Tarp ever collapse on you?

[srestrepo]

Hello all,

This weekend I had an impromptu overnight that materialized in 40 minutes with a good friend of mine. We thought it would be ideal at 6:30 PM on a Saturday night to hike up to Massachusetts highest point - Mt Greylock. This was the extent of the planning we had done.

Other than understanding it might be kinda windy and cold, we had no other information. Turns out that there was a wind advisory and with wind chill factored, it felt like 8 degrees. There were 40 mph wind gusts and a steady 15 to 20 mph wind all night.

I have a warbonnet Minifly. For this particular weekend, I had everything staked out at a pretty steep angle because I thought we might get some snow. I figured this would help shed the snow. It did snow but not enough to worry about snow shedding.But what that also meant was that when the wind gusts hit, my tarp would literally collapse around me. It was hitting the hammock and me in it.

I have MSR minihog stakes that didn't move. I used the tie out lines sold in the Warbonnet website. I have some reflective stuff that looks like paracord for the ridgeline (not continous). I used taut line hitches to the stakes for adjustability. The next morning, the lines were still quite taught.

When I went to bed I had the tarp and hammock oriented head first into the wind but it must have shifted at night.

Besides a pole mod and pull outs, is there soundtjing else I can do to mitigate this from occurring again? Maybe a shallower angle on the tarp? I dont know. Any help is appreciated.

[brutalguyracing]

Hello all,

This weekend I had an impromptu overnight that materialized in 40 minutes with a good friend of mine. We thought it would be ideal at 6:30 PM on a Saturday night to hike up to Massachusetts highest point - Mt Greylock. This was the extent of the planning we had done.

Other than understanding it might be kinda windy and cold, we had no other information. Turns out that there was a wind advisory and with wind chill factored, it felt like 8 degrees. There were 40 mph wind gusts and a steady 15 to 20 mph wind all night.

I have a warbonnet Minifly. For this particular weekend, I had everything staked out at a pretty steep angle because I thought we might get some snow. I figured this would help shed the snow. It did snow but not enough to worry about snow shedding.But what that also meant was that when the wind gusts hit, my tarp would literally collapse around me. It was hitting the hammock and me in it.

I have MSR minihog stakes that didn't move. I used the tie out lines sold in the Warbonnet website. I have some reflective stuff that looks like paracord for the ridgeline (not continous). I used taut line hitches to the stakes for adjustability. The next morning, the lines were still quite taught.

When I went to bed I had the tarp and hammock oriented head first into the wind but it must have shifted at night.

Besides a pole mod and pull outs, is there soundtjing else I can do to mitigate this from occurring again? Maybe a shallower angle on the tarp? I dont know. Any help is appreciated.

this is where interior pole mods become handy
i was up in vt this past weekend as well and had winds over 50mph and 6" of snow
with my winter tarp and triple pole mod, i had no issues of tarp blowing n on me
although i did throw my arms up over my head for a few of the crazy wind gusts we had

[srestrepo]

Got any more pics of that setup?

Would you have still gone and done this hike/camping trip if you didn't have a pole mod? And if so how would you have done it without?

I guess I'm trying to assess if I need to spring for another tarp or not.

[OneClick]

If it's set up steep enough, the snow will slide right off. But of course, you have less space inside. I had freezing rain to start on this trip, so the tarp really took on some weight. No issues though.

[SilvrSurfr]

I've never been interested in pole mods due to weight. And I never pitch my tarp at a steep angle because I don't want the tarp hitting me in face during high winds. I see people set their winter tarps up at a steep angle so they can close the doors, but I just don't find that remotely interesting.

One night during a heavy snowstorm, I decided to pitch my tarp at a steep angle because the wind was crazy and the snow was blowing sideways. That snow didn't care that my doors were closed. It still got in and accumulated on my top quilt. Rather than try and figure out some way to keep the snow out, I just went back to staking my tarp out the way I regularly do with a 5 to 6 inch gap at the doors. It didn't keep the snow out, but at least the tarp wasn't hitting me in the face!

[TxAggie]

In high winds, the sides will get pushed in in almost all cases unless you have an internal pole mode. Even external mods it will still cave in a bit. Staking the side pullouts with stakes helps a little bit, but if I remember right the Minifly doesn’t have them.

There’s one trick that helps: for get the whole “V” thing with your tarp ridgeline. Instead, hang it just like you do your Hammock where it basically comes off one side of the tree. Have this side into the wind. When you hang your hammock, loop your straps so they come off the opposite side. On an 8” diameter tree, you’ve just given yourself 4-6” of extra rom on that side. True, your hammock is slightly off centerline from the tarp, but you lay in a diagonal anyhow. I personally try to put my foot side into the wind so if the tarp does collapse into the hammock, ya not against my face.

Hope this helps.


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[OneClick]

In my photo about, I'd guess that's a 45°. I can't imagine a tarp pitched to hit me in the face. My last trip was literally 40-50mph winds most of the night. Didn't even come close.

[Two Speed]

I could see a tarp the narrow size of the minifly hitting you in the face if you are trying to minimize wind getting under it without building some kind of snow shelf. Pullouts have prevented my tarp from smacking me in the face many many times. I dont know that any setup tips would help a ton. I enjoy a full winter tarp with pullouts if its gonna be windy and have never minded the extra weight even on long trips.

[Bubba]

You could get side tie outs sewn onto your tarp instead of buying a whole new one. If high winds are only an occasional thing you could improvise side tie out while you are out there with a small stone and some spare cordage.

[cougarmeat]

If I'm worried about snow load on the tarp, I run the ridge line under the tarp. That is usually not done because in rain, it provides a path for the water to get under the tarp. But in snow season, that is not a worry. There is also some wear on the seam seal against the ridge line. So if it is so windy there will be a lot of movement, you'll need to factor that into your decision. If there is snow on the ground, you can pile some up on the windward side to act as a wind block/deflector.