poncho-tarp pitches

I added a little "no loss" to my stakes today :)

tarpstakes.jpg
 
What is the coating on the shepherd crooks? Plasticoat? That is cool! :thumbup:
 
I saw this tarp looking thing on a high shelf and wondered what it was. Pulled it down to take a look. It was a body bag (unused of course). Bought it for $5. I'm going to have to play around with it a bit. If anyone has any bright ideas for using it other than its intended use, let me know.
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22-Rimfire:

All the guys in my unit thought it was bad juju but it can be used as a hammock and as a bivy sack. Each of us carried our own body bags behind the kidney pads on our rucks and I figured that if I have to carry it I might as well get some use out of it.

It's not that comfortable as a hammock but beats nothing if you need to be off the ground. Just run some non-stretchy cord (550-/parachute-/para-cord stretches too much for this) though the 6 handle straps on it and tie it off to a tree. It helps to use a spreader bar (just notch both ends of a branch or if it's too flexible you can bundle 2 or more y-shaped sticks to each other) between the cordage at your head and feet. If you have some long branches you can also run those through to make it a much more effective, although narrow, hammock.

I would use my poncho as a hooch and use my sleeping pad, woobie (poncho liner), sleeping bag or both inside my body bag. Not the best bivy, but it does in a pinch, as long as you're not too superstitious!:eek: You'll need to spray coat the outside to make it more waterproof, which reduces breathability greatly, so don't zip it over your head (or any other bivy sack. Climbers die all the time doing this). Condensation can be a problem, but you can reduce it by keeping your face out of the bag and if it's really cold you can cover your face with a towel, t-shirt, bandanna, etc.

It could probably be used as a game bag, too, if you're a hunter.
 
Codger_64 said:
What is the coating on the shepherd crooks? Plasticoat? That is cool! :thumbup:
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plasti-kote fluorescent paint, not sure how long it will hold up, but at least one trip I'm sure :)

if I could find a plasti-"dip" in fluorescent orange that would probably be a more permanent solution
 
Awesome job, MT! I love my SilPoncho. I also pair it with a UL bivy and have recently added some of the orange spectra line from BPL.

By the way, I would love to buy larger quantity of the Spectra line. Do you know of a source? With that in mind, anybody up for a group buy? :)
 
Pritch said:
Awesome job, MT! I love my SilPoncho. I also pair it with a UL bivy and have recently added some of the orange spectra line from BPL.

By the way, I would love to buy larger quantity of the Spectra line. Do you know of a source? With that in mind, anybody up for a group buy? :)
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danke :)

I don't know of one, I get mine here (not sure what you paid at BPL)

http://www.ultralightdesigns.com/products/shelter/guyline-red.html

mountainlaureldesigns also sells it (in 40 and 60' lengths)- at close to 200# it's amazing stuff, it's also multi-stranded likes it's bigger brother 550

I know they use the stuff (Spectra) spearfishing, they might sell in bigger rolls- not sure what diameters they work w/ though
 
gents- just found this- midshipman's hitch, some sites use it interchangeably w/ the tautline, but it's slightly different- looks like a better hitch w/ synthetic line (which most of use)- I ended re-tying all my guys w/ this hitch

midshipmanhitch.jpg
 
^ exactly my reason for doing it- I'm a pretty decent searcher and found very little in the way of howto's for poncho/tarp setups

^ that site you posted where it talks about making your own "grommets" if your poncho doesn't have them- there is a much better way than cutting holes in a poncho- simply put a little duff, round rock, etc in a corner, wrap the poncho material around forming a little pouch and then wrap a slip knot around the pouch and tie off- this technique works good for emergency blankets as well :)
 
I have used a poncho/hammock/mosnet for years. I still thinks its the best method for shelter. Be sure and sling your hammock at chest height, run your poncho main directly above your hammock and add mosnet under the poncho. Snug as a bug, so to speak. In the winter, I use a wool blanket (red cross) in the bottom of my hammock to insulate. Good stuff to all. Moose
 
The adjustable grip hitch, mentioned above, is a good knot, but why not make it slippery? Makes it a lot easier to tear down.

Also, you might consider swapping out the Bowline (a good knot) for an Angler's Loop. In the spirit of multiuse tools, the Angler's Loop is a good loop plus it is one of the few knots that will hold in bungee cord, so if you want to keep your knot skills to a minimum, it might be a good choice. I would also tie it 'slippery'.

BungeeLoop-1.jpg


The other knot you might like to try, that would replace the Clove Hitch, is the Buntline Hitch. For my purposes, it is a much more secure knot (also tied slippery), although the Clove Hitch gives you the extra benefit of becoming a Single Constrictor with just one additional move.

Buntlinehitch.jpg


SingleConstrictor-2.jpg


My 2 cents.......
 
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