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Tarps for Shelter

Hey....

Great post.....I am loving the tyvek possibilities.....No sweating either.......TwinStick --- ILMAO .....It ain't always the equipment.........Josh----That is a LOT of dirt time!!!!!!!!!!

ethan.......
 
I absolutely love bungees as part of the mix.....Keeping the tarp taught has been one of the most frustrating parts of camp life since I was a kid(sometime in the early dark ages) and have been enjoying experimenting .....

ethan
 
I prefer poncho's over tarps. Mainly, because I can put a poncho on and keep moving, and it make for a dandy tarp/hammock cover as well.

Don't get me wrong, I been looking at one of Grand Trucks 10x10 at Sam's place, really hard. :D

Last year at the ESEE Woodland Course, me and BeartheDog were sleeping out in hammocks, it had been raining all evening, and after we headed out to bed down, I found my hammock nice and dry, warm and cozy. I fell asleep almost instantly, with the winds whipping over my poncho cover, and rocking me to sleep.

Got up the next morning, and realized that there were tornado's spotted in the area. :D

Moose
 
After Moose got me turned onto hammock camping, I could get by just fine without sleeping in a tent. Way nicer on the back, easy in and out, and fairly easy setup. Tarps are versatile, and you can do darn near anything you can do with a tent with a tarp.

On the ground, sans hammock:
6411582859_0915b45c31_b.jpg


(Not my pic, but how I set it up in colder, windier settings with hammock) :
5633121512_97288ea883_b.jpg


At the last gathering I had it setup like in the second pic with my hammock for both me and the missus, and had absolutely no problems with the wind or the chilly temps.
 
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Bungees are excellent, 550 as a backup. I use my military issue poncho a lot, little small for two people, but it's dry enough. I also have a blue Mao-mart 8x12 that gets used plenty. Kinda cheap, needs replaced every year or two. Maybe Tyvek is the answer.
 
Murphnuge said:
Bungees are excellent, 550 as a backup. I use my military issue poncho a lot, little small for two people, but it's dry enough. I also have a blue Mao-mart 8x12 that gets used plenty. Kinda cheap, needs replaced every year or two. Maybe Tyvek is the answer.
Click to expand...

I have heard using Tyvek by some folks that deal with it, more often than I do. The only problem I have, is the noise. Tyvek is some kind of noisy. With the wind blowing, I could imagine it driving me crazy.

Don't get me wrong, if I was in a tough spot, I would welcome Tyvek as a shelter, since really, it was designed to be the perfect shelter for your house. It would only reason that it would be perfect for our bodies as well.

Moose
 
Murphnuge said:
Bungees are excellent, 550 as a backup. I use my military issue poncho a lot, little small for two people, but it's dry enough. I also have a blue Mao-mart 8x12 that gets used plenty I. Kinda cheap, needs replaced every year or two. Maybe Tyvek is the answer.
Click to expand...

Before I got tree straps and whoopie slings for my hammock, I used 600lb test bankline, aka tarred twisted nylon. Nothing knots better.

Derek, is that a tent cover made for hammocks? Never seen anything like that.
 
Not sure what that one is, like I said, not my pic, but I have setup my tarp like that over my hammock pretty easily.

Here is another pic I found that might show it a bit better:

1328463308_56593.jpg


Basically instead of arranging your tarp in a diamond setup, fold it in half over your ridgeline like that, then stake out not the end holes, but the next ones in. Then stake the end holes in to make a more sealed setup.

DSC00321%20-%20Web%20Small.JPG


20060923HotSprings-08.JPG


IMG_1455.JPG


Can be done fairly easily with a regular tarp. I use a 10'x10' Equinox Urethane Coated Ripstop Nylon tarp. Had the one with the grommets (still do), but the one with the ties on it is more versatile and easier to manage.

Here is another pic that illustrates it well:

Tarp+-+11%2813%29x10+Catcut+1.jpg
 
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You can quiet Tyvek down by tossing it in a dryer with a wet towell and tumbling it without heat for an hour or so. You can also wash it on cold with no soap and it works too.
 
Ethan Becker said:
I absolutely love bungees as part of the mix.....Keeping the tarp taught has been one of the most frustrating parts of camp life since I was a kid(sometime in the early dark ages) and have been enjoying experimenting .....

ethan
Click to expand...

Yeah, getting it taught is the hard part... kinda gets frustrating...
 
tradewater said:
You can quiet Tyvek down by tossing it in a dryer with a wet towell and tumbling it without heat for an hour or so. You can also wash it on cold with no soap and it works too.
Click to expand...

Damn, never thought of that.

Thanks, brother.

Moose
 
The kitchen staff came up with that after we set up a piece of it on a hike. The flapping drove her nuts. I told her "Now you know how I feel."
 
i need to fiddle with something like this soon...

i have a LOT of hammocks. one of those "nests" would be nice, just for afternoon lazying... i have a large family style hammock, but we have skeeters like the sand has beach.

a tarp would complete things, for a shelter, and light camping
 
What is a good resource for learning about tarp shelters?

I know the short answer is "the internet", but is there somewhere that has a concise collection of info on the basics? Just the rigging and knots and all that?

I'm a complete noob on this. I've looked a bit and saw some things, but I'm wondering what sites, books, videos you guys like.
 
It's spread out alot. Here in the WS&S section you might find some, as well as over at BCUSA. If memory serves, BCUSA had a huge thread dedicated to nothing but tarp shelters, something like thirty some odd pages long.
 
Cliff Jacobson might be the tarp wizard. He's got some great books out, my favorite is "The Forgotten Skills". Here's his website http://www.cliff-jacobson.com/ but you might be able to find some of his tarp setups on video somewhere. If you do, learn the knots he uses and you will use them all the time.
 
I use a Etowah Tarp with tie down tabs,no grommets ..... in TX I use it only during the Fall to combat the insects :D
 
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