Ultralight gear for backpackers comes in all forms. There’s titanium cookware, weightless tents, and even people cutting the handles off toothbrushes. Tarps, on the other hand, aren’t a very sexy item to fret over, yet it’s a piece of gear that is essential to anyone carrying a featherweight pack into remote areas. The Ultralite Solo Tarp from Brooks-Range may just be the sexiest tarp on the market, and there’s no excuse not to bring it along on outdoor trips.
The Brooks-Range Ultralite Solo Tarp is made from a water-resistant ripstop nylon that’s surprisingly light at only 7 ounces. It’s 40 square feet at 5×8 that is supposed to provide shelter for up to two people. The outer edges are practically covered with lightweight grosgrain ribbon nylon loops to facilitate any number of setup options with trekking poles, trees, or tent stakes.
But why pack a tarp if you have a tent or bivy sack? Versatility. A tarp is not only a lightweight shelter against freak storms, but can be used as a tent awning, backpack cover, an emergency bivy to cover yourself with, or to protect an injured person waiting for emergency crews to arrive.
Brooks-Range sent me the Ultralite Solo Tarp to test out along with their Ultralight Alpini Bivy Sack, but to be honest, at no point did I need to use the tarp. It never rained during the test period. So I mostly used the tarp as a small shelter for gear storage by hanging it from pine trees. Despite the lack of grueling test conditions, I can attest to how impressed I was at the light weight of the tarp, how small it packs into a stuff sack, and how many different ways it can be used. It even has velcro on the sides!
Overall, the Brooks-Range Ultralite Solo Tarp stuffs small, goes unnoticed in the pack, and comes in different colors (including an unobtrusive camo pattern.) The only downside I can see is that the Brooks-Range ultralite fabric is highly flammable and must be kept away from any direct flame and all heat sources. This was not tested either and hopefully never will be.
To purchase the Brooks-Range Ultralite Solo Tarp, or for more information, visit their website at www.brooks-range.com