Okay then … in part 1, I waffled on about the little extras required to turn your Rig7 tarp into a cosy home from home. Be warned, I’m about to waffle on again but hopefully it’ll be vaguely interesting … this time we’ll have a look at a few different set-ups that are easily rigged without the aid of a degree in tarpology!
In an ideal world there’ll be no creases or wrinkles in your shelter but in the real world, there will be. Uneven ground tends to make matters worse, as does pegging the tarp directly to the ground … fitting short (2-3 inch) lines to all the perimeter pegging points and setting the tarp a couple of inches off the ground, goes someway towards curing the problem. Remember, you’re trying to set equal tension in all directions, so adjust/alter the angle of your pegs in relation to the tarp to help achieve it.
Add extra lines to the mid tie-out points and extra pegs for the bottom edges to all set-ups in windy conditions.
Simple ‘A’ frame.
Quick, easy and what a lot of people picture when they think of tarps. In bad weather one end can be set lower and faced into the wind. Using the side tie-outs as lifters gives a massive increase in space and makes the set-up much more resistant to side winds.
Loosely peg all 4 corners down, you can pull the long edges tight but leave plenty of ‘slack’ across the short end edges. Attach a line to centre-point on each end of the tarp (above what will become the openings). Wrap the line around a pole tip and peg the line out so the pole is supporting 1 end of the tarp. Repeat this at the other centre point so you now have a pole at each end. Adjust the corner pegs to get the tarp taught and even.
2 supports, 6 pegs and 2 lines as a minimum.
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| Left side using side lifters to create more space and wind resistance. |
Flying V … sort of.
This doesn’t offer a great deal of space (1 person only) but it does provide great protection. A portion of the tarp is folded underneath on both sides, so the 2 long edges are effectively sealed against the wind and rain … it also produces a small groundsheet. To take full advantage of the pitch, set it up supported from a large tree or wall to provide additional protection for the opening.
Peg the centre point of a long side to the ground. Now tie a line from the centre point of the opposite long side to your support (tree etc), make sure you pull the tarp taught. Now attach lines to the 2 free, front corners and peg out. Now fold the remaining 2 corners underneath until all the excess material’s inside and the mid-point tie-outs are at ground level. Peg these out (you may have 1 or 2 per side depending how high the tarp’s set). Adjust pegging points to make the tarp taught and even.
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| Not a massive amount of room but very storm-worthy. |
2 pole mid.
Lots of room and reasonably stable although it’s best set up low for windy conditions with a rear corner facing the wind rather than a full side/end panel.
Peg the 2 rear corners to the ground. Attach a line to the centre tie-out on the opposite edge and support the front of the tarp with this line and a pole. Peg the remaining 2 corners out. Put something on top of your second pole for protection (glove, hat or half a table tennis ball) and use the second pole to to support the roof from the inside … adjust the angle of the inner pole off vertical, with the top of the pole leaning towards the rear of the tarp. Adjust all pegging points to make it taught and even.
2 supports, 5 pegs and 1 line as a minimum.
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| Remember to put something over the tip of the inside pole to protect the tarp. |
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| There’s additional lifter points on all 3 sides if it turns nasty. |
The almost tent.
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| This end into the wind. |
The above, are just a few of the possible pitches the Rig7 lends itself to. The extra midpoint tie-outs make a real difference to how stable your set-up will be so use them if you’re in any doubt about the weather.
Rig7 tarps available from AlpKit in various colours to match your eyes.
Pole-A-Bear tarp poles.
