Paria Sanctuary SilTarp

This is a review of the Sanctuary 12'x10' hex SilTarp, Paria’s lightweight, double-treated and seam-taped 30D ripstop hex-cut tarp with catenary sides and ridgeline that comes as a kit with DCF guylines w/ line locks and alu Y stakes. It’s more suited for hammock camping and backpacking, but Paria also offers the Sanctuary in square/flat and tapered/catenary cuts and various sizes, which provides for all types of campers and backpackers who don’t want to spend a fortune on a good and lightweight tarp.

I admit being constantly on the search of the perfect hammock + tarp setup. I’m currently pretty satisfied with my hammock/bugnet kits—an ENO Junglenest and the Hummingbird Single+ with the OutdoorVitals Bugnet, already reviewed here at Trailspace. 

Both are lightweight, compact, durable, and extremely easy/fast to deploy and use overall, with the Single+/OV bugnet combo taking the edge for being a little more weather-versatile and significantly more compact and lightweight than the Junglenest (which is still an awesome hammock).

Searching for a new tarp.

With that, early this year I felt the need to replace my current tarp. It’s still good but it’s heavy at almost 30oz, and my lighter one (20oz) provides slightly less coverage than I need for storm and rain season, so I‘ve retired both for camping or backyard camping with my nephews and their friends.

I was going for my ”dream tarp”, the 280g wonderful Dutchware Winter Tarp with Dyneema (DCF), which is not only ridiculously lightweight even in the 12 feet ridge line version, but also has doors for cold weather—and comes in Camo. But at the time, and to this day, delivery was taking a while.

So I was forced to put the DW on hold for a while, and instead opted for the Paria Sanctuary. Spring and summer are around the corner here so the DCF Winter Tarp can wait. I was already looking forward to try one of their tarps which always get good reviews, and was able to find it for presto delivery early this year. And it cost a fraction of the fancy Dyneema tarp too, which doesn’t hurt.

Sizes and cuts

The Sanctuary comes in many cut and size options, to suit all styles of camping and outdoor use. It’s made of 30D ripstop nylon with external silicone and internal PU coatings, with double-stitched and taped seams for added water resistance. It’s rated at 5.000mm or hydrostatic resistance. I have no way to test that, but it’s a good rating by all means and it did hold up pretty well under heavy rain, so that’s enough for me. All tie-outs are reinforced and look tough.

I was going for the 12x10 flat cut. I like square tarps, it’s the format I‘ve used the most. But I opted for the 12x10 hex instead because it’s already bigger than my current 10x10 Poly tarp, at half the weight. Hex tarps are also faster to assemble and usually provide a taut pitch. Even the ridge line is catenary so I have to tie it slightly higher to achieve my preferred setup, or something that’s similar to my current non-catenary 3x3 flat tarp.

Complete kit with DCF guylines and alu stakes.

Paria tarps come complete with 6x 9ft. Dyneema guylines (reflective) already fitted with micro line locks, plus 6x aluminum “Y” stakes and a sylnylon stuff sack. It’s everything needed to pitch a tarp in less than 2 minutes. That’s 60ft of DCF line right there, which is not something you see very often in a tarp kit at this price.

The fabric is smooth and soft, and totally waterproof thanks to the treatments. Seams are sealed from fabric. It‘s also silent.

The guylines are a lot longer than what I’m used to, so I ended up giving the nice Dyneema cords another use and stuck with my own pre-assembled stake combo, with mini adjustable fast-locking cam-jams and strong shock cord for really windy weather (so the tie-outs don’t get ripped off).

Those not used to long guylines and micro locks may find it a bit weird at first, or hard to get a decent pitch angle or tightness depending on the terrain or anchoring points available. But some knots at the right places can shorten or help create loops in the guy lines bringing them to more manageable lengths. Either way, it’s all quality stuff and a bit of adjustment here and there should be more than enough to get it right in no time. It’s a lightweight kit too, only a few ounces.

