All Weather Tarp Setups/Photos

[Spooky_b329]

Further to my earlier topic regarding hooped bivis (just spent the night in a loaned OEX Salamanda and it rained from 1am, decided it had passed the test at 4am and retreated indoors to my proper bed (!), quite happy with its performance (suffered condensation and my sleeping bag will need a good airing) but the weight and bulk is not far off a tent.

I've tried searching and couldn't find much but apologies if already discussed!

Would be great to see any photos of tarp setups for breezy or rainy conditions.

I have used the first setup (below) for a few years and whilst it offers protection on 2 sides (and partially on the 3rd side especially with a frame bag) it is a bit fiddly to set up (especially out in the wild with darkness/stones/lumps/roots to avoid), and the headroom is not amazing. With a bivvy bag and a soaking wet tarp sometimes I find the only way to really get out is to barrel roll sideways!


The second setup I used for the first time yesterday night, it is better for length as you can shuffle your feet right to the end (and it doesn't matter if they get rained on) but it was colder than expected and it did highlight how a slight change of wind direction results in a freezing cold face all night!


I don't have poles, would that simplify setup much? Obviously it would remove the bike from the equation, how its not ripped the tarp on the odd occasion it falls over during setup is a miracle!

[whitestone]

A couple of points - you don't need to have the tarp down to the ground, having the edges 100-200mm off the ground depending on vegetation will allow airflow to help with condensation while still providing protection from wind driven rain. A pole (or poles) will give you more options.

After trying several different setups I've settled on what's called the Asymmetric Holden

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Each long side of the tarp (it's 2.5m x 1.5m) has three tie-outs, the line to the pole is attached to the one at the 1/4 or 3/4 mark depending on which way you wish to lay. The bike is behind the tarp and there's a lifter line from the handlebars to a tie-out on the centre line of the tarp (from memory I think there are two at the 1/3 & 2/3 points and you tie to the one opposite to the pole) to give a bit more room. The pole is 110cm or thereabouts. All makes more sense when you see it in real life.

Having the pole set asymmetrically gives you head room when you sit up and gives you a bigger gap to get in/out.

[Spooky_b329]

Thanks, and good point about pegging to the ground, I will try raising the edges

[whitestone]

Thanks, and good point about pegging to the ground, I will try raising the edges

Even strongly driven rain is rarely at more than 45deg so if the edge of the tarp is 100mm off the ground then the rain will "get in" by about 100mm. Obviously that's only on one side. If you are camping in woods or a sheltered area then it's going to be close to vertical anyway.

Also using lines between tarp and pegs gives you more options in placing pegs due to rocks, etc. If you look through the "News and Reviews" part of the site, Stu has done some "intro to tarps" posts.

You haven't said (or I haven't noticed) what your knowledge regarding knots/hitches is. It's worth knowing a few since tarps are very versatile and a line setup that works in one location might not be suitable in another. I find it best not to have the lines permamently attached to the tarp so that I don't have to: undo line, move it to new point, retie it. A while ago I did a thread about knots, https://bearbonesbikepacking.co.uk/phpB ... p?p=210446, the knot bible is the Ashley Book of Knots which has about 3000 different ones but really you only need to know about five or six - when you are tired, cold and wet you don't want to be thinking "should I use a Taut line hitch or a Midshipman's Hitch here?", things should be automatic. Things have moved on a bit since I wrote that post (as they should) - I'd add Marlin Spike to the list as it's the most useful way to attach a line to a peg and I wouldn't use a Trucker's hitch, especially in thin line, see https://bearbonesbikepacking.co.uk/phpB ... hp?t=24532.

[fatbikephil]

One wet and breezy night in Glen Clunie (just up from Braemar)....



I'd pitched in the most exposed spot I could find so that there would be enough breeze to keep the midges at bay. The breeze became a gale with heavy rain showers. A bit flappy but survived fine with just a bit dampness on the bivvy bag from splashes of water blown in by the wind. Not ideal as I'd not pitched the tarp with its back into the wind but I stayed dry and had a reasonable kip.

I'd get a pole as it reduces faff time and an 'A' pitch is pretty weather proof - if I know it's going to rain a lot I'll drop the tarp down the pole a bit to lower things. As Whitestone says, having a gap round the bottom aids ventilation but also helps with stability as you can get a tauter pitch.


This is my DCF tarp = I do tend to find some form of shelter if its' going to be breezy, more for a quiet night than for any fear of tarp stability.

Another miss pitch in an exposed spot due to midge fear - another gale blew up and I ended up like this:-



The DCF material is a bit like a crisp packet and can be quite noisy - this set up enabled a reasonable sleep! Not recommended...


Another damp and breezy night - walls are handy though! Pole offset to give a bit more room around your head.

The tarpists are all riding round Wales at the mo, so expect more later!

