Bivi, Bivvy, Bivvie, Tent, Camping poles?

[lostplanet]

Seem to be a few options with not great feedback.

Looking to put up a basha for some weather protection during the day, where there are no trees, so which poles work for you?

This is something I would like to carry in my pack, so not the ones that weigh 1.6kg or are organic please, meaning no branches or stick twigs etc....

 

[Janne]

For a similar overhead protecting construction I have been using the walking aids. One each side.
I like to multi use, it saves weight.

 

[Tonyuk]

They sell the correct poles for not much money these days, google tarp poles.

Those, walking sticks or a decent stick found on the ground all work.

If there are no trees at all then 4 poles would be ideal.

 

[Janne]

The way I use only two is to create a very primitive inverted v shape. Quick to set up.

 

[Deleted member 36581]

I'm also interested to see what poles people recommend. There are several options out there but many seem to result in mixed opinions. Walking poles are a good option but only if walking. They're awkward to carry if on a bike.

 

[Janne]

You can use the bike as a vertical support.
If it is a motorbike you do not need much more, if a pedal bike you need to.

I used to cycle a lot in my teens ( pedal bike) , and the problem was the fishing rods.

 

[Deleted member 36581]

You can use the bike as a vertical support.
If it is a motorbike you do not need much more, if a pedal bike you need to.

I used to cycle a lot in my teens ( pedal bike) , and the problem was the fishing rods.

With a pedal bike I've used the front wheel on one side and the handle bars on the other to set up an A frame before which worked well.

I've also tied out to the top box rack on the motorbike as well, both with a ridgeline and from the ground. That concerns me a little in the wind though, it does make the bike move a bit if you push on the tarp so I've always tied the bike down too, though I'm not convinced the tie outs would stop the bike from tipping.

I've never found specific poles essential but I can think of a few ssituations where they would come in handy so I'd still like a set.

 

[Billy-o]

Collapsible trekking or skiing poles collapse down quite collapsibly to much not much more than your typical tent pole section ... also, if you have a saw on your Victorinox, you can cut a couple of poles en route. And, in the end, you don't have to have a ton of clearance, 24" maybe. Janne's A frame suggestion is a handy way to do things, and you can arrange that with just one pole if you put a couple of lines on it.

 

[lostplanet]

I went to gooutdoors looking for there collapsible telescopic tarp pole but they didnt have them at my branch, so picked up a 7.9mm fibreglass 7 pole kit for £3.99.

https://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/hi-gear-fibreglass-pole-kit-7-section-7-9-mm-p429753

Im gonna have a play with these and see if I can make them work.

Should be able to get 2 poles out of this kit and maybe short enough for a side pouch but "in the bag" isnt really a problem.

Going to add penny washers to the top for the basha eyelet and maybe a large washer, small nut and bolt for the base to stop it digging in too much once loaded.

2 poles together equal 116 cm length which is plenty for i need.

Back soon.

 

[Erbswurst]

1. The point is:

If there aren't trees or hedges and no walls, you will get problems with a larger tarp in the wind. For this circumstances a tent is the best option. Or a bivvy bag.

That's why I recommend to use NATO Poncho and bivvy bag in the woods. That fits in most conditions.

A poncho you can attach at a tree, a hedge, a stick, a wall, a fence, a bike, a rock, what ever. The small size is easier to pitch.
You can pull it over the standing ruck sack too!

A portable Hasel stick can do the job as well.

In my opinion Snugpack Special Forces 1 sleeping bag oliv1000g in its bivvy bag oliv 350g, carried in an Ortlieb ultra light dry sack 7 litres oliv is the best option in combination with a Defcon 5 Army poncho 400g in camouflage vegetato italiano.

That is very light. All has a Nato Stock Number.
Only Ortlieb doesn't have one. But that is civil high quality stuff made in Germany.

The Snugpack stuff comes from Switzerland and Britain, the Poncho from Italy.

That's light and robust!
In most conditions you don't need an additional rain suite.

 

[lostplanet]

I would like to make myself clear here:

Please read the original post. I Do Not want to use organics in this setup, meaning branches or any sort of stick. I can easily sort this myself and am well aware of whats available.

What i am trying to achieve is a portable lightweight low cost solution that works for me, Think of this setup as a would be sun shade in the middle of a sandy desert no rocks or much else around. Input from memebrs is greatly recieved and appreciated as many minds are better than one but we need to be reading the same book.......

Ok Mk1 as you can see are too flimsy. they are actually holding the basha and it is quite windy, but i dont think they would last to be honest.