Performance.

Once done, it stays good and even held well during a storm with gusting winds and lots of rain. The extra 2ft at the ridgeline provide just the perfect protection at the ends of the hammock. Having 10ft of lateral coverage also helps a great deal, and makes up for versatile configurations both in warm or cold weather.

The Sanctuary is really a good tarp. I’d love it in camo, but it’s still subdued and discreet in the dark grey tone. It gets a bit darker once wet, but the treated silNylon fabric holds water really well. Not a single issue with water in months. I’m entering spring and summer here which usually means lots of rain and windy storms, so I’ll see how it performs in repeated bad weather and report back if this changes.

Tarps are not a simple item anymore.

I’m always amazed at how tarps have evolved throughout the years. We used to get a piece of heavy whatever plasticized material big enough to wrap and tie to trees and stakes and we’d be happy (though usually wet during rain and storms lol). Today, here I am with a 15oz. waterproof laser-cut, double-stitched and reinforced, $80 sweet tarp, and thinking about an even lighter and techier DCF one with doors.

Even the Chinese-made generic ones sold by a hundred different names on Amazon and weighing close to 1lb. provide decent coverage and longevity. Many also come with eyelets or reinforced tie-outs, some even with stakes and guylines too.

Pleasantly surprised. 

Anyway, using the Sanctuary and putting it through some serious situations these past few months, I’m really reconsidering the purchase of the Dutchware DCF tarp. The 12x10 hex Sanctuary is really a good product and I’m very satisfied with its performance, and also its price. Actually, even though it’s not as good as my current SilPoly tarp at keeping the sun light and brightness low inside, it’s much better than the DCF tarps which usually are almost see-through.

It does get hot inside during the summer, especially when the trees around don’t provide much shadow, but here the catenary cut really helps. During the cold I pitch it lower to increase protection from wind and cold drafts, and do the opposite if the temps require a flowing breeze to cool off. 

What‘s missing?

The Sanctuary is a lightweight, minimalist, performance oriented tarp so it doesn’t have much in the way of convenience or flexibility. It will pack light and small, be fast and easy to pitch, and work great at providing excellent coverage, low noise, and be durable. And that’s it. Not a small list, sure, especially if you’re a lightweight style backpacker or camper. But also consider it comes with all guylines (and Dyneema!), line locks and even alu Y stakes—and it’s super decently priced. 

But it doesn’t have extra attachment loops or other extras. If you need an internal loop or hanging attachment points, I’d suggest running an internal ridge line between the ridgeline tie outs. I did that a few times, but since I use a hammock with bugnet that requires an internal ridge line already (or the Junglenest which has its own spreader), I stoped running the extra one inside the tarp. 

Experience

I’ve been using tarps since the times I camped with tents, which was a long ago because once I moved to hammocks I never came back. And tarps are necessary for hammock camping/backpacking any way we look at it, so it’s an important piece of the gear.

Tarps can weigh a lot and underperform or fail (usually in the worse moments i.e. storms, rain), so it’s an area where I like to pay attention and go with good stuff. I’ve used a lot of tarps and tend to retire them once they start showing wear or diminishing performance, i.e. a reduction in waterproofness or fabric ripping, tie-outs and stitching undoing, etc. The Paria Sanctuary has really pleased me with all its qualities and good price. So far, I recommend it for lightweight camping and backpacking.

Very light, strong, and compact tarp.

I bought this tarp kit because it was the same price ($79.99) as other tarps I'd seen, and this kit comes with guy lines and stakes, all in a sil nylon bag. The guy lines are 9 feet long (there are 6 of them) so you can adjust the hanging of the tarp in a variety of ways. 

After I learned how to properly hang the tarp over a hammock, this one hangs quickly and easily. The only thing I would like to have is a tab on the side, right in the middle. There are four tabs on each long side, but they are evenly spaced along the edge, so there is no tab right in the middle.

Other than that this is a great tarp. Completely waterproof.