This will answer all your tarp setup questions...
http://www.bushwalking.org.au/FAQ/tarp/TarpShel.htm
http://www.bushwalking.org.au/FAQ/tarp/TarpShel.htm
Advice please on basic set up
- Thread starter Moodyforager
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To start you off I would take a cheap tent into the woods AND a tarp. This way you will sleep warm and dry and you have time to experiment setting up a tarp in different configurations.
Read 'A night before christmas' to my son last night would that help lol.
Sorry couldnt help that on a serious note I think maybe I should take Mesquite's offer of help with setting up. will send PM hopefully that will help choose what to buy.
Might see if I can get a bushcraft book for christmas.
I will also test some of this stuff out in the garden. I have read a little about this subject.
I am also a very out doors person I work as a grounds man so I do understand how to keep warm and dry and how cold and wet it can be at all times of the year.I just dont understand basic set up for wild camping. Not planning on camping out much at the moment just the odd night on the beach sea fishing untill next spring.
Please dont take my comments as me being unapprieciative of your feed back just trying to let you know where I am at. thanks for all your replys keep them coming.
Andy
Andy
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Thanks great link I like the look of the wind shed and the diamond fly couldnt find the cave type though is that just another name for one these set ups ?
I call my set up a cave or pyramid setup. Basically it is a very quick and easy pitch once you have done it a few times. My square tarp has 16 loops around the edge and three lifter loops along the middle (combined with one loop at each edge that is in line with these central loops it wpould allow for 5 loops for a central line but I never do that since there are no trees on a fell side pitch).
Anyway with these central lifter / central line loops in line with the predominant wind direction I peg out two edge loops at the windward edge down. The loops I use are the first two in from the corners. I also peg them out a bit closer together so the tarp is loose there. I then put my trekking pole through the loop in the centre of the opposite edge and guy it out. Then I peg out the corners at that side and work my way around pegging out every free edge loop (except the corners outside of the first two pegged loops as these corners are tucked under the tarp. Then I attach a guyline to the lifter loop closest to the edge pegged to the ground. This in turn is attached to my second trekking pole at the top with a clove hitch then its pegged out and tightened to lift up the foot end of the tarp. This now creates a streamlined tarp to resist the wind and a triangular opening where the pole is. I'm a tall person and I can easily get in unlike the crawl in and out of tents. You can adjust the height of the opening if needed by lowering the pole and pegging out the corners further apart.
Please note that you may have to adjust the direction of the pitch due to slope as it is best to have your head slightly uphill from your feet. This pitch is quite stable in winds from the sides however where possible the lower / foot end should be to the wind if it is likely to pick up. The tarp will flap in the wind as they always do on open pitches but it is quite a stable pitch IME.
If you don't carry trekkingpoles you can get tarp poles from some suppliers but most are heavy. There are some catering for the UL backpacking crowd who sell lighter ones. These are fixed height and you might not get a good grip with a clove hitch on the lifter pole. You can always use sticks if therea re any around. I personally take trekking poles because there are some very light ones out there now, they are adjustable, the spike sticks in the ground well (and I have even used one as a peg as well as the lifter pole), the hendle grips the clove hitch well and I often use it where I need the stability they offer such as stream crossings. Most of the time they are on my pack out of the way anyway so not noticed.
I hope this helps. please note I am a ground dweller only so you need to see a tree dweller about tarp pitching for that application. Enjoy. PS I am thinking of trying my first winter tarp camp end of January. Not even camped in a tent then so it should be interesting. Especially since I will be at the end of the Ennerdale valley too far from my car to bug out easily. So I hope to be posting on here in February after a successful tarp camp. Perhaps hypothermia is not a good start to 2011.
