Tarp Shelters

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seanmizusmc

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Jan 20, 2011
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I was wondering what your guys experience is with tarp shelters. I liked the one Adam from equip2endure had set up as a winter shelter. It was basically a lean-to with a Mylar emergency blanket acting as sort of a buffer above him with debris insulating the sides. Another really easy one was on equip2endure, this guy Chance had a canvas tarp set up in a plow format and Adam added a long stick with a lot of pine needle branches for wind and rain protection.
I know the canvas is going to be too heavy for a backpack trip, but I was thinking a nice heavy duty or milspec tarp from a surplus dealer, a good wool blanket, magnesium firestarter with a bic for backup and 100ft of paracord should make for a cozy shelter with a good fire going. Its cheap, I estimated costs around 50 bucks so cant scoff at that, and I can get 2 bungees and roll them all up together to make for easy transport, and I can use the bungees for quick tie downs if i have to set up a shelter ASAP.
Anyways, has anyone used a tarp shelter? If so, what was your experience like and what would you recommend?
 
Howard Wallace said:
Tyvek is one of the wonders of modern technology.
Click to expand...

When I was in the Marines, I was part of a chem bio unit outside of DC, our main suit for casualty extraction was Tyvek. Its lightweight but tears easier than a tarp. Plus, no grommets. It would make a great poncho or surface to lay on though.
 
True, I'm just not a fan of Tyvek to be honest. 4 years of experience and every time i was in a suit i would tear it on the dumbest stuff or blow it out. No pebbles where i live either if you can believe it. I'm in a swampy area and the only rocks are in my gravel driveway. I want to go visit my buddy in Hendersonville NC and go rough it in the smokies so there will be plenty of rocks there.
 
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Back in Highschool and Scouting I slept under a lot of tarp shelters. Sometimes it was a blue tarp setup like an A-frame, other times it was a shelter half and heavy duty space blanket for the door. In the Spring before the weather was nice up the canyon I would setup tarp shelters in the side yard. Setup the Shelter half one time with a large blue top off the front side. I had tons of room (Could have fit 4+ people under it) and since the tarp was close to your head, it was really warm.

Been trying to deside if I want to do a tarp shelter for my campout tonight or bring my tent. It all depends on which area I want to camp at.
 
Downsides of Tyvek are it's noisy in the wind and it looks like a homeless person shelter. None of my REI outfitted buddies will camp near me.
 
I have one of those silnylon tarps for my emergency shelter.
It's nice because it's lightweight, packs small, 100% waterproof (once you seal the seam) and affordable while not appearing totally ghetto if you need to use it.
There is a company that makes a product called Tarptent that looks great and gets good reviews; silnylon tub floor, bug mesh, incoporates your trekking pole into the setup as a tent pole. I'd have a look at that.

pete
 
I like that sublite sil from Tarptent. Equinox has a good option for the silnylon tarp too. I read that one guy got his battered with hail while out and about and it held up, no holes.
 
Bug mesh can be very important. It's a feature tarps don't have in general.

I set up a tent one time in a hurry. My companion and I divided the labor. My job was to set up the tent, my companion's job was to brush the biting flies off me and herself while I was doing it. We were very glad when we could finally get inside.
 
Bugs and blowing rain would be my biggest concerns, here in KY. You might even set up with no bugs, to find that in the middle of the night, a million grand daddy long legs come down from the trees.
 
Good call. There is a tarp store i was checking out online that sold mesh tarps as well. Maybe I could rig up something with a small mesh tarp at the opening. Other than that, for bug pro, I will be carrying 2 cans of deep woods off. I do like those one person tents from tarptent, but most are over $150. I was looking at doing and ENO hammock with a silnylon 8x10 tarp for cover. Basically I would just make an elevated tent with a steep pitch to keep me covered from rain and also to protect from bugs.
 
You might be able to find some small spray containers of 100% deet at a sporting goods, they pack a lot smaller than spray cans of OFF!
I use a product called "Ben's."

Bill
 
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Look at Campmor and places like that, you can get ripstop polypropylene tarps with tabs or grommets, and some of them come in at only a few ounces more than a similarly sized silnylon tarp and hold up better. Plus they are about half the price, so you don't cry as hard when you have to replace it, and with any synthetic cloth tarp, replacing it is a "when", not an "if".

You can also get some very light bug tents that can be pitched right under the tarp, so you get allt he benefits of a tarp, minus the bugs.


Another way to go, and the best tarp shelter, IMO, is one that has a hammock under it.
I bought the Claytor Jungle Hammock

picJungleHammockJeep.JPG
 
Nice camo-tarp/hammock. Good combo of all I would need. Have you taken it out cold weather camping yet?
 
Depends on what you call cold, it only got into the high 30s here this winter.

The hammock has a dual inner layer that you can stuff a sleeping pad or under quilt in for warmth. You can also pitch it close to the ground and pack leaves/boughs under it, like you would if sleeping on the ground, and pitch the tarp to break the wind. You should be able to fit a decent sleeping bag in it, I had no trouble getting the MSS black bag in it.
 
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