The SCOUT TARP is designed and sold by Mountain Equipment Co-op here in Canada. It is made overseas, in Vietnam. The Scout Tarp is a 75 denier polyester ripstop, polyurethane coated, 9.5' x 6.9' dimension, tarp, with some grommets and webbing loops. Weighs 692 grams. Comes with a storage stuff sack. Available in grey or orange. Costs $45 CDN bucks. I paid for this with a gift card i got from family.
PHOTOS HERE: MEC SCOUT TARP
POSITIVES: cheap, bang for the buck, waterproof, large coverage area, MEC's iron clad warranty (something happens, return it and get a new one). A good tarp for the masses, easy to rig multiple ways, be it paracord or tent poles/stakes. Easy to stow away in a pack for emergencies or solo camping.
NEGATIVES: The number ONE negative is MEC itself............they CENSOR any reviews that mention the bad stuff on their website. They are so afraid of offending anyone. My review on the tarp was censored and removed from their gear reviews section. Here at THE BUSH LAB, i say it like it is, no censorship! More on this is the post review below. Too few rigging loops for bombproof tarp set up in windy conditions. MEC could easily double the rigging loops and this tarp would be not bad at all. Polyurethane coating.....yea.....while waterproof for a few years, eventually the polyurethane coating sloughs off the fabric like a case of leprosy. There is also a weird smell over time with polyurethane coated products, the coating exudes a fishy shit like smell, much like a girl I once went home with after a good bender and was horrified to discover she didn't bathe herself very well. The webbing tape loops are thin, easy to wear thru (if you use paracord like so many do) and there simply is not enough of them. The center pole support is ok, but could be beefier.
Not a bad tarp, like i said bang for the buck for OCCASIONAL USE or EMERGENCY USE, but I would NOT recommend this tarp to hardcore hikers or military service people. There are plenty of tarp makers right here in North America, why does MEC farm out its gear to third world sweatshops? Furthermore, thanks to the censorship of many reviews on the MEC website, I give this tarp a low rating.
I give the MEC SCOUT TARP a BUSH LAB rating of 5/10
