Sil Argon Tarp Snakeskin + Pole Mod test: partial success

[Insaniac99]

Friday I finished my DiY Snakeskins and also had a new pole mod to test. Not having a place in my backyard I went to the local park to hang up my hammock to enjoy some quality reading time put on the snake skins, and test out the pole mod. Shortly after I got there the wind kicked up a bit and gave us a nice breeze, as such I didn't get to properly test the pole mod, but I think I need to fashion a shorter connection point on the ends to pull up more than it does.

I also think I didn't pitch my tarp low and/or tight enough to compensate for the stronger gusts of wind we were getting and had a bit of adventure (that I caught on camera) where the wind caught the tarp and yanked all the stakes out of the ground. Thankfully I had already put the snake skins on and they quickly tamed the bucking tarp. I decided to leave the tarp in the snakeskins and read for a bit and to test the pole mod more another day.

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Any Suggestions for high winds next time, or for my new pole mod, or anything thing else in general?

[CountryRoads]

Did that tarp fly away? I've tried to set a tarp up in that kind of wind before...it was good thing there weren't any kids around! I've never done pole mods on any of my tarps so don't know what to tell you about that, but nice tarp! Did you have it staked down as tight as you could?

[CountryRoads]

Here's a pic of my hammock, upside down on that windy day...

[MAD777]

Strong winds provide the very best argument for snakeskins. One attempt to deploy on a windy day will convince anyone.

[Zilla]

Besides the wind giving you a hard time i think that those mini whoopies on the pole mod may be alittle too long, maybe just turn them into a short set of dogbones to pull it up abit,, i thought the adjustability of them was a good idea, just alittle long but you'll figure it out, looks good on the tarp though, don't you know the day you want to test things out mother nature has other plans.

[Insaniac99]

Did that tarp fly away? I've tried to set a tarp up in that kind of wind before...it was good thing there weren't any kids around! I've never done pole mods on any of my tarps so don't know what to tell you about that, but nice tarp! Did you have it staked down as tight as you could?

The tarp did not fly away, it flapped quite strongly on the ridgeline but the dutch Stingerz held firm.

I feel I should have been able to get the sides tauter, but I also felt portions of it were as taut as it could go. This was literally only the second time I had set up my tarp. I think my next attempt I am going to try bringing the guylines out at a nice diagonal, rather than roughly perpendicular to the ridgeline like they were.

[CountryRoads]

The tarp did not fly away, it flapped quite strongly on the ridgeline but the dutch Stingerz held firm.

I feel I should have been able to get the sides tauter, but I also felt portions of it were as taut as it could go. This was literally only the second time I had set up my tarp. I think my next attempt I am going to try bringing the guylines out at a nice diagonal, rather than roughly perpendicular to the ridgeline like they were.

Love that Dutchware! And my Argon Sil tarp! Going to make another one today in fact. Just saw that you mentioned you might have been able to stake some of the tie outs down a little tighter in your first post. But even getting them all as taught as you could, seems like wind like that could yank any stake out. Good test of the strength of Argon Sil.

[Insaniac99]

Here's a pic of my hammock, upside down on that windy day...

The hardest part that day was actually getting the hammock back into the stuff sack, soon as I unhooked the whoopie it tried to rip out on my hand and I had to wrestle with it to close the chute so I could stuff it.

Strong winds provide the very best argument for snakeskins. One attempt to deploy on a windy day will convince anyone.

Ain't that the truth? I'm not 100% sure how I would have shoved it int he stuff sack with the trouble the hammock gave me when I tried.

Besides the wind giving you a hard time i think that those mini whoopies on the pole mod may be alittle too long, maybe just turn them into a short set of dogbones to pull it up abit,, i thought the adjustability of them was a good idea, just alittle long but you'll figure it out, looks good on the tarp though, don't you know the day you want to test things out mother nature has other plans.

yeah, I really like the whoopie + mitten hook idea, but I think they need to be an inch or two shorter at least; I plan to experiment more soon as I have time.

Love that Dutchware! And my Argon Sil tarp! Going to make another one today in fact. Just saw that you mentioned you might have been able to stake some of the tie outs down a little tighter in your first post. But even getting them all as taught as you could, seems like wind like that could yank any stake out. Good test of the strength of Argon Sil.

True. I had the stakes firmly in the ground, but I the bottom cat-cut wasn't tight. We also get pretty strong winds, that gust was probably 35 mph, and there was nothing at all to break it before it got to the tarp.

[Boston]

When staking the tarp out you'll want to pull at an angle out away from the center point. This will distribute the load along the edges of the tarp. If you stake it out perpendicular to the ridge line, you much less force tensioning the center of the tarp = more billowing which may be a factor in the stake coming up.

I'd also suggest folding the doors to the inside - it make's them less likely to catch the wind and act like a sail. Also keeps the inside material out of the rain.

Good test of the tarps strength though!

[IRONFISH45]

I do not have any real experience with the pole mod, however, I wonder how long they would last if you were out in the bush, in a major storm. I have been in heavy weather, I finally learned how to pitch my tarp to keep dry, but it took a long time to learn, I was soaked several times before I figured it out. Here in the NW the rain and wind in a storm frequently comes from every direction, so I found it a great challenge. I wanted to try a pole mod but after watching how they react in the wind, I am not too sure. I wonder if the rain fly was pitched lower and the doors closed if that would help the pole mod behave a bit better. Now, I am really curious.

Your video dispelled my concerns about the Argon Fabric holding up in a blow, yours looks looks like responded just great.