To the backpackers, hammocks are some of the best alternatives to tents. They serve the purpose sometimes even better than the tents. But, what happens when it rains? You have to be creative enough to shelter yourself from the rain or your trip is going to be brief. If it rains at night, the worse it is because you don’t have the time to make a hammock and shelter yourself from the rain. Therefore, you must be conversant with some simple DIY hammock rain fly ideas.

In a perfect setting, a camping trip goes hand in hand with perfect weather. However, we don’t live in a perfect world and sometimes the weather becomes unpredictable during the hike and you have to be ready. You might think camping during the summer is always shiny and hot. There are times you will deal with rain and win even during the summer. For those who camp during winter seasons, snow is rampant and you have to shelter from it.

Setting up a hammock can take up to 15 minutes and this time is so precious to backpackers. You can make a hammock hut or any other DIY idea from the hammock to shelter from the rain. If you are a beginner, try this at home before you go out in the wild. It might save you from a cold if it rains unexpectedly and you can’t make the hammock tarp. If you are an avid backpacker, chances are you know some of these tricks and you probably have implemented them. You only need to polish and add on others.

Here are a few DIY hammock rain fly ideas to keep the rain away from you and avoid spoiling your hiking trip:

1. Hex Ripstop by the Roll

Let’s get to the first diy hammock rain fly. This DIY hammock tarp is for those who are interested in saving some cash and effort too. it uses a tarp kit with a complete set of a drawcord, a tarp, cordlocks and others. You don’t have to cut anything. Just buy the kit and follow the instructions.

A sewing machine is required on top of the Ripstop Hex 12 Tarp Kit and you are good to go.

You are required to sew in the ridge line and the guy lines. Sew a small tube on each of the ends of the tarp for the guy lines and a small tube along the middle of the tarp for the ridge lines.

Use the carabiners provided in the kit to attach the ridge line first to the anchor points.

To hold the hammock tight, stake the guy lines firmly into the ground at your preferred pitch.

The kit has tensioners and cords which are used to tighten the tarp further to provide adequate protection from the rain.

2. RevHiker DIY Hammock Rain Fly

This is a DIY ultralight hammock tarp for less than ten dollars. It’s for those who want to save their money and have fun at the same time.

Instead of buying the expensive store models, this method allows you to make a rain tarp that is super light and low priced. This is one of the chief benefits of this method.

Get some duct tape, four tent stakes, cord or rope for ridge line, four guy lines and an eco-green painters drop cloth.

This method is simple and gets you a good rain fly but it isn’t as durable and that is why you need to reinforce the high use areas using duct tape.

The short guy lines should also be duct taped onto the four corners of the tarp.

To set up this rain fly, attach the rope used as the ridgeline to the anchor trees or on to the hammock straps. The tarp is then draped over the ridge line and the four corners extended equally.

For reinforcement, the guy lines should be staked into the ground and the four corners pulled tight and adjusted according to the weather.

3. DIY Sportsman Ultralight Tarp

It is the most durable of the other methods but slightly heavy.

Let’s get right to it:

Select the materials to use like the Membrane Silpoy fabric and HyperD300 reinforcement fabric. Cut the membrane to size such that it covers the hammock adequately when cut in half. Six yards should do the trick.

Use the sewing machine and hem the outside edge of the fabric and thread it to increase its durability.

Sew a small triangle in each of the four corners of the reinforcement fabric for reinforcement and then sew a strip of fabric on the line where the ridge line will be.

Use the sewing machine to sew the guy lines to the four corners and attach a carabiner by stringing the ridgeline through the middle of the hammock tarp.

Finish by clipping the carabiner to the hammock tarp and tighten the guy lines using stakes in the ground.

4. Cheap Bastard’s Hammock Hex Tarp

This is a cheap, high quality and durable DIY hammock tarp. This method can be used for a customized project or exactly as it is.

You need guy lines, tent stakes, clear duct tape, ridgeline, and a low density polyethylene plastic.

Cut the plastic such that it can cover the entire hammock when folded in half and use the duct tape to reinforce the tarp edges.

To minimize wear and tear, use a strip of duct tape along the ridge line.

Tape a guy to each of the four corners of the tarp and set a rain fly over the ridge line such that it holds the fly in place.

Finally attach the anchor points to the ridge lines or to the hammock and the guy lines to the tent stakes and tighten the tarp to your preferred pitch.

These DIY guides are better, cheap and durable as compared to in store hammock rain fly tarps. You can watch the video tutorials on each DIY idea to get the best rain fly from each. One advantage of these is they are of high quality and are superlight. These are two aspects that mean a lot to the backpacker. This will conclude our simple DIY hammock rain fly ideas.