Bought a Noah's tarp #9. Could not get it up with 2 poles and even my wife helped. There was light breeze which made it hard. Is there a better tarp to get that is easier to put up?
I just use a basic rectangular tarp. I find the best way to do that is to get it staked out first. To do this you need to be a little bit familiar with your tarp as to know how tight to stake it before you put the poles up under it. That should make it, again, a one man operation. Now, with that being said, it greatly depends on the weather, the wind and precipitation as to how tight you want to pitch it and how high or low you want to pitch it. After you play with it a while you will find that there are many many ways to pitch it, again depending on your needs and the weather. Hope that helps and if you have any more questions I am sure that there is some one on here that can answer them...sabre11004...
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The first step that you take will be one of those that get you there 1!!!!!
The easiest pitching tarp I ever found was the Granite Gear White Lightnin'. The sewn-on side adjustment straps meant I never had to untangle a bunch of long tie-out lines. It's a bit on the heavy side, if you're a dedicated ultralighter, but it's a nice tarp.
Try using a ridgeline. Affix the two ends of the tarp to the ridgeline with short lengths of cord. Use a rolling hitch to tie the cord to the ridgeline. After you've staked the other two corners you can use the rolling hitch to tension the tarp.
I never use poles - but I always camp in forested areas.
I would also second what Glenn said. The White Lightnin' has the tension tape, line locks, and two 'baskets' for the pole handles at each end. It is the bomber tarp! Very, very easy to set up.
I have the Noah's Tarp 9' but rarely use it with poles. My usual pitching practice is to tie one end to a tree. If it is not windy, tie the opposite corner to another tree. If it is windy, stake one of the other corners down first so it won't flap so much. I find the hardest part of pitching this tarp is to allow enough curve in the ridge to be able to stake it tight. If you pull the ridge too taut, the edges will always flap in the breeze. Hope this helps.
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If I wouldn't eat it at home, why would I want to eat it on the trail?
I have been there done that. Do not give up on the tarp idea, it will do the shelter thing just fine for you. Have a look at my ideas on my other posts.
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