Tried the cheap $30 tarp instead of the $80 name brand... biggest mistake of my trip

3 comments

3 Comments

That cheap tarp probably wasn't just thin, it was likely missing UV stabilizers. The name brands add chemicals that keep the plastic from breaking down in sunlight. Three days of direct sun turns cheap tarps into brittle, crackly messes that split at the grommets. You basically bought a giant garbage bag with holes in it. Not the same product at all.

the_river19d ago

Disagree completely, I bought a 4 pack of those no name blue tarps from the hardware store for like 8 bucks and they have been sitting on my wood pile for two winters now. Theyre a little faded sure but they havent cracked or split anywhere and the grommets are all fine. Maybe the sun is just weaker here in the Pacific Northwest but I feel like the cheap ones work just as well for the average person who isn't trying to cover a roof for six months.

noah32619d ago

Watch how many "bargain" versions of everyday things just skip the basic engineering that makes them actually work, you know, like sunglasses with no UV protection or those cheap phone cables that stop charging after a month. It's one of those things where the cheap option looks the same on the shelf but the difference is in the invisible stuff, the chemicals mixed into the plastic or the quality of the copper inside. Really makes you wonder what shortcuts are baked into all the other "deals" we grab without thinking.