I’ve been using a great wing tarp for years. It’s easy to set up, durable, uses oars as poles, and it’s big. Last Fall I was ready to buy more and couldn’t find any. In fact, I couldn’t find anything even close. After asking NRS and Cascade Outfitters at the America Outdoors trade show the closest thing I could find had six tie down points and used thin poles to hold it up.

Six tie down points is way too many. You can find six tie down points when you’re in a grass field, but along rivers, you’re using rocks, small trees, and even bushes. I wanted a tarp with four bomber tie downs. And I didn’t want to rely on bringing extra poles. The poles are just one more thing to break or loose. I wanted to use oars as the poles because they’re bomber and we always have them.

So I made some calls. Lots of calls. It turns out the tarp I’d been using was sewn by a woman in McCall, Idaho and she stopped making them. Then I guided an Illinois River trip with ARTA and they had the same tarps which they treating like gold because they knew they couldn’t get any more.

After the trip I renewed my search for a good tarp and couldn’t find anything so I decided to get some made. After finding the right material (nylon 420), the rings at the corners, and someone that could sew something that big, we made some.

They are awesome. I found a windsail maker here in Hood River to make the tarps and they used their experience to reinforce the corners and stitch them to handle high winds. But it cost $400 to make the first four which I sold right away. To get the price down I needed to make more so I made ten more of them.

What am I going to do with ten tarps? Sell them. Need a bomber tarp? Learn more about the Outfitter Wing Tarp.

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