Shelter tarps with no guy lines

[pumbaa]

I dont know how much this will help , but Millets do fibre glass pole repair kits . Each kit gives you enough sections to make a fair length of pole (for under a £10) . You could use these to shape the tarp and just dangle it over the top of your hammock . If you made a bender style hoop running diagonly accross your tarp you could always extend the poles and push them into the ground .
Pumbaa

 

[Nemisis]

I think one of the simplest solutions would be those glow in the dark guylines that would avoid many of the accidents.
Dave.

 

[-Switch-]

What you need is three poles.
Tie the first between two trees slightly above head height.
Then lash the other two either side at shoulder height running parrallel to the first.
Drape your tarp over the first and tie the sides to the other two poles in a typical 'tent' shape.
This method does depend greatly on having the right amount of trees available and spaced correctly - it's no use in sparsely populated woodland.

I hate lines too and have used this method before a few times when the woods have allowed.

Sorry if that's a bit vague, it's harder than i thought to explain it

 

[Wayland]

I think the main problem is green paracord lines.

At meets I tend to use bright coloured lines or I hang tapes from the lines to make them visible. This reduces accidents which damage tarps as well as the unwary

Most things anywhere near head height have things hanging on them to keep stuff off the ground anyway.

The tarps that Magikelly supplied on the group buy all had orange guy lines. Lets see how many turn up at meets with new camoflage trip cords fitted.

 

[jdlenton]

The tarps that Magikelly supplied on the group buy all had orange guy lines. Lets see how many turn up at meets with new camouflage trip cords fitted

I'm colour blind so even the orange ones look green to me so i swapped mine for green and now you guys get to see what I see in the dark........ nowt!!!!!



Toddy still thinking about this haven't come up with an elegant solution yet

James


EDIT: Toddy Just remembered this link popped up on the forum not too long back i have the dead tree edition on my desk having just had flick through there are some good ideas in it that might be of use

 

[capacious]

If you modified your tarp and put pole sleeves at either end to make an A-frame, and then put tent poles through there that have clips at the top to stop them from folding, you would have a self supporting structure. Then all you need to do is tie it up to the tree (or if we are talking not one single guy line, then you could have another tnet pole running the length of the ridge). Then you can either just peg it to the ground in the normal manner, and you have a simple A-frame tent, or you could position it on stilts and tie it on if you want to use it with a hammock.

This could work, but it woud probably be liable to being removed from your posession by even the slightest gale force storm Your not going to be able to use ANYTING in windy weather without guylines, as guylines are there to provide stability and strength in high winds. You could either use guylines in such a way as they are not 50' long (by guying them to a trekpole etc. and then guying that out) or you could either use reflective or high visibility guylines, and have reflective/high vis' tape on them so you can see where they are.

Or you could do the easy, and sensible thing, and buy a dome tent like the golite 'Den', or a tarp like the 'Lair' or 'Cave'.

Jake.

 

[pumbaa]

I have to say nothing can be as bad as those canvas tents the scouts use . if you manage to trip over the first guy line you end up with them bloody great tent pegs getting you in the knee , the plums , the sternum and the face in one go ! I saw this happen once , not a good result .
Pumbaa

 

[rich59]

This is the best I can do. Oh...there is a guyline from the basha pole (but that's because it was really windy at the weekend) The ridgeline rope was loose as I was experimenting.

Pablo

Having never camped under a tarp (yet) this is an academic question. I got out a sheet of paper to play with!!

Suggestion 1 - In the picture above you need the stick to be supported by a forward guy. But is there any reason it couldn''t slant upward to a branch? Then there is nothing to trip over. If the pole was 4-6 feet long then the guy wouldn't even lynch you.

Suggestion 2 - Use the tarp to wrap yourself up in like a sausage roll with your kit down the feet end. No guys needed at all.

Suggestion 3 - plant the pole deeply so it is self supporting or rooted

Any of these ideas any good?

 

[Paxo]

You can use a tarp with a central lashing eye. Simply tie some cord to the central lashing eye and the other end up to a branch and let the tarp hang down like a tippee. Peg the outer lashing eye with twigs. You need a large tarp really.
There are loads of different setups for any type of situation and need.

 

[anthonyyy]

Theres yer man:
http://www.outdoortrends.de/2483__tarp--tunnel.html

 

[RGRBOX]

Because they are quite usefull, carry to telescoping poles, and just support the bivy tart with those... or throw a line over a limb, and suspend the tarp this way, like the parachutes are done in some of the Bushcraft courses... There's also the method of finding a downed log, and using it by making a half shelter, ans attaching the upper part to the log, and some tent pegs to the bottom part. I've seen some very light weight tarts that are out now using standard folding tent poles, and they look very good. But I think that just getting used ot the standard method, and remembering that there are lines around would be the easyist...

 

[leon-1]

Toddy, between Pumbaa and Anthonyyy here they have pretty much got it.

Use flexible poles through the loops at the ends of the tarp, pins plugin to the base of the flexible poles and a strap runs between the poles at the same end, if you use a buckle to tension the strap and pull the ends of the poles closer together you will end up with a half tunnel shape.

The only problem could be that the tunnel will "roll" with the wind a little, but if you run cords directly down to the trees that your ridgeline is attached to from the corner points of the tarp to ground level on the tree that should stop the majority of the roll.

They then cease to be guylines as such, hope this helps

 

[Toddy]

I must admit I like the strap and buckle idea. I'm wondering if I could adapt that slightly and create eyelets in the strap that would take tent pegs and strap straight down from the corners of the tarp to the ground. To keep the tarp spread I can get 'rollup one way but let loose and it'll straighten itself out' plastic boning (sorry, it's corset making stuff ) I think kids have bracelets made from similar stuff called slap and wrap . All guys would then be in the footprint of the tarp and I could still see out comfortably all around.....just the tarp corners poking out eyes to sort out now
I've got a tunnel tent somewhere I could play around with......

Toddy

 

[leon-1]

Sounds good Toddy, if you get a prototype together I would like to see it, I may even give it a go myself if I can get the bits together.

 

[george]

Try this one Toddy - a bit of a mix of what the others were saying. Easy enough to hang from a tree once you've got it pitched if you want to use a hammock.

http://www.alpharubicon.com/prepinfo/ponchotent.htm

George

 

[Lithril]

Wonder if you could rig something up similar to the tarp tent? http://www.tarptent.com/products.html

 

[Toddy]

oooh nice I like those. Pull it out, put it up, roll out the bivvy bag and you're sorted
Methinks I can feel *another* tent coming on
Anybody got one? How do you find it?

Cheers,
Toddy

 

[anthonyyy]

I nearly bought one of those tunnel tarp things when I was in Germany last week but I had spent way too much money on other gear.
They are pretty tall allowing crouching room if not standing room.

 

[Mooney]

You may like this
Summer wind

It was posted on bcuk a while back and ive been wanting it ever since. the main feature for me is that you use telescopic walking poles or wooden sticks, rather that lug around poles with you.

 

[tedw]

How about the good old paracute tepee - edges pegged to the ground and the top hauled up taut with a rope over a tree branch. It more-or-less keeps the rain out if it's taut enough, but you couldn't use a hammock in it!