Anyway with these central lifter / central line loops in line with the predominant wind direction I peg out two edge loops at the windward edge down. The loops I use are the first two in from the corners. I also peg them out a bit closer together so the tarp is loose there. I then put my trekking pole through the loop in the centre of the opposite edge and guy it out. Then I peg out the corners at that side and work my way around pegging out every free edge loop (except the corners outside of the first two pegged loops as these corners are tucked under the tarp. Then I attach a guyline to the lifter loop closest to the edge pegged to the ground. This in turn is attached to my second trekking pole at the top with a clove hitch then its pegged out and tightened to lift up the foot end of the tarp. This now creates a streamlined tarp to resist the wind and a triangular opening where the pole is. I'm a tall person and I can easily get in unlike the crawl in and out of tents. You can adjust the height of the opening if needed by lowering the pole and pegging out the corners further apart.
Please note that you may have to adjust the direction of the pitch due to slope as it is best to have your head slightly uphill from your feet. This pitch is quite stable in winds from the sides however where possible the lower / foot end should be to the wind if it is likely to pick up. The tarp will flap in the wind as they always do on open pitches but it is quite a stable pitch IME.
If you don't carry trekkingpoles you can get tarp poles from some suppliers but most are heavy. There are some catering for the UL backpacking crowd who sell lighter ones. These are fixed height and you might not get a good grip with a clove hitch on the lifter pole. You can always use sticks if therea re any around. I personally take trekking poles because there are some very light ones out there now, they are adjustable, the spike sticks in the ground well (and I have even used one as a peg as well as the lifter pole), the hendle grips the clove hitch well and I often use it where I need the stability they offer such as stream crossings. Most of the time they are on my pack out of the way anyway so not noticed.
I hope this helps. please note I am a ground dweller only so you need to see a tree dweller about tarp pitching for that application. Enjoy. PS I am thinking of trying my first winter tarp camp end of January. Not even camped in a tent then so it should be interesting. Especially since I will be at the end of the Ennerdale valley too far from my car to bug out easily. So I hope to be posting on here in February after a successful tarp camp. Perhaps hypothermia is not a good start to 2011.
I got my pitch from youtube. Search on it for tarp pitching. There are loads on there but some of the easier ones to find include my pitch style. I have heard it called cave pitch before but it is not the same as the pyramid pitch on that link. I have seen that link in several forms before. They are good but basically not comprehensive and personally I don't like those pitches. I have used an A-frame pitch in good weather with a crag at one end. The A-frame pitchis good with dodgers. These are pieces of sil-nylon that can be used to block off the end. IIRC Granite Gear make them but they are screaming out for a MYOG approach. Look on www.ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk for tarps and these dodgers too. Their tarps are really good but can be pricey.
I do think that a lot of the pitches on that link are better for sheltered sites. The tortilla pitch has a good wind resistance. There is a really good vid of it being set up on youtube. Lean too's and windsheds (those that are basically lean too with flaps down the side) IMHO would not be best on fell side in wind. Could be proved wrong but it is my opinion. Pitch style is always dependant on the terrain, tarp size / shape and the prevailing weather conditions. Also I think in poor ground for pegs (rocky or softer and wet fell or moorland or sand/sandy soils) the cave is also good as it has more pegging points on the ground than those pitches with one side in the air like leantoo or windsheds. The tortilla is good as are those with part of the tarp under you when you are in it. However I think these could be cramped pitching styles. MY style has a good floor space. I could fit two of me in my 2.5m square tarp (I'm 6'5" tall) even though you lose length due to it going down to the ground.
Not to pimp their site and products (too much), but Backpackinglight UK has a dvd about tarp pitching for not much money, and if you buy a tarp from them, the dvd comes with it free of charge - Even if you just buy a DD tarp 3x3 mtr (which is what I did). As other have said, tarping is not something one should do without a fall-back plan unless you know what you're doing. I purchased mine to be used in conjunction with my Akto tent (and boat, oars and paddle for support on other sides). I might try using just the tarp come summer, but unless I'm proficient in tarp pitching by then, I will continue to use my small tent as my sleeping quarters.
