Despite my best efforts over the last few years not everyone ‘gets’ tarps. For some people tarps seem to present the great outdoors with the ideal opportunity to make the hours of darkness wet, cold, windy and completely miserable … sound familiar?
The 3 set-ups here, all use a pair of poles that measure 110cm and 70cm, 6 x 1m and 2 x 2m guy lines and 8 ‘decent’ pegs … total weight is 550g. The line attachment schematics show the position of the guy lines required for each set-up, the green lines indicate the position of the 2m guy lines and the black lines show the locations of the 1m lines. The ‘extra’ mid-point tie-outs in the diagrams can be used as and when conditions call for it, they can be pegged straight to the ground or tied off to your bike / stick or whatever to provide more space.
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| This is what we’re starting with. |
When most people think tarp, they think ‘A’ Frame. It offers plenty of protection from the elements but usually at the expense of headroom. Pitch the lowest end towards the wind for the best protection / most stable pitch.
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| Moving the main pole nearer to the tarp will raise the shelter. |
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| Aim for an even tension and as few creases as possible. |
The Half Pyramid is quick to pitch and offers the most room. The open front isn’t great in windy, wet conditions so consider pitching it facing walls, trees, etc. It’s very stable and will withstand pretty much anything.
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| Pitch the opening towards natural shelter. |
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| Surprising amount of space and very storm-worthy. |
If things get really wild, then the addition of a dropped tail to the ‘A’ Frame makes it much more storm resistant but with a reduction in space. Move the main pole away from the tarp to lower the front of the shelter.
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| If things get ‘blowy”. |
The Rig 3.5 is available directly from AlpKit and if you’d like some poles to accompany your tarp, you can find them HERE.
This may sound a silly question but how go you secure the lines to the poles? How do you prevent the knots sliding up and down the poles?
Not a silly question at all … the poles have a 'locking tip'. You simply wrap the line around the tip a couple of times then peg it out as normal, no knots required. There's a picture on this thread which will explain better than I can:
http://bearbonesbikepacking.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/bear-bones-guide-to-rig7-part-1.html