Tarp/shelter picture thread.

[CarlGustav84]

Originally Posted by twyggy

I usually set up like this except a lot lower to the ground and with a zipper sealed box mosquito net running through eyelets at either end.

[Afterthefall]

awesome pictures, thank you. I recently decided to switch from a tent to a tarp setup, and have been playing around with some arrangements. This gives me plenty of idea fodder. Thanks again!

[DaFireMedic]

My DIY 9x6 Tyvek tarp in low profile windy/storm configuration. In this set up, the wind hits the rear of the tarp, keeping a low profile but allowing enough room in the front to sit up. It requires 3 support poles, so I would need to find a branch or something to use, shouldn't be a problem. I would normally set the front pole up farther away from the tarp for more room, but I set the tarp up too close to my patio to do that.



There are 5 tie outs on the rear edge for strength in windy conditions:



The center tie-outs are used to lift the rear part and give more foot room:



It weighs 13.1 oz without nylon twine. Not quite as light as silnylon, but should work pretty well for $15 worth of materials.

I just finished the tarp and will make a full DIY post after I've tested it a bit and run it through its paces.

[cleatis]

with all the tarps out there, why do we have homeless. good work...

[DaFireMedic]

Originally Posted by cleatis

with all the tarps out there, why do we have homeless. good work...

Its not the lack of tarps. I'll probably make a few shelters for the homeless (I bought a 150' roll of Tyvek), but around here they have no place to set them up. City ordinances won't allow them to.

But that's another subject for another thread.....

[another_barbarian]

Biggest tarp size that's still useable for a shelter?

[DaFireMedic]

Originally Posted by another_barbarian

Biggest tarp size that's still useable for a shelter?

The biggest one that you can carry.....

But it wouldn't be practical. If you have a group that you want to get all under the same shelter, you can combine tarps together to form larger shelters. If I ever got my wife and my 2 boys to hike with me all at the same time, a 10 x 12 would over us all, but I would rather carry one for my wife and I and have my sons carry their own shelter.

[Savinkov]

Originally Posted by Bushwhack

T
Found quite a few natural shelters while hiking here and there....here is one of the best.



This one was pretty nice to, it had a natural opening that would make a good chimney.

Those "natural shelters" are nice, but they are almost always used by
four-legged critters (some of whom are large and irritable). Even if they're
not home when you come knocking, they almost always leave behind
various parasites (fleas, ticks, Obama-voters, etc.)

Something to keep in mind...

[catfish hunter]

Kifaru paratarp set up with 10 light aluminum stakes and 2 saplings cut with my leatherman. It's not cheap at $188 for the tarp but it weighs 11oz including it's built in stuff sack. The stakes add 3oz and can be improvised, but I find it's much faster this way. If I can find a couple sticks the right length (the length's are marked on the tarp) I can set it up in under 10 minutes. It's a heck of alot bigger, drier, and more comfortable than my old poncho. I like having quick shelter in my daypack while hunting and at under a pound it's not tough to carry. The silny fabric is much quieter if I want to sleep than the other tarps I've tried in wind or rain.

Another thing I always add is a cheap mylar space blanket. I have better blankets and a poncho/liner that I pack for warmth, groundsheet, or sleeping bag depending on the conditions. The cheap little mylar blanket I always pack though can be used with some natural materials to make a heck of a reflector around a fire to send heat back under my paratarp. I don't care about ruining it, at 3-5 bucks it can be replaced as needed. If it lets me keep the fire far enough away from my paratarp to keep from burning holes in it, that's worth way more.

[1stcavmp77]

Originally Posted by cleatis

with all the tarps out there, why do we have homeless. good work...

Because a tarp is not a home.

[catfish hunter]

My pics don't want to load of my paratarp, I'll try one more time, and if they don't work here is a link to their site. https://kifaru.net/tarps_hootches.html

It looks pretty similar to the set-up on the $15 tyvek one, and costs lots more. It packs the size of a nalgene bottle though and has been tough. If I didn't also use it hunting and fishing I might not be able to justify the cost.

[George Newbill]

A tarp can be a home if you do it right.

A tarp can keep you alive long enough to build better shelter.

Excellent thread!

[ex-hunter]

I've used this one a bunch:

http://www.survivalistboards.com/showthread.php?t=60014
http://www.survivalistboards.com/showthread.php?t=66617

[DaFireMedic]

Originally Posted by DaFireMedic

I haven't had the opportunity to take the tarp on a trip yet, but I did move it to a more exposed area of my backyard and set it up for a few days of predicted rain. I left it up for 3 days of pretty good rain, slept under the tarp one night also to test my new JRB quilt, and everything stayed nice and dry. The block wall around the yard blocked much of the wind so I didn't get the wind test that I wanted, but I think it will hold up under at least moderate winds.

[Clawhammer]

Don't you tarp campers get all sorts of critters climbing over you through the night?

[twyggy]

Originally Posted by Clawhammer

Don't you tarp campers get all sorts of critters climbing over you through the night?

Actually no. This was a concern of mine when I started tarp camping, too. Obviously, it depends on what ecosystem you're in, but most of the critters just kind of orbit my camps. I can hear them rustling around out there, but they're smart enough not to come close, I reckon, because they don't.

Only once have I had a possum come up to the fire, and I guess he didn't see me through the fire, because he sure bolted when I sat up to get a better look at him.

I hear stories of deer and bears marauding through camps, but I haven't had that happen.

Besides, if you're worried about it, just seal off the ends of your A-frame (or whatever structure you're using) with some foiliage or a stick lattice of some kind.



**********EDIT***********
LOL! Just saw that you lived in Australia. I wouldn't tarp camp without a hammock in Australia myself.

[Clawhammer]

Originally Posted by twyggy

**********EDIT***********
LOL! Just saw that you lived in Australia. I wouldn't tarp camp without a hammock in Australia myself.

Even a hammock wont save us here. Anything climbing up a tree at night will get interested in the rope you tie around the tree for your hammock. I've had Centipedes spiral around a rope with no worries at all...and spiders have no problems making their way down either.

Scorpions and Snakes seem to be attracted to a camp fire or body warmth.

And lets not forget the humble ant... if you pitch your hammock or tarp in the wrong spot...come sundown they'll swarm over everything.

[sachson]

I love making hooches out of USGI ponchos, space tarps, etc. When theres bugs, smudge fire and insect repellent, netting. When its cold, reflector wall, nice fire, lotsa wood for through the night. Really cold? Bed of coals, 6'' of dirt. Mylar tarp to reflect the heat from the fire.