Ridgerunner & Thunderfly w/pole mod

[Steve66]

I just picked up a Thunderfly for use with my Ridgerunner as an alternative to my Cloudburst. I had some extra pole segments from the Easton Aluminum Tent Pole set, so I ordered another set of four #4038 end tips from Quest Outfitters and made up a set of pole pull-outs for the Thunderfly. Each pole is made up of three 16" segments and is approximately 45" to 48" long (I don't have the exact measurement but I will post that later). I did a simple loop through the tarp pull-out and lark's head around the ends of the pole. I was only able to set it up in my basement, but it looks like it will work really well and there is plenty of room for the RR spreader bars. The Thunderfly 'doors' don't fit very well around the end of the RR, but I'll keep playing with those. Here are a few pictures.

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[Malcolm]

This is really cool; I never would have expected it to work.

I'm seriously considering a Thunderfly (though I'm debating it because I'm hoping for a winter tarp), and it's nice to see others' pictures of it.

What are your thoughts of the tarp so far? How much more spacious does the tarp feel with the sides pulled out like that?

[Steve66]

Yeah, I wasn't how it would work but I recently got a Spindrift and wanted a smaller tarp option. My standard "go to" is the Cloudburst with pole pull-outs, which I really love...I can set the CB pretty high above the hammock so I have tons of interior space. However, I don't always need a tarp that big when I'm using the Spindrift so I thought the Thunderfly would be a good match. I was impressed with how much space is under the TF with the sides pulled out...certainly nothing like the cavernous space that the CB provides, but it's completely usable and the spreader bars do not come close to touching the sides.

If it were raining/snowing hard and I wasn't using the Spindrift, I think the TF might be a bit small...you'd need to hang it right above the hammock and pitch it pretty low to protect from blowing rain/snow. All in all, I think it's a good option and the pole mod makes it so much more usable. FYI, one of the Easton pole sets had exactly the right amount of segments to build pole pull-outs for both the CB and the TF. I'll take a couple of pictures of the inside and post them later.

[Papatechie]

I've done a simple hack on the foot end only with a simple heavy duty tie from home depot to bring it closer to thunder fly doors. This can be easily put on and taken off in a few seconds for really bad weather. Since its on the foot end the stability is still pretty good but try at your own risk. If you are using the trekking pole mod you can also shorten your head end for more stability during use but you may have slightly more squeeze. If you watch Brandon's video at 5:40 he talks about shortening the header spreader bar for more stability and to also hang at a steeper angle uphill to the tree.

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[sturgeon]

I love the simplicity of the mod. Doesn't irrevocably alter anything. Easy to put on and take off.

By the way, I posted some pics in another thread of the Thunderfly with Warbonnet's own pole set, for those that can't get enough Thunderfly pics
https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/...geRunner/page3

[Papatechie]

Nice pics on that WBTF. By the way the ties are theNiteize brand.

[cmoulder]

Also works with trekking poles using some shock cord loops. (Superfly, but should work on others, no?)

I test-pitched this yesterday in some fairly strong winds (intermittent 30 mph gusts) and it was fine.

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