Tarp ideas

[Sly]

Good evening lovely peeps,

First camping trip is coming up and super excited!

Thinking of getting some form of a tarp to cover the tent and somewhere I can sit outside inside of hiding in the tent.

Anyone recommend some decent tarps or show how they set theirs up? I bought one that's 3m x 5m with some crap telescopic poles but wondering if there's a better solution out there...

 

[Orinoco]

Udders and EVski to the Bat Phone...

 

[Udders]

All depends on your budget and how much spare room you have on your bike.
I take Robens sectional poles with me. I have two different sets so can alter the heights front to back etc…

Tarp Press Pole 240cm

Robens Tarp Press Pole 240cm Press button connected Anti-slip foot pad Height adjustment 120, 180 or 240cm Material: Aluminium Size: 240 cm x 28 mm (HxDia.) (4 sections of 60 cm)...

www.outdooraction.co.uk

This was last year up in the highlands.
You can have them double height but different heights to let any rain run off, protect you from the wind and make it a lot quieter at night if it’s raining. The rain hits the tarp and not your tent and gives you somewhere dry to sit / cook etc….

 

[KMD]

All depends on your budget and how much spare room you have on your bike.
I take Robens sectional poles with me. I have two different sets so can alter the heights front to back etc…

Tarp Press Pole 240cm

Robens Tarp Press Pole 240cm Press button connected Anti-slip foot pad Height adjustment 120, 180 or 240cm Material: Aluminium Size: 240 cm x 28 mm (HxDia.) (4 sections of 60 cm)...

www.outdooraction.co.uk

This was last year up in the highlands. View attachment 433198View attachment 433199View attachment 433200View attachment 433201

You know knots don’t you ?!

I’ve been trying to learn them but for some reason find it difficult to get them into muscle memory. So far I’ve only got a Bowline and a Tautline in my repertoire. And they took me ages !

 

[Udders]

You know knots don’t you ?!

I’ve been trying to learn them but for some reason find it difficult to get them into muscle memory. So far I’ve only got a Bowline and a Tautline in my repertoire. And they took me ages !

I bought myself this book and practiced for hours and hours with some spare cord.
I now have different “ kits “ of pre cut cord, some with clips / carribenas / different lengths etc depending where I’m going and if there’s going to be trees or not.

Ultimate Encyclopedia of Knots and Rope Work

Features of this work include: over 200 tying techniques comprehensively illustrated in step-by-step photographs; all the key knot types covered: bends, hitches, bindings, loops, mats, plaits, rings and slings; knot categories include angling and fishing, boating and sailing, caving and...

www.worldofbooks.com

 

[Paul Young]

This was my 3mx3m Decathlon tarp at Sid’s last year. I’ve since got a 4mx3m one like EV had last year.

The biggest tips I’ve got are:
- Fitting elastic to the corners as it makes it a 3min job to put it up solo. Peg out a square/rectangle about 2 paces longer each side than the tarp, hook each elastic under a peg so it self-tensions on the floor and put the poles up… Adjust peg locations if necessary.
- Delta pegs are good for most campsites and give a very secure fixing as they were designed to deal with helicopter landing pads and 180mph down drafts

 

[Udders]

Oh, and get a good quality tarp and not a cheap one.
DD do some good strong ones.

Tarps

Not sure which tarp you need? Click here to view our tarp comparison guide.

www.ddhammocks.com

If you want real quality then there’s my favourites!

https://hilleberg.com/eng/products/shelters/tarp

And Robens……

Porches and Tarps - buy online direct from Robens here

www.robens.de

 

[Udders]

Yep, those Delta pegs are superb.

Delta Ground Anchors and Tent Pegs – the really strong tent peg

Delta Ground Anchors

deltagroundanchors.co.uk

 

[Paul Young]

Yep, those Delta pegs are superb.

Delta Ground Anchors and Tent Pegs – the really strong tent peg

Delta Ground Anchors

deltagroundanchors.co.uk

6 pegs for £16.65 is great value, too. That’s all you really need for a tarp - 4 for the corners and 2 for the ridge line tensioning.

 

[Paul Young]

This is the elastic I use - 4mm in yellow so I can see it. 10m for under £12 which I then cut into 4 equal lengths and tie loops in the end (one end obvs through the corner eyelet)

Pardon our interruption...

 

[EVskiy]

Good evening lovely peeps,

First camping trip is coming up and super excited!

Thinking of getting some form of a tarp to cover the tent and somewhere I can sit outside inside of hiding in the tent.

Anyone recommend some decent tarps or show how they set theirs up? I bought one that's 3m x 5m with some crap telescopic poles but wondering if there's a better solution out there...

Tatonka poles (I have four of them) being sectional, you can use a single extension, two, three or indeed the lot to build a low or a hilgh level shelter.

I also have purchased this tarp. I have modified it with fitting black key rings into the eyes all round, and clip my guy lines with stainless steel carabiners attached to them into said key rings to suit my setup at the time.

