USMC Tarp, MARPAT/Coyote, Surplus

A good old tarp, courtesy of the US Marine Corps. MARPAT camouflaged and reversible to Coyote Tan, made of strong Nylon, and can even be buttoned to other tarps or itself. Used, but serviceable.

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 rain capes 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 used, but in serviceable condition. In the past we had to divide these into two grades, 1 and 2. These are all Grade 1. This means they might have minor holes or a broken snap fastener somewhere, in other words normal signs of use. Some of these were stuck to each other (in a perfectly heterosexual way) and we had to rip them apart. In the process the PU coating on the inside might have suffered a bit, potentially affecting water repellency. Well, that's USMC gear for you. Oh, and these also might have the traditional American surplus poly/nylon smell to them, which is not unlike the smell of an unwashed cock.