Since the last time I posted about my homemade shelter/tent, I've added no-see-um and a zipper. Sorry, no pictures yet. The materials were $18.20.

The cord I had wrapped around the poles to set the height eventually came undone. I have gorilla tape on them now, but unfortunately, that seems to be slipping down too. I'll have to figure out something else.

The line tensioners didn't work out. First off, when the lines were under tension, they were way too hard to adjust. You really have to have a bit of slack in them. Secondly, the line cut through them pretty quickly, I'd say after about four days worth of use. So, I removed the tensioners and have been adjusting the lines by moving the stakes. It's not as convenient, but it works fine. I also shortened the lines slightly, so they'd be closer to a 45 degree angle and not trip me up so much.

The other thing I learned is that the guy out loops and stake loops eventually will pull off if you don't sew through them! Both the clear duct tape and the gorilla tape do this. I haven't sewn through them all yet.

I've been thinking about moving the poles inward so they'd be co-planer with the bug netting. Since the netting has a set size, that's really where I need the pole to set the height of the tent in that spot. If/when I do that, I think I'll modify the beaks so they slope down slightly, to make sure rain doesn't run down the underside of them into the interior of the tent. I'll have to get new poles for that though. I need to anyway. I originally thought the thin fiberglass poles were going to be strong enough, but after testing them out more, they bend too much. I may just get some dowel rods and cut them to length.

Tent cost: ~$58
Total: ~$88

Buuut, as you know if you've been following my other threads, I just bought a factory made tent, the Eureka! Amari Pass 3. I may still use this homemade tent, depending on the circumstances of the trip, so I'm going to leave the costs added into my total for now. The new one was ~$160.

Total: ~$248