Basic Tarp Set Up

I

IA Woodsman

Joined
Sep 21, 2009
Messages
534
I know this is not rocket science, but a basic tarp shelter can make or brake a trip. There are more ways than you can shake a stick at to put up a tarp. One of the most reliable ways to set a shelter up is in a pup tent configuration. I have seen this home away from home shed rain, snow, and ice. With a 10'x10' BCUSA Tarp, there is more than enough room for you and your gear.

In my opinion a light weight tarp is perfect for 3 of the 4 seasons in my area. If it were not for the bugs, I would use it all 4. If you have any questions please ask.




[YOUTUBE]OE0EGzutLS4[/YOUTUBE]
 
Great video.

The flying A-frame is my favorite tarp pitch by far. I use two pre tied sliding prusik knots attached to 2 biners. This allows me to adjust and tighten the ridgeline without having to tie knots in the field. I also use a biner to attach the ridgeline around one of the support trees. A few times this has helped me beat the rain/hail in the nick of time. I like to put canteens and cook pots under the areas of greatest run off to collect water. During a good rain I can fill up everything in minutes. Thanks for taking the time to make and post this video.
 
Awesome, thanks for the vid. Not the main topic of the vid, but I really liked the way you held the stakes to pound em, I never thought of that. Coulda saved myself plenty of scraped knuckles and bruises if I'd known that. I was also getting distracted by the dogs in the background, looks like they were after something :p
 
Great vid! By the way, I hammock camp so I've become rather familiar with putting tarps up and down. I found using a Figure9 to be very fast and effective for tying off and tensioning the ridgeline.
 
Ia is a man that's spent lots of time out there. his lack of speech hesitancy & concisive literation shown a true woods x-pert. love the safety tips plus the simplicity of presentation.---dennis
 
DennisStrickland said:
Ia is a man that's spent lots of time out there. his lack of speech hesitancy & concisive literation shown a true woods x-pert. love the safety tips plus the simplicity of presentation.---dennis
Click to expand...
Thank you for the very kind words. I don't fancy myself an expert. I have learned a few tricks here and there and I like passing them on.
crossada said:
Great Video.

So what shelter do you use in the buggy summer then?
Click to expand...

I us a Big Agnes Seedhouse 1. Great little tent.
 
Nice video.

I used a US Army poncho for years.

I would peg down the back of the poncho on to the ground.
Use my walking stick or a overhead branch to tie off the hood for height.
Then use guy lines with 550 cord for the other side so I could vary the angle of the open side.
This way it was water and wind proof in wind driven rain.

The disadvantage of using a poncho, is if it your main raingear.
You get wet setting it up as a shelter!
So I carried a long nylon coated Army Raincoat, that I used around camp but not for walking (too sweaty).
 
Thanks Terry... I need to brush up on my set ups since I have a hammock coming and this will help.

Ski
 
I know it's simple, but you're never to old to learn something new:thumbup: I like the toggle idea. I've used a small prusik set up for years but the simple toggle seems a lot better and more flexible.

Thanks:thumbup:

ROCK6
 
I've never used a tarp shelter. Looks really pretty simple (with a little practice) to set up. I'm gonna give this a whirl this summer. Thanks for the tutorial!
 
j williams said:
You will be hooked on it Dave. Its such a simple, effective way to do it.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I was just messing around with the toggle and plan to take a couple tarps out tomorrow to set up. That has been the biggest PITA part of setting a tarp when it's windy. Goes to show you never stop learning:D

ROCK6
 
Glad you guys liked the toggles. I wish I could take credit for the idea, but it was taught to me many moons ago.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top