Learnin' Me Some Tarp

[TehNoff]

Alright, so there's a boat load of information on the forum and sometimes it's hard to find. Gotta go back some pages. With all the knowledge on Blackbirds, Nests, slings, huggers, Burrows, Potomacs, Marlin Spike Hitches, Lark's Heads, parachute nylon, sag, diagonal lays, titanium, toggles, Switchbacks, No-See-Um, and other things I can't find space at the moment for tarp learnin'.

Here's my current situation. I got a Kelty Noah's 12 a while back because it was cheap, something like $45, and I don't know where to go from here. I do know that I want to go ahead and make this tarp work for me. I've set it up once, in a real quick like fashion, using some rope we had at home.

I know enough to know that I don't want to be beholden to that rope. But I have no idea what I should be looking for, or the questions I should be asking, but I'll give it a shot.

Am I supposed to put some sort of sealer on my tarp?
What should I be using to suspend this thing?
The stakes it came with were terrible in that rocky soil at home, alternatives?
Outside of snakeskins (the one thing I think I learned), how I could make my tarp set up and take down and carrying more convenient than me?
It seems I'm pretty bad with knots, I'm going to have to learn aren't I?

That's all for now, thanks in advance.

[shumway]

I'll throw out a couple more words for you. Knot bones. Figure 9. Zing It. Dutch Hooks. Tarp Flies.
Zing It is dyneema string. It's great for hanging tarps. Some folks use parachute cord to start off.
Knot Bones and figure 9's are little gadgets that let you go knot free.
Dutch's Dutch hooks and tarp flies are a titanium alternative to the above.
For stakes, I've been using the Coghlan's aluminum x stakes. X refers to the cross section if you look at the end. I have bent mine a bit in really tough soil, but overall they hold up well, are light, and inexpensive.

[shumway]

Check this page out. The ridge line video shows how to use a knot bone and figure 9 to hang the tarp. The other is a demo of the self tensioning guy lines. (all of which you can make yourself)

[TehNoff]

not bones. Figure 9. Zing It. Dutch Hooks. Tarp Flies.

You're just trying to make it worse, aren't you?

[Oskar]

Outside of snakeskins (the one thing I think I learned), how I could make my tarp set up and take down and carrying more convenient than me?

I bought a Tarp Ridge Line kit which made everything easier. I have those attached to the tarp and make sure they're on the top when I stuff the tarp into the sack. Grab one of the lines, attach to tree, pull out the tarp as you walk to the next tree and repeat the procedure. Adjust until the tarp is tensioned and in the right place.

You could make a similar kit yourself, but then you have to learn another word: Prusik.

Whoopie slings and Marlin spikes made hammock setup/takedown much easier for me..

[hangNyak]

I have the Noah 12, as well. This tarp is huge, but has a ton of setup options. I think it is mainly designed to be pitched on a diagonal. That's 16 1/2 feet across! You would need trees with a minimum of 17 feet of distance, pitched like this. I like it pitched square. Another idea that I came up with is to use velcro ties. You can roll up the tarp and use these, instead of snake skins. I have 5 of them on the tarp. Makes set up easy. You can buy a whole roll of these velcro ties at Wally World. They look like adjustable garbage bag ties. Hope this helps.

[Law Dawg (ret)]

Are you backpacking with this or vehicle camping? I moto camp and (warning blasphemy to follow) find that Nite-Ize 5mm adjustable bungies work like a charm. Both for attaching to trees and to the Ground Hog stakes for all four corners (or two if you have the diamond shape). They take up the slack and keep things nice and snug. I do carry a set of tree straps to make up any length difference but have not needed to use them. One warning; Don't pull the ground ones too tight as stakes can ruin your day when launched into an eye or tarp.

[ciphoto]

With every new venture there is a learning curve, it's actually the constant learning and set up tweaking I enjoy almost as getting out to the piney woods....

Good advice here on reducing knots if your so inclined. But you still should learn the basics, cause line works, and it cuts down on the gadgets, that you can lose or have to pack....

[Sparrow]

Am I supposed to put some sort of sealer on my tarp?
What should I be using to suspend this thing?
The stakes it came with were terrible in that rocky soil at home, alternatives?
Outside of snakeskins (the one thing I think I learned), how I could make my tarp set up and take down and carrying more convenient than me?
It seems I'm pretty bad with knots, I'm going to have to learn aren't I?

The Kelty is already PU coated so no need to seal it but every now and then I would check the sealant on the seams and make sure it's not peeling off. I was hanging out under mine when Irene came through my area a few weeks ago and it held up fine for 12hrs of hard rain and the space it gave was great.

For suspension I bought this -> http://www.rei.com/product/784218/ni...t-package-of-4 and attached one one each corner and two in the center for an A-frame pitch. Makes staking out and pitching to trees easy to set up and adjusting simple. No knots (unless you want) and no hassle.

Many people like MSR groundhog stakes.

[TehNoff]

Are you backpacking with this or vehicle camping?

Though I plan to do all sort of things, let's assume it's backpacking.