These are the photos that Ken Koebele asked me to scan for him of a tent-like structure he made from a Campmor SilNylon tarp -- I believe the 10'x12' version. He's whacked a lot off the original tarp, as you can see. The tarp now measures 7.5' wide and 10' long. He's using two hiking poles in an inverted V, coupled by a hose connector (?) and placed about 2.5 feet back from the front of the tent to provide interior structure. He ties the poles to ties on the underside of the fabric to prevent them from slipping.

The front of the tent has grommets at the corners and at the center, and an additional two grommets about 16" on either side of the centerline. For a square opening, he uses those two grommets to a high tie-off (see the photo with two poles at the front of the tent). For a triangular "door", use the center grommet to a high tie-off on a single pole. To close the front off, he's tied off the two "square opening" grommets either together, or to a low position on the front post and folds the material over. Then he ties off the center grommet to the corner grommet on either side. He notes that you can increast headroom in the tent by raising the "tail", but you reduce width.

There are several nice things about the design. For starters, it makes a nice floorless tent that should have very little splashback during a serious rain. Second, with the addition of a ridgeline, it could also be a pretty large, pretty general tarp if you want more air.

I don't know what his final weights are -- he can tell you that.

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David Spellman (for Ken Koebele), 3/23/00

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