USMC Tarp, MARPAT/Coyote, Surplus

A good old tarp, courtesy of the US Marine Corps. MARPAT camouflaged and reversibe to Coyote Tan, made of strong Nylon and can even be buttoned to other tarps or itself. Used, very heavily used indeed.

The USMC reversible tarp is a rectangular piece of waterproof ripstop-reinforced Nylon, with a total of 8 grommets on the edges for your field setup fantasies. On each side there's also a row of plastic snap fasteners to attach more tarps or just fold the one you have. You can build anything ranging from a two-person shelter to a hobo village out of these. Apparently "real" tents weren't the right thing for the Marines, so they just like the way it sucks under these tarps. However the center seam is off-center, so the tarp won't leak straight on the manly face of the resident.

Measures 200 x 220 cm (79" x 87"), weighs 950 grams (2 lb 1.5 oz).

Usage

Although ironically the modern USMC tarp is just a bit bigger than the old Soviet Plash-palatka, you can make virtually anything out of it. A basic trick is to rig one or two corners to a tree and stake the rest to the ground, making a simple lean-to. By attaching two or more together you can make all kinds of tent-like accommodation solutions.

The tarp can also be snapped up to form a tube to work as a waterproof bivy cover for your sleeping bag. When you tie in a Woobie, you'll get a lightweight sleeping bag. By using creative ways with the snaps you can conjure up all kinds of raincapes and body bags or whatever, it's amazing. As with most American made gear, the snaps are super tight - to operate, you'll need fingers that have witnessed a thousand battles.

Used USMC stuff

These are very heavily used, so you can encounter rips or tears as long as your finger, or a broken snap. We have divided these into two grades to help you with shopping:

Grade 1 may have one up to a fist-sized tear and possibly smaller ones, too.

Grade 2 tarp has a hole bigger than a fist or several fist-sized holes.

Fortunately, these are relatively simple pieces of equipment, so many of the tears can be repaired easily, especially as the ripstop reinforcing halts the tear from spreading and keeps it clean and straight. The easiest way to patch it up is duct tape, but a pro gets a tarp patch kit, unfortunately not available from us.