As I'm nearly halfway through my isolated 3-week stay on my own island in Canada I'm finding myself experimenting a bit with my setup and I'm doing some research on tarp suspension setups to be able to quickly switch between different modes. The modes I'm interested in are:
- porch mode
- tent/hex mode w/ no doors (not sure if it's called that)
- tent mode + doors shut for nasty sideways rain/weather
- lean-to mode (fold one end of hex and attach on backside)
- furled mode (roll up tarp on ridgeline so it looks like furled up sail mast)
I have a Superfly and tons of different cordage and fasteners including some Dutch hardware. To start, I put 1/8 paracord loops on all tieouts but I have 4 x 3/32 + tarp worms at my disposal. I'm not sure if 1/8 paracord is too strong but I don't think they work with tarp worms.
For tie-outs to ground: I currently have various lengths of loop-end spliced lash-it that I MSH to a stick-stake and then using small biners to attach to the paracord loop tie-outs. I figured this way, I can quickly attach/detach lines to stakes for mode switching. I may consider swapping with the 3/32 + tarpworms but I'm not sure if 1/8 is preferred for heavier winds. I didn't like tarp worms before because I could never get a clean end on my lash-it but last night I read here that you can pull it over a lighter flame and get a tapered end, so now my cordage will work (just sucks that all my cordage have loop splices now!).
For lean-to mode: I just fold over the front hex portion of the tarp and use a biner to clip to the other side tie-outs. What doesn't work here is if you are using your panel pulls! You would have to detach them first which is a bit annoying.
For porch mode: I would detach the biner/tarp worm and then find a stick long enough and wrap the paracord tie-out around the stick then MSH some lash-it between the stick and stake to stabilize. If I want to go back to tent-mode, then I just unloop the paracord tie-out and clip to my ground stake tie-out that's already there. I would love to attach my porch tie-outs to a tree but I never seem to pick a location where there are trees in front of my setup within easy reach...
Furled mode: I don't really know what to do about this one.. I used to larks-head my ground tie-outs which left me with tons of cordage dangling from each tie-out on my tarp but now with the biner/tarp-worm setup I don't have that issue. I thought about rolling the left side of the tarp clockwise around the ridgeline then the right side the other way then using the door tie-out hooks to secure it but it's a lot of winding involved and if I need to switch to tent mode if it suddenly starts raining, that's an issue. I thought about using the chameleon double-ended stuff sack as a faux snake but it's prob not long enough to keep the full tarp nearly packed. I guess I could bunch up the tarp and tie it but that would look messy. Perhaps rolling each end of the tarp up to the ridgeline then using a dogbone length of lashit to secure might work?
The panel pullouts are great but it's a lot work setting up two long sticks for this plus the issue with switching to lean-to or furled mode. Any ideas on how to simplify this? I really like the extra room provided by the panel pull outs...
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