Tensa Solo = Awesome

[Owly*]

It looks like a single use piece of hardware, though I would probably have used one if I had it last summer when I set up on a rock outcrop at a remote mountain lake in the Flint Creek Range of Montana. I've always loved the location... rarely visited, difficult to find, the rock outcrop juts out into the lake which falls off to incredible depth on all 3 sides. I had one scraggly pine near water's edge, and used a sapling guyed on two directions for the other support, one guy running 20' or more across a rocky ledge. I did not feel good about using the sapling that way though I did take considerable care to prevent damage to the bark. I carry extra strapping and lots of small dynema line (amsteel). Preventing abrasion where rocks are involved is a challenge to say the least.

I would propose a pair of carbon fiber trek poles designed specifically to telescope out enough to be used this way.....They would form an A frame so only a single guy is needed. I carry trek poles but find them a nuisance for most hiking.... I use them to save my knees and hips on steep downgrades and to cross creeks, otherwise they hang from my pack uselessly. On one trip with a lady friend coming out 9 miles after a deluge, they served me well.... I led the way and swung a trek pole into foliage that stuck out into the trail to knock the water droplets off.......... The storm was awesome...2" of hail, thunder and lightening...... the poor girl was exhausted, and I "sang her down the trail" to keep her spirits up and keep her going. She still tells her friends about that....

[Latherdome]

I would propose a pair of carbon fiber trek poles designed specifically to telescope out enough to be used this way.....They would form an A frame so only a single guy is needed.

You're describing Trekking Treez except we make them strong enough that only 1 per side is necessary. You usually want 2 guyline/anchors per side anyway to spread the load, so a bipod stand is often redundant.

I have heard/seen here on HF pairs of standard trekking poles used as bipods to hang one side of a hammock, other side on a tree. Seems to work with stronger poles and lighter hikers. Is quite low and lacks higher tarp point, but better than going to ground...