Onewind’s Rain Fly is tested out by Sara Baird.
Last year I had the opportunity to review three great Onewind products. The 11ft hammock with mosquito netting, the hammock underquilt and blanket, and the hammock top quilt. I was impressed with the function and design of all of these products so said yes when asked to review another product. They were all designed in ways that made them extremely easy to use and I use them frequently.
This fall I had the opportunity to try out the Onewind 12′ Hexagonal Tarp Hammock Rain Fly.
Onewind focuses on providing quality lightweight gear at a reasonable cost. They offer hammock sleep systems, tents, and survival shelters. These products are made with the concept of “be light outdoors and travel lightly”. All products they sell have undergone rigorous product testing with both professional and amateur outdoor enthusiasts. Their motto is “Make home where you are!”.
The Rain Fly
The rain fly is a hexagon tarp that measures 12×9.7 feet (3.66m x 2.95m) that can be used to protect you from both sun and precipitation. It comes in a small sack and is 3.5 x 11 inches (9cm x 28cm).
The tarp comes with everything you need to set it up including the suspension kit with reflective guyline, 4 aluminum tent states, 4 guyline collections systems, and the double-ended stuff sack. The whole set with the suspension system, tarp, and sack weighs 1.34 pounds (650 grams).
Using The Rain Fly
While I love spending time in my hammock I still have not tried relying on my hammock for camping. I have put a rainfly on a tent but never hung one above a hammock. I also have the luxury of having other people who have rope and knot skills around so I have not had to become an expert at these things.
I’ve been a bit lazy about actually retaining knowledge on how to do those things because my son became obsessed with knots at a young age and has always been there to tie up anything I needed. If he was not around my skilled husband would do it before I even realized what I needed. I definitely regretted this while working on this review because I needed to set this one up alone.
The tarp arrived quickly and came with everything in the kit. It also came with a small card with instructions that were outside of the tarp package. I misplaced this before I had a chance to use the tarp, I’m pretty sure my dog ate it as a snack because she is the type of dog that just does those things. So I thought I would see how self-explanatory it was and to try set it up without any information.
As I mentioned my strengths do not include tying knots, running ropes, or any of those survival skills. I can follow directions though and feel comfortable setting up tents and more. I was a little lost when I looked at the pieces of this Rainfly. There were four stakes, four of the six corners of the rainfly had little bungee toggles on them the other 2 had loops. It also included six pieces of bright orange guyline, guyline is a strong thing rope.
I decided to use two pieces of the guyline to tie the loops to the trees. At this point, I went to Onewind’s website hoping to find some more information on how to use this system. I’ve been very impressed with the system they had set up for other equipment so I know it has to be brilliant.
Unfortunately, I could not find instructions on the website but there was a chat button so I asked if the instructions were available. I did not get a response right away but a few hours later I was emailed a link to instructions for Onewind equipment.
There were no instructions for the rainfly on that page. So I just stuck the stakes through the bungees and secured the rainfly to the ground, mostly because the wind was picking up and I needed to keep it from blowing around. I climbed inside but realized that the way I had it set up would not keep out any rain with the wind blowing the way it was anyway.
At this point, I figured that setting up a rainfly over a hammock is probably something that everyone has their own preference for. I did a little research and saw several different ways to set up the rain fly. I found a rope that I could string between the trees my hammock was hung on and secured the rainfly along that rope. Don’t ask what kind of knot I used, I just made one up that seemed to hold. Then I used the guyline to extend my stakes and finally found success. I climbed inside and found it cozy and could hardly tell the wind was blowing.
My Review
This is a high-quality product. The tarp is sewn well and it is water and windproof, if you manage to set it up correctly you will stay dry and warm. The stakes were strong and easy to use and the guylines were of great quality. This is a great choice for a rainfly and can serve you well as both a rainfly as well as provide shade.
It is essentially a quality lightweight and well-equipped tarp that you can use for shelter in a variety of situations. Just make sure you know how to use it and how to tie basic knots before putting yourself in a situation where you need it since this is not a product you can simply open and use unless you have experience.
There is also a screen tent/mosquito net that you can purchase to add to the rainfly that looks like it would make this a great solution for setting up a bug-free area on your campsite without the hassle of setting up an entire screen tent. You can see the 12’ Hexagon Rainfly and all of Onewind’s products at https://www.onewindoutdoors.com.
Your thoughts on the Rain Fly?
Is the Rain Fly something that you agree would be a must-have for hammock camping? Do share your views and impressions in the comments below.