[Spooky_b329]

Knowledge regarding knots...minimal but I do use a taut line knot on the guylines (had to look it up to remember the name!)

However I'll give your link a second read and will change the 'fixed' end of my lines for a bowline, the lift points are using Christmas cracker karibiners for flexibility but if I'm going to try different set ups it would be nice to move the main lines around too :)

[whitestone]

This is Stu's introduction to tarps - https://www.bearbonesbikepacking.co.uk/ ... rs-lovely/, it's on the first page of eight if you search for "tarp" in the news and reviews section. (I get a 404 error for all the images so you'll have to imagine what he's writing about) The Asymmetric Holden I use is a slight variation on the Mid-pyramid.

Generally, it's practice. Pick a favourite pitch and stick with that unless conditions dictate then have a small handful of secondary pitches. I've simply strung the tarp awning like between trees on occasion, simple but it worked, we were on the West Highland Way in truly awful weather, bad enough that they cancelled the World Cup downhill at Fort William that day.

Something I've just started doing (mainly because I've just started using the particular line, Zing-it) is have lines of different lengths be different colours so red lines are 1m long, orange lines are 2m and yellow are longer (3m or 5m depending on what's left over after cutting). That way I can pick any wrap of line out and know what length it is.

[thenorthwind]

Not sure I have much to add to this, but the "asymmetric Holden" is my preferred pitch too, and now I know it has a name As has already been said, raise or lower the sides depending on weather, and pay attention to the wind direction when pitching (and hope it doesn't change ) I usually use it in conjunction with a bivvy bag unless the forecast is perfect, which means you only really need to create sheltered space for your top third.

I would recommend getting a pole, a carbon one weighs virtually nothing, and it makes life so much easier when you're tired and just want to get your shelter up. You can supplement with the bike (I often use the handlebar as a lifter with the bike laid on its side) and nearby walls/fences/rocks/trees/sticks to give extra room.

Some not very good photos:

A terrible pitch as it was starting to rain and getting dark. Note ambitious use of remains of wall for shelter


Much better pitch, even in the dark

Something I've just started doing (mainly because I've just started using the particular line, Zing-it) is have lines of different lengths be different colours so red lines are 1m long, orange lines are 2m and yellow are longer (3m or 5m depending on what's left over after cutting). That way I can pick any wrap of line out and know what length it is.

That's clever Bob, I'll try and remember that if I need to buy more line in future. Can I ask what length pole you're using please? I often feel the stock SMD one could do with being a few inches longer.

[whitestone]

Can I ask what length pole you're using please? I often feel the stock SMD one could do with being a few inches longer.

I'l need to measure it but it's one that Stu made up for me. Got a feeling it's 110cm or so, might be a bit longer.

[RIP]

Bit of a tarp fanatic here, so I'll add penn'orth too. I don't use a tent. Or a bivvy bag. However my tarps are larger than most on here - 9 x 7 and 10 x 8 - so no need to faff or add weight with a bivvy bag.

My config of choice is the flying diamond, or flying V as some would call it. Very very fast to pitch - at its simplest it's three pegs and one slippery-hitch tie-out to a tree/fence/etc, 30 seconds tops, bish bash bosh ((C) J Oliver Bikepacking). No fence/tree (surprising) - use a pole instead with two lines off it.

No need to fiddle with any knots, all the lines stay on the tarp, stored with slippery hitches, and colour coded as Bob says. I have 3-foot long red lines and 6-inch long yellow lines permanently attached at six points, others added if weather dictates. Two tie-outs have luminous tape attached so I quickly know which one to attach to the tree/fence (depending on which side I want the 10-foot or 8-foot edge). At one end of each line is a Linelok-ed (or tautline-hitched) loop and the other end has a bowline. I also carry a few extra lines and mini-carabiners for flexibility. All the lines and krabs weigh nowt - 2mm dyneema, or even 0.5mm dyneema on one shelter. Get a superlight Stu pole (carbon 48g), some Ti pegs (9g each), lines are a few grammes. My tarps are under 500g for the 10 x 8's and 195g for a DCF 9 x 7.

For more living space you can shove a pole up inside, as per the photos below. All weather? I've had flying diamonds in 50mph winds, heavy rain, and thunderstorms (don't touch that there carbon pole! ) without any problem at all.

You could hold a party in the rain, or sleep with your bike if you're really friendly with it like I am.....

[jameso]

This is Stu's introduction to tarps - https://www.bearbonesbikepacking.co.uk/ ... rs-lovely/, it's on the first page of eight if you search for "tarp" in the news and reviews section. (I get a 404 error for all the images so you'll have to imagine what he's writing about) The Asymmetric Holden I use is a slight variation on the Mid-pyramid.

Useful link and reminder. I got the images if I clicked on the little icon in the top left of the image area eg