Here is my setup during Soft Southern Shandy Drinkers event a little while ago.



Same setup at Sid’ last year and probably no to different this year too.

 

[Udders]

one end obvs through the corner eyelet)

No no no! Don’t use the eyelet, especially if it’s windy. It’s a weak point.
I used to in the past but I got edumacated!
This takes seconds and is a LOT stronger. Plus you just pull the loose end and it pops off again.

 

[EVskiy]

6 pegs for £16.65 is great value, too. That’s all you really need for a tarp - 4 for the corners and 2 for the ridge line tensioning.

I’ve purchased 12 of them the things are huge. Might start throwing the spare ones, see if they return

 

[EVskiy]

No no no! Don’t use the eyelet, especially if it’s windy. It’s a weak point.
I used to in the past but I got edumacated!
This takes seconds and is a LOT stronger. Plus you just pull the loose end and it pops off again.

I forgot how to do it already

 

[Udders]

Another advantage of a good sized tarp is that you put it up before your tent ( especially if it’s raining or blazing sun ) it keeps you dry / cool while you put your tent up. Again, another benefit is if your tent pitches inner first. It keeps it dry until you get the outer on.
Very handy things tarps.

 

[Paul Young]

No no no! Don’t use the eyelet, especially if it’s windy. It’s a weak point.
I used to in the past but I got edumacated!
This takes seconds and is a LOT stronger. Plus you just pull the loose end and it pops off again.

That’s my fallback if it fails, but the new tarp is a much stronger one than the Decathlon version

 

[Sly]

All depends on your budget and how much spare room you have on your bike.
I take Robens sectional poles with me. I have two different sets so can alter the heights front to back etc…

Tarp Press Pole 240cm

Robens Tarp Press Pole 240cm Press button connected Anti-slip foot pad Height adjustment 120, 180 or 240cm Material: Aluminium Size: 240 cm x 28 mm (HxDia.) (4 sections of 60 cm)...

www.outdooraction.co.uk

This was last year up in the highlands. View attachment 433198View attachment 433199View attachment 433200View attachment 433201
You can have them double height but different heights to let any rain run off, protect you from the wind and make it a lot quieter at night if it’s raining. The rain hits the tarp and not your tent and gives you somewhere dry to sit / cook etc….

Wow that is nifty - how do you take the poles with you on the bike though?

This was my 3mx3m Decathlon tarp at Sid’s last year. I’ve since got a 4mx3m one like EV had last year.

The biggest tips I’ve got are:
- Fitting elastic to the corners as it makes it a 3min job to put it up solo. Peg out a square/rectangle about 2 paces longer each side than the tarp, hook each elastic under a peg so it self-tensions on the floor and put the poles up… Adjust peg locations if necessary.
- Delta pegs are good for most campsites and give a very secure fixing as they were designed to deal with helicopter landing pads and 180mph down drafts

View attachment 433210

Elastic to the corners? What do you mean? Please excuse the ignorance

Thanks for the feedback guys - nice to know I wasn't crazy for thinking of the idea!

 

[Sly]

Tatonka poles (I have four of them) being sectional, you can use a single extension, two, three or indeed the lot to build a low or a hilgh level shelter.

I also have purchased this tarp. I have modified it with fitting black key rings into the eyes all round, and clip my guy lines with stainless steel carabiners attached to them into said key rings to suit my setup at the time.

Here is my setup during Soft Southern Shandy Drinkers event a little while ago.

View attachment 433227

Same setup at Sid’ last year and probably no to different this year too.

View attachment 433228

Wow that's what I am after. I am 6ft3 so like a bit of head room. How do the poles fold down to fit on the bike during travelling?

 

[EVskiy]

Wow that's what I am after. I am 6ft3 so like a bit of head room. How do the poles fold down to fit on the bike during travelling?

I am same 6’3”.

The poles are very clever. They push into each other ( a bit of a puzzle) but, the do not rattle, and feel a solid baton of aluminium. The do not fit inside my Givi Outback Treckker panniers, so I tend to carry them strapped across the pillion seat inside an old tripod type chair bag. I believe that the 180cm version will fit inside the pannier though.

The video bellow does show exactly what I mean by a Puzzle.

 

[Paul Young]

Wow that is nifty - how do you take the poles with you on the bike though?

Elastic to the corners? What do you mean? Please excuse the ignorance

Thanks for the feedback guys - nice to know I wasn't crazy for thinking of the idea!

The guy lines at each corner are lengths of elastic with a hoop at the end so when you hook them under the pegs, the elastic is slightly stretched and centres the tarp between the pegs. When you stick the poles up, this stretches the elastic more and pulls it tight as you tension the ridge with normal guys. It’s so much easier when you’re putting up your tarp solo and it allows some flex if it’s breezy. You can also just kick out the poles if it’s stormy and it stays in place with everything underneath staying dry. If you take a look back at the picture, the yellow lines are the elastic I linked to above.