Basha/ poncho erection system with speed of bungee & lightness of cord

[Phee]

I hope you're all well thank you for looking at this post.
I am a outdoor pursuits instructor ( mainly watersports) and have a number of years military service, infantry and Naval. I would like to know what you guys think is the quickest lightest and even cheapest basha/ poncho shelter erection system.
I have tried a number of systems which you guys may be familiar with: bungees, cord, knotted para cord with short bungee loop for shock absorption. My reasoning to find out is just a by product of years outdoors, always looking for the elusive silver bullet to make life easier.
In the army bungees were a must for speed but were heavy, as well as the ever present danger of being impaled. Cord although versitile and light was to slow for my ever rushed commanders; as well as prone to sagging and tangling. I am experimenting with a loop of knotted paracord with a section of shock cord girth hitched on to my basha/poncho depending on the situation.
In short, what system do you use has the fastest setup tear down time and combined with the lightness of cord. Cost is also an issue as being able to avoid unnecessary expense is always a winner for me. Oh forgot to mention, being able to be used between trees or with basha poles in the absence of them. As I am primarily am on the ground with a bivvy bag, though systems for hammocks are interesting also. Please post system description, set up speed, weight and cost.
Many thanks for reading this and I look forward to hearing from you
Phee

 

[ged]

Four posts in four years?! This is going to take a while.

I can see where you're coming from with a combination of bungee and cord. Most of the time like you I'm in a bivvy bag on the ground under a tarp, and yes paracord tends to sag in the morning. I just live with it.
The tarp is ex-issue, heavy. I tried a lighter one from DD but it exploded when one of my dogs barreled into it one day chasing a squirrel.

Not being in a hurry most of the time has its advantages, but I find leaving bits of cord attached to the tarp, tidied up with a gasket hitch, makes setting up and knocking down fairly painless.
The bits of cord (genuine nylon paracord, cut off the 'chute myself) are generally about 5-8m long. SIx on the tarp, and I carry a few spares of various lengths. I carry a few pegs but now and then I make a few.

Speed - slow
Weight - huge compared with some I've seen
Cost - minimal

You didn't mention durability:

Durability - excellent

I suppose some sort of tree-hugger-type straps with dinky titanium fittings would speed things up a touch but it would weigh even more, cost a fortune and the time saving would be rather small.

I generally don't bother to carry poles, I look for somewhere where there are places convenient to sling the ridge lines and pitch there. At least it's lighter that way, even if I have to walk a bit further.

If you want to cut down on cordage weight, I'm sure one of the proprietary cords like Amsteel or Dyneema is the way to go. What's the tarp? Ex issue?

 

[Quixoticgeek]

Paracord sags cos it's nylon, which stretches when wet. If you use a Dyneema, or polyester cord (or even a Polyester sheathed dyneema cord), like the English Braids stuff, you will find it doesn't sag. You still have the speed of deployment thing. Tho that comes with practice. I can get my tarp up in under a minute, my basha is even faster as I leave it connected to the ridge cord at all times, but only ever deploy it as an A ridge pitch.

J

PS If there is demand, I can do another group buy of the 2mm dyneema.

 

[Quixoticgeek]

Paracord sags cos it's nylon, which stretches when wet. If you use a Dyneema, or polyester cord (or even a Polyester sheathed dyneema cord), like the English Braids stuff, you will find it doesn't sag. You still have the speed of deployment thing. Tho that comes with practice. I can get my tarp up in under a minute, my basha is even faster as I leave it connected to the ridge cord at all times, but only ever deploy it as an A ridge pitch.

J

PS If there is interest, I can do another group buy of the 2mm dyneema, it's been a while since I did one.

 

[John Fenna]

I mainly just use bungees - I find the weight/ease of pitching trade off OK. When you use a full weight Bilmo canvas tarp the extra weight is barely noticeable
I do not carry specific poles but have used my canoe poles and canoe paddles in the past and occasionally used my walking staff and locally found stick/tree/bank.
If I was looking to save weight I might look at very fine bungee cord (a bit like the draw cords you get in some jackets) and micro clips/hooks....

 

[Insel Affen]

I've used bungees since I was at Sandhurst 20 years ago, but the last ear or so I switched to paracord at it just seems to be more flexible. Never had any real problems with sagging, it's cheap and light, and once you have mastered three or four knots, it's pretty quick too.

I, use a DD 3x3 tarp using paracord. A frontline hammock, using a combination of whoopie slings, carabiners and a form of tree huggers. Probably takes about 5-10 mins tops to set up and take down. I experimenting with silver car screen covers, roll mats and possibly an under blanket, but haven't got an solution yet. Had too many uncomfortable nights on the ground and now I can bluff my case with a hammock 😀.

I know Shug Emery http://youtu.be/4GQPY5BuyPI has some good tips too.

 

[Phee]

Guys thanks for the feedback, some food for thought. When I get a chance I will try out the various systems and get back to you.

 

[sunndog]

Paracord sags cos it's nylon, which stretches when wet. If you use a Dyneema, or polyester cord (or even a Polyester sheathed dyneema cord), like the English Braids stuff, you will find it doesn't sag. You still have the speed of deployment thing. Tho that comes with practice. I can get my tarp up in under a minute, my basha is even faster as I leave it connected to the ridge cord at all times, but only ever deploy it as an A ridge pitch.

J

PS If there is demand, I can do another group buy of the 2mm dyneema.

If its any help i could do with some 2mm dyneema and 3mm amsteel

 

[MikeLA]

I have always used bungees the weight if any is 100% worth it. Basha tried many, I prefer the issue one but also like the fox basha. Others tried but those are my favourites.

 

[bilmo-p5]

Most often I use a light 3x3 tarp set as a diamond fly to a walking pole and single paracord guy with a runner. Gives me plenty of room as I'm a long streak of whatnot and I move about a lot in my sleep.

 

[Miyagi]

Bungees for me I'm afraid.

I've used paracord and prussic tensioners too and they work great, but for speed in the drizzle bungees win hands down.

For tie outs/guylines it's bungees to strong roots, or paracord to pegs or poles and pegged out. If one edge needs to be really close to the ground then it's thick elastic bands and/or hairbands to a peg for a bit of give.

Liam

 

[Tonyuk]

Get a roll of bungee cord (sometimes labeled as shock cord) and thread a good length through each of the eyelets. Double it back on itself and tie knots all along the doubled cord starting from the eyelet going out (make sure its a reasonable length to start) Then when it comes to pitching the basha / poncho etcc just wrap the corp around the tree, pull to tighten, and thread one of the knots through a gap between the others. Tension will then hold it in place. Using this method you can put one up in about a minute, and take it down again without cutting anything. Also you don't need to worry if the bungee's which are obviously a set size are long enough, since you can carry a few to extend the straps. No need to worry about the hooks catching your hand either.

The above is hard to explain but i can get a few photographs up if you would like?

Tonyuk

 

[Chris the Cat]

I would like Tonyuk!!

Best.

Chris.