sucks that you had to find out the expensive way though.

drew9652mo ago

Yep, been there done that with the exact same green tarp nightmare. I had one of those heavy duty looking green ones from a big box store and the grommets started pulling out after just two nights of light wind. The double stitched seams make all the difference like you said, I switched to the blue ones with the reinforced edges and they have held up through multiple storms without a single rip. The embedded plastic rings are way better than the punched through ones because they won't pop out no matter how tight you tie them down. Good advice all around.