My friends, welcome to this episode of the afterg review. I hope you all are doing well. It has been many years since I put up my initial review of the Hilicon Tech Super Tarp. Between then and now, a lot has changed. First, there's a brand new version of this tarp that is now available. And second, my thoughts concerning this tarp have changed. Just in case you're not familiar with the Super Tarp, that is an inexpensive polyester tarp made by Hilicon. And in my previous review, I stated I like the product a lot, but I had some concerns. It's with those concerns that I had previously that I wanted to address in this episode. Yes, there were certain aspects that had me concerned considering the quality, but

ultimately the tarp never failed. After hundreds of trips out in the rain, in the snow, in the wind, the tarp kept going. A few weeks ago, I was out during a snowstorm doing some camping with a friend of mine. We had the tarp set up. The snow was falling down on it. We had a fire underneath that was melting some of that snow. At night time, I put the tarp down on the ground so it wouldn't collapse under the weight of the snow. The next morning, I went to put the tarp up and I didn't notice that it was frozen to the ground. So, when I pulled on it, it really didn't move, but I was able to pull it in a way where a stick pushed through the side and ripped a

huge hole in it. A hole so large that it could not be repaired. We were able to patch the tarp up for the trip, but it is no longer usable. Because of that, I went out and I purchased a brand new one. And I went out and purchased a brand new one because the Super Tarp is so good. If you're not familiar with the Super Tarp, this is what you receive if you decide to purchase one. You receive this storage bag here, which features a YKK zipper that goes across the top. On the back side, you have mesh, and you also have loops. The loops are so that you can attach this to the outside of your backpack. And if your tarp is wet, all of the water can drain out of the backside out of this mesh. This here is

very well designed and it's a great feature. You have that storage bag and you also have this one here. That's right. This comes with two storage bags. You have the one with the mesh on the back and you have a more traditional storage bag for the tarp itself. You have a draw pole up at the top and this does nothing more than house the tarp. And then we have the tarp itself. This measures 12 in x 6 1/2 in and it's roughly an inch and a half thick. That is a very impressive storage size when you consider the overall size of this tarp and also the materials that it's made from. This measures 10 ftx 10 ft

and this is made from 100% polyester. a riptop polyester. The weight of this tarp is less than 2 lb on my scale. 1 lb 12 oz and that includes both of the storage bags. I'm going to go ahead attach some guidelines, set this up, and I will bring you all back in just a moment. From there, we will inspect this tarp very closely together, paying close attention to the construction and more specifically the sewing. We want to see how good of a job Hilicon has done with this tarp. As you all can see, the super tarp has been set up. As I mentioned before, this is the 10 ftx 10 ft version. There's a new version that's quite a bit smaller than this one. It measures 6.2 ftx 8.2 ft. You can find

this tarp in a number of different camo patterns and colors. Black, olive green, pincot, wildwood, PL woodland, US woodland, and there are others. Concerning price, these tarps remain incredibly competitive. The retail price is $70. On Amazon, they're around $82. On the Hill Tech website, you have to pay for shipping. On Amazon, you don't have to pay for shipping. So, in the end, it balances out. Basically, the company has raised the prices on Amazon to cover the seller fees. Along the perimeter and along the top, you have 19 tie off points. And this tarp does feature a single seam that goes across

the center. and it has been seam taped. With the very first copy of this tarp that I purchased, I mentioned that I was concerned about quality, namely when it comes to the guideline points. With the first tarp, the quality was so bad. I wasn't sure if my tarp was going to last a year or maybe even less. There were loose threads all over that tarp. For $70, it was okay. If you spent $150 on a tarp, it would be unacceptable. But for 70 bucks, it was okay. Nonetheless, I was concerned. But I can tell you all that those concerns were unfounded. It's reasonable that I was concerned, though. But ultimately, the tarp put up with everything that I threw at it. Strong winds, heavy snow, lots of rain,

thunderstorms with hail. No matter what, trip after trip, storm after storm, that tarp kept going. That tarp and I went through some very intense storms and I trusted it 100%. It earned my trust and now I have this one here and I expect the exact same from it. When it comes to this company, Hilicon, they know what they're doing. They make really good products, but unfortunately oftent times when it comes to the stitching, it's some of the worst that you've ever seen. I've taken a look at one of their jackets. I don't remember the name of it right now. I'll flash it on the screen. And then I took a look at some cheap Chinese jacket that was similar. The Chinese jacket, which was a fraction of

the Hilicon text jacket, looks so much better. And that should not be the case at all. To be blunt, when it comes to my experiences with Helilicon text and the sewing, namely the stitch work. Oftent times their products, they look like absolute. But I can tell you all this with this tarp here. This is some of the best seamwork that I've seen from the company. There's no loose threads at all. And I have looked this tarp over from one end to the other. It's absolutely perfect and it should be. Hopefully with all of the reviews that I've done of Helicon Tech products, with all of my complaining about their quality, it is entirely possible that we got the attention of this company and they've made some changes because the

