Sil-Tarp II Light Weight Tarp Gear Review

Sil-Tarp II Gear Review

Product – Integral Designs Sil-Tarp II.

Size – 8′ x 10′

Price Paid – $125.00 At M.E.C. Victoria.

One of the exciting parts about planning a hunting trip is going out and
purchasing some new gear. For my backpack sheep hunting trip I went on this year I spent a bit of money upgrading some of my gear with the latest gadgets and goodies.

This year one of the pieces of gear I decided to purchase was the Sil-Tarp II
made by Integral Designs. This is an 8′ x 10′ silicon impregnated lightweight tarp designed specifically for backpack excursions. They are extremely lightweight and compact down nicely as you can see in the photo. I had heard about these tarps on various hunting and backpacking forums and figured it was about time to see what all the fuss was about.

If you’ve ever hunted the mountains in British Columbia you’d know that you need to be prepared for rain and plenty of it. A lightweight tarp seemed like a practical idea to me. After doing a little research on the web and reading a few good reviews I decided to head down to MEC Victoria and pick one up. Normally I wouldn’t shop here because they support anti-hunting groups and causes but they had the best price and it was convenient.

I paid $125 plus tax for a Grey Sil-tarp II and was out of there.

The first thing you’ll notice when you open up the new sil-tarp is that there
is a tube of sealant inside. You’ll need to use this to seal the seams of your tarp. This is rather inconvenient to do but will help prevent any water leakage at the seams of your tarp.

I sealed the outside of my Sil-tarp and there is really only 1 seam you need to do which runs right down the center of the tent. Just a simple small foam or bristled brush work well for applying the sealant. Make sure you have a big enough area outside to stretch out the tarp so you can seal it. Once you’ve applied the sealant you’ll want to let the tarp sit for at least 12 hours and don’t put it back into it’s compression sack until the sealant has cured as the seams will stick together screwing up your tarp.

They don’t give you any instructions on which side of the tarp is outside or
inside but you can easily figure it out. The side with the loops running down the center seam is the outside. These loops are so you can run a line from two trees or whatever you have and the tarp is then strung from the rope and secured down to the ground through the loops running along the edge. This keeps the tarp suspended and prevents your rope from chaffing a hole through the material.

The Sil-tarp really got to prove it’s worth in the mountains of Northeastern BC on this years sheep hunt.  My hunting partner had a really good Integral Designs single walled mountaineering tent that we used as our primary
shelter. I took my new sil-tarp and strung it so that it was sheltering our tent. In three straight days of rain our tent never even got wet. The sil-tarp shed all of the rainwater off our tent and was large enough that we even had room to store our backpacks on either side of the tent. I was impressed. It was definitely worth packing in for that extra bit of comfort and would definitely come in handy as an emergency shelter if you didn’t have a tent.

If you do some extensive backpack hunting were weight is an issue consider
looking into the Sil-tarps made by Integral Designs.  I think you’ll be
impressed too.  It’s an invaluable piece of gear.

Happy Hunting!
Carl

Ronyn Rugged Outdoors Waterproof Fleece Camo Review

Ronyn Wear Waterproof Fleece Camo Review.

Product: Ronyn Wear Waterproof Fleece Camo Bomber Jacket & Pants.

Pattern: Realtree Brown

Price Paid: $149.00 USD (Included Shipping) on eBay.

I discovered Ronyn Rugged Outdoors waterproof fleece camo while surfing around eBay one night. They were auctioning off sets complete with pants and a jacket at a price any hunter could easily afford. I was interested so decided to dig a little deeper before making my purchase decision.

The Ronyn waterproof fleece camo is made from a 100% polyester low pill (resists burring) polar fleece material that is laminated with a waterproof breathable Gore-Tex like membrane that can provide protection in some of the most extreme seasonal weather conditions.  All Ronyn garments are constructed with a black, 100% brushed polyester lining that won’t cling to your underclothes.