Also they are a bit long so you can't just use the loops directly in the floor/ground with pegs, so i might try shortening them and see if bending reduces.

after that, next is to try a bigger diameter pole from GO.

Thanks for your interest and replies so far.

 

[Erbswurst]

The German Luxe Outdoor trader Florian Homeier sells poles for his pyramids an tarps which are light and adjustable.

I know this guy personally. What he sells works fine.
He constructs tents and produces the tippee cotton tent Tschum handmade in Germany. What he offers is well tested by himself.

 

[lostplanet]

Ok Mk2 is an improvement. basically cut down the existing poles to roughly 400mm each making a total of 800mm. They do bend but nowhere as much.

This shortening has improved the rigidity of the poles and I can now use the basha loops straight into the ground with pegs.

I will give these a try and see how it goes. My next move would be to buy larger diameter poles as mentioned. This will hopefully improve rigidity further and allow for longer poles if desired.

I will get together a list of parts later on if you are interested in trying this out, but I do know at the moment these 2 poles have cost under £10 with some tools needed.

 

[Janne]

You are still better off using two walking aids. A little bit of wind and your sollution can/will collapse.

Or just one and do a half pyramid, like Billy says.

I think you are trying to reinvent the wheel here.

I would put the ridge line under the fabric, this way it gets better support.

One line is enough. Going from ground - pole- under fabric - pole- ground.

 

[Alan De Enfield]

Have you considered a single pole ?
Something like an old NHS Aluminium 'crutch' or walking stick is easily adapted/cut down/modified, has adjustable height and is lightweight.
There are load of different 'tarp tents' that can be built with a single pole.

Hopefully the 3 examples I've sketched out come out OK.
The 'big X' is the single pole position, whilst the smaller X's around the perimeter are peg points

The 'open fronted' can either have / have not a guy line attached 1/3 rd of the way 'up the ridge' with a short piece of wood giving additional height at the 'foot end'.

 

[Erbswurst]

I prefere one corner up to the tree, diagonal first peg in the opposite corner, than peg 2 and 3 in the other corners.
If you use a pole instead of the tree of course you need one peg more.

With this construction you have for the same weight one tough pole instead of two weak ones. Of course you should take a tube.

Its the fastest and lightest version.

And the point is:

If you aren't in the Sahara, you will find nearly every where one high point in the nature to attach poncho or tarp.

That's the reason, why tarp users usually do not carry poles around.

 

[Janne]

I struggled in the Scandinavian mountains on many times.
Rocky ground if close to a large rock.
Smooth ground - nothing high closeby.

Reindeer do not want to stand still.

On those occacions I had to do a cocoon.

 

[lostplanet]

You are still better off using two walking aids. A little bit of wind and your sollution can/will collapse.

Or just one and do a half pyramid, like Billy says.

I think you are trying to reinvent the wheel here.

I would put the ridge line under the fabric, this way it gets better support.

One line is enough. Going from ground - pole- under fabric - pole- ground.

At the moment according to met office the wind is 20 mph with 37 mph gusts here. granted its in my back yard but it hasn't collapsed yet.

I dont want to use walking poles, I dont need walking poles thank you. I dont want to move the guyline under, this is not the way I have my setup and there is good reason for this.

Moving on, An A Frame with 2 poles suits my requirements at the location I will be visiting.

@Alan De Enfield
Thank you for taking the time to draw the options, I will consider these for alternative locations.

Thanks.

 

[Janne]

Pardon my question, but if your setup is already decided, why do you ask then?

 

[lostplanet]

We seem to be having a bit of a communication problem here.

my original question:

"Seem to be a few options with not great feedback.

Looking to put up a basha for some weather protection during the day, where there are no trees, so which poles work for you?

This is something I would like to carry in my pack, so not the ones that weigh 1.6kg or are organic please, meaning no branches or stick twigs etc...."

This means for those who are using bivvy poles, what have you found are any good? because

webtex extendable bivi pole review on amazon:

"This is not a good product, I am an Officer in the British Army and I, like many of my soldiers have purchased these poles because of no alternative.

Within two days of light use on exercise (in the field) the thumb screw on both poles had cross threaded and become useless. The poles are too thick and the bottom end cap prevents you stowing them down the side of your bergen,

although the poles are robust they have been poorly designed with some serious drawbacks.

I did have an excellent set of poles that were two piece, that merely snapped together (like a tent pole) they were light, strong and had a diameter of around 5mm. Unfortunately my wife lost them.

Come on Web-tex, you can do better than that. Contact me for some ideas (25 years in the Army)."

The highlander version get much the same opinion.

I considered The Luxe poles suggested and are way too expensive.

Go outdoors extendable pole was not in stock to view.