This pole mod is based on ideas from tendertoe's No Sew Tarp Pole Mod(s). I liked the idea of having a pole to bring the sides out, but didn't want to have to carry 20' of tent poles for a tarp.

The distance between the side pull-outs on the Super Fly is 48" so I went with 18" sections, giving me two poles 54". I left them that long so that when assembled, the webbing connecting the tarp to the end of the pole is pulled away from the ridge line, and closer to where the pullouts were intended to be pulled.

What I ordered from Quest Outfitters:

  • (4) #4080 TENT POLE-NANO W/INS .344 18 inch Black
  • (2) #4081 TENT POLE-NANO W/O INS .344 18 inch Black
  • (4) #4038 ENDTIP #2 .340 METAL
  • (3yd) NARROW ELASTIC CORD 3/32 inch Black
  • (4) #3231 GROMMETS & WASHERS - 5/16 inch
  • (1) #3235 GROMMET SETTING TOOLS - 5/16 inch


I had some webbing, but any nylon or poly 1" webbing at least 1 yard should work.

I also got (4) 3/4" snap rings.

Each pole tab was made by cutting 7" of webbing and melting the ends to prevent fraying. The webbing was threaded through the snap ring, folded in half, and the grommet placed 2 1/2" inches from the fold. The 4 tabs were then attached to the pullouts on the SuperFly and the poles made up.

The nice part of having the shorter poles, is that it's easy to attach the poles to the tarp from a single side. This means that when setting up in the rain, you can attach the tarp to the trees, add the poles and then finish setting up the tarp while under it. When I tried the pole mod out the first time it was raining and it worked out great.