The fleece camo comes in 4 different patterns, Realtree brown, Realtree Grey, Mossy Oak Treestand, and Advantage Classic hardwoods.

I was looking to get some waterproof camo for  Stone Sheep hunt of 2005 and decided that I would give Ronyn camo a try.  I ordered pants and a bomber jacket in a realtree brown pattern.  I ordered the non-insulated version.  Everything was size Large.

Shipping took about 5 days and I had the camo at the door. At first glance I was extremely impressed with the quality and materials of the camo. The jacket fit really well and the lining on the inside made it comfortable to wear with just a t-shirt. The outside of the jacket was very soft and obviously would make very little noise while going through any kind of brush.

The pants were also very good quality but I did find the fit was a little large around the waist and long in the leg it’s not that bad though if you like to have on multiple layers. And it’s nothing that couldn’t be fixed with a belt. There are huge pockets on these pants and you can easily carry any gear you’d need for a day or several in the field. The side pockets are large enough to hold my 8×30 swarovskis, sony video camera, extra shells and more… The knees are reinforced as well as the butt these are solid pants.

Before my hunt I started hiking around some smaller hills locally with my camo and pack on as I planned to be in the field and it was then that I realized that I might have made the wrong choice of camo for my sheep hunt. This is awesome camo don’t get me wrong. But the pants are fairly heavy and if your hiking with a weighted pack they simply get way to hot. I found my legs sweating to the point that it was uncomfortable. This is even the non-insulated version so it’s warm gear no doubt about that.

The jacket was okay to wear if it was raining or cold but for hiking around it was also way to hot for my comfort. For backpack hunting both the pants and jackets are quite heavy compared to some of the more compact and lightweight gear available but I highly doubt you’d be getting the same quality and comfort with some of the lighter gear. On my sheep hunt this year I took only my jacket and while it still takes up some room in the pack it was sure nice to slip on when you wake up at 5am to start glassing for sheep. I was glad I packed it in.

Where my Ronyn waterproof camo has really proven itself was on my deer hunting trip of 2005 and my spring bear excusions on Vancouver Island during 2006.

While deer hunting November in region 7 the temperature got to near -18 degrees. I wore my ronyn wear bomber jacket and pants with nothing but long-johns underneath and was ample warm enough. This was the non-insulated stuff to by the way. The camo patterns seemed to work very well and broke up my
outline and shadow. I was able to stalk within 100 yards of my whitetail buck in almost plain view while crawling on my hands and knees. The camo was absolutely silent as I moved through the brush which was a big plus.

I also put the camo to the test while spring bear hunting the island this year. The camo proved to be an awesome addition to my hunting gear collection as it constantly put up with the beating I gave it hiking through the rain drenched forests of Vancouver Island. The camo pants & jacket kept me dry and comfortable all day and since I wasn’t carrying a pack the over heating problem was non-existant. I really was impressed with how this camo performed.

If I were to change anything about my Ronyn camo I would do a few things….

1. I would make the pockets on the bomber jacket either zip-closed or button closed.  You have to be careful storing gear in the bomber pockets as they are just flaps and rather shallow.  I lost my dads hunting knife out the pocket while I was taking a shit in the woods. No Joke. I had to go back out into the bush at 10pm at night and search for two hours till I finally found it and was able to put the story together

2.  I would have some sort of mechanism on the bottom of the leg to tighten it up around my boot.  I found as the pants got really wet that they started to drag down at the back of my boot.

3. If Ronyn offered a snow-camo pattern I would buy it in a heart beat. This fleece camo is absolutely perfect for winter hunting conditions.

Bottom Line – If your heading out on a backpacking trip this Camo should be left at home.  While comfortable it is too bulky and heavy to efficiently pack with room to spare. On the other hand if you’re heading out via quad, pickup or horse into rough, wet and cold conditions I wouldn’t leave home without my Ronyn Rugged Outdoors waterproof fleece camo.

Happy Hunting!

Carl