AquaQuest Defender tarp review: the heavy-duty camp tarp that stays put in a storm
On a wet weekend, a tarp strung over the picnic table, the cooking area or a hammock gives a group somewhere dry to stand. The AquaQuest Defender is the heavy-duty version: thick coated nylon, taped seams and more tie-out points than you are likely to use.
Quick take
A heavy, very waterproof camp tarp: 70D nylon with a thick dual coating, heat-taped seams, a 20,000 mm rating and 19 reinforced tie-outs on the 10 x 10. It weighs 3.3 pounds (1.5 kg), which is fine in a vehicle or a canoe and a lot to carry on your back. Buy it as the tarp that stays in the car and goes up at every campsite. It comes with a stuff sack and nothing else, so add cord and stakes.
What it does
The Defender is a flat, square or rectangular tarp made of 70-denier nylon with an extra-thick waterproof coating on both sides. Its waterproof rating is 20,000 mm, a measure of how tall a column of water the fabric holds back before it leaks, and far above the 1,500 to 3,000 mm typical of tent flies. The seams are heat-taped at the factory, so there is nothing to seal at home.
The 10 x 10 has 19 tie-out loops: along the edges, at the corners and across the middle. The corners are reinforced and the loops are bar-tacked, which is the dense zigzag stitching used on climbing gear. That many attachment points is what makes a flat tarp useful, because it can be pitched as an A-frame over a ridgeline, a lean-to against the wind, a flat roof over a table, or a low storm pitch pegged close to the ground. The basic ridgeline pitch is described in our emergency shelter guide.
AquaQuest backs it with a lifetime warranty.
Sizes, and which one covers a hammock
The line comes in 10 x 7 ft (3 x 2.1 m), 10 x 10 ft (3 x 3 m), 13 x 10 ft (4 x 3 m), 15 x 15 ft (4.6 x 4.6 m) and 20 x 13 ft (6 x 4 m). The finished size of the 10 x 10 is 9 feet 7 inches (2.9 m) a side, or 92 square feet (8.5 m²).
Over a hammock, that finished length matters. An 11-foot (3.4 m) hammock hung with a proper sag spans a little over 9 feet (2.8 m), which leaves less than 3 inches (7 cm) of cover at each end under a 10 x 10 pitched square. Either pitch the 10 x 10 on the diagonal, corner to corner, which gives about 13.5 feet (4.1 m) of ridgeline, or buy the 13 x 10 and run the long side along the hammock. For a ground shelter, a cooking fly or a cover over a small tent, the 10 x 10 is the all-round size.
What verified buyers say
Across verified-purchase reviews, the same points come up:
- It does not leak. The most repeated point: owners describe long thunderstorms and days of rain with nothing coming through the fabric or the seams.
- It lasts for years. Several report the tarp looking close to new after several seasons, and one infantry soldier used the same tarp through snow, hail and storms for two and a half years before replacing it.
- Plenty of tie-outs. Buyers like how many ways it can be rigged and how well the corner reinforcements hold in wind.
- Good as a sun shade. Desert campers use it for shade through the day and say it blocks the sun completely.
- Costly for a tarp, and worth it. Several doubted the price before buying and say the first storm settled it.
- Heavier than a backpacking tarp. Owners who carry it on foot notice the weight and say so.
Worth knowing
It ships as a tarp and a stuff sack only. You supply the ridgeline cord, guylines and stakes, so budget for about 50 feet (15 m) of cord and six stakes, and learn two or three knots before the trip. A tarp is open at the ends and sides: in wind-driven rain it has to be pitched low, and it is draughtier than a tent. Nylon stretches when wet, so re-tension the guylines after the first hour of rain. At 3.3 pounds (1.5 kg) it is twice the weight of the Safari and more than twice the Guide in the same size.
Who it is for
The Defender suits car campers, canoe trippers, hunters, scout groups and anyone who wants one tarp to put over the kitchen, the woodpile or a hammock. It also makes a sound emergency shelter to keep in a vehicle.
If the tarp is carried in a pack, choose the lighter AquaQuest Safari or the ultralight AquaQuest Guide. For choosing where to pitch it, see our campsite guide.
Specs at a glance
- Typeflat tarp
- Fabric70D nylon, dual coated
- Waterproof rating20,000 mm
- Seamsheat-taped
- Tie-outs19 (10 x 10)
- Listed weight3.3 lb (1.5 kg) · 10 x 10 ft
- Includestarp and stuff sack
- Warrantylifetime
- Best forcar camping, canoe trips and base camps
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The Verdict
The AquaQuest Defender is the tarp to buy when weight is carried by a vehicle or a boat and the job is to keep people and gear dry in heavy rain and wind. It is thick, thoroughly waterproof, and has enough tie-outs to be pitched in most of the ways a site allows. Add cord and stakes, since none are included. Backpackers and hammock campers who walk in should look at the Safari or the Guide, which give the same layout at about half the weight or less. Our guide to hammocks and tents covers how a tarp fits into a hammock setup.