quality of this tarp is substantially better than the version I had previously. When it comes to the Helilicontext Super Tarp, the 10 ftx 10 ft makes the most sense for most people. I would only recommend the smaller size if you need something for a dayhike sort of situation where you may need some temporary protection. The simple truth is that a 6' 8t tarp, there's not enough material there to offer yourself really good protection. Not unless you want to have that tarp really, really low to the ground. That's why a 10t x 10 ft tarp works so well. When you're underneath and you're in the center, you don't have to worry about blowing rain or anything

like that. you can stay dry and at the same time you can have the tarp higher up which is very important. The larger the tarp that you have, the higher up you can have it and the more protection you will have underneath it. The smaller the tarp is, the closer to the ground that it has to be. Ultimately, what I'm talking about here is comfort. When you go out on a trip with your tarp, you want to be comfortable. You don't want to be on your hands and knees kissing the ground trying to stay dry. With that being said, the 10T x 10 ft tarp here offers you a good middle ground. You have a really good amount of protection without the tarp being too big. At the same time, the weight is reasonable.

This is not an ultra light tarp by any means, but at the same time, it's not heavy either. This is a 10tx 10 ft tarp that offers a lot of protection and it weighs less than 2 lb. That is not bad at all. At the same time, it doesn't take up much space inside of your backpack. At the same time, you have that really cool storage bag with the mesh back. And that does offer you a huge benefit. You can attach that to the outside of your backpack, let the water drain, and you don't have to worry about everything inside of your backpack getting wet. That really is a very smart feature that I've not seen with any other tarp. Year after year, my first tarp, it put up with everything that I

threw at it. Meaning, the durability of that tarp was fantastic. For $70, this tarp offers you a great deal of strength. No, it is not an Aqua Quest Defender tarp, but at the same time, it weighs pounds less than a Defender tarp. For 95% of trips, this is going to suit you just fine. I would not use this in an exposed area during a blizzard, but for summertime storms, absolutely yes. Speaking of summertime storms, I've had my previous tarp out in winds around 40 to 45 mph, and the tarp did not fail at all. Speaking of the tarp not failing, not one time did I experience any sort of leaking with that tarp. Going back to

the size of this tarp, 10 ft x 10 ft. That size gives you plenty of versatility as far as your setup options go. You can do a classic A-frame like this. You can do a shelf system. You can do tepee. You can make body bags if you want to. What you can do with a tarp of this size is truly limitless. With that being said, the odds are you'll do one or maybe two different type of setups and that will cover you 99% of the time. The pack size for this tarp is excellent. It certainly does not take up much space inside of your backpack. Plus, you can mount it on the outside of your backpack. My biggest complaint in the past concerning the Super Tarp was

quality. Luckily, those issues have been solved. At least with the tarp that I have here that I purchased from Amazon, the quality is fantastic. There's no loose threads. The stitching is excellent. It is very obvious that some serious improvements have taken place here, and I really appreciate that. One negative that you may have concerning this tarp is the fact that no guidelines and no tent stakes are included. If you decide to purchase this, you have to purchase your own guidelines and tent stakes. For myself, I use 550 cord. Each line is 10T long, and I attach them with slip knots. That way, if I need to move them, I can do so quickly. Speaking of materials, my friends, it should be

mentioned that when it comes to polyester, this material does not stretch half as bad as say nylon. That means when you go to set this up, you don't have to worry about the material stretching and having to make constant adjustments all night long. That is a big benefit to this polyester material. The truth is, as far as cons go, Hilicon has solved all of the issues that they've had, and the biggest issue was quality. This tarp, as I mentioned, looks really, really good, and I'm glad to see it because Helicon Tech does make some excellent products. The Super Tarp has been my go-to tarp for many years for most situations, most storm events, most camping trips, and that will continue with this new version here. As

it stands, in 2026, this is one of the best values as far as tarps go. The size is right, the price is right, the storage size is right, the materials are good, the quality is great, and the price, it makes a lot of sense. I stated initially that I was concerned about how long these tarps would last. That is no longer a concern of mine. I was justified in questioning that, but I was wrong. With that being said, everyone, I am done. Make sure to sound off in the comment section down below and share your thoughts. What do you all think about the Helilocont Super Tarp? Is it a super tarp? I think it is. It's a welldeserved name to this product. It is truly excellent. If you have enjoyed

this episode, please hit the thumbs up. I do appreciate it. Until next time, everyone. Take care. Be well. Strength and honor. Bye for now.