Do any of you guys use tarps as shelter instead of tents or hammocks?

>>840274
It can work, but you're limited to just a single wall and no real door.
Easier just to kill someone and take theirs. Don't do that though

Thought about it, but too many skeeters and critters where I go /out/.

I'd have bring a big net to go in my tarp, and at that point I may as well just bring a small tent.

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>>840288
>too many skeeters and critters where I go /out/.

This. Wolf spiders turn the outside of my tent into a skii resort. Other stuff make loud crawling sounds under the tent floor.

One tiny hole in the tent and billions of ants and spiders get in.

>>840293
You avoid much of this when you go /out/ in the winter mate. Fuck spiders.

>>840295
Winters get down to -40 and you can wake up to 4 feet of snow fall and 12 feet drifts. Not fun. Summer is 105F 90% humidity in the day, 85F 80% humidity at night. Also, not fun. Spring rains constantly, everything floods and fills with water, everything is mud.

Fall is the most ideal time to camp. Weather is perfect, slightly cool, less invertebrates running around.

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>>840293
>One tiny hole in the tent and billions of ants and spiders get in.

what planet are you on?

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>>840312
I live in a temperate rain forest. Shit gets hairy here. Like check out these spring tails on one of my camping tarps the last time I was out. All of what you see are a big mass of insects.

>>840309
Where the fuck do you live, mars?

>>840330
see
>>840326

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>>840326
>>840330
>>840331
we've made first contact

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>>840326
>>I live in a temperate rain forest. Shit gets hairy here. Like check out these spring tails on one of my camping tarps the last time I was out. All of what you see are a big mass of insects.

>There are people fighting to save this

>>840473
save what?

>>840489
The rain forest.

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>>840274
Jeah, i do. if you have some bug problems then use a bug net for your sleeping bag entrance. if that feels too close to your skin then buy a fishermans hat and wear it while you sleep.
Solo sleeping with a tarp is feasible down to -10 C, if its any colder than that then it really gets to the self-fuckers-club territory.
some tips:
* 2x3m tarp is is the best size imo
* to the 4 corners and to the centres of the 2 short edges attach a specially knotted double rope
* rope should be about 3 m long, attach the centre to the rivet and then put knots along the two ropes, attaching them together over ca 15 cm intervals. This allows a quick attachment of the rope to trees or ground spikes without tying knots
* if possible put an additional rivet or sow a loop to the centre of the tarp to attach one additional rope that would hold up the centre even when the rest of the ropes are relatively loose

note, the picture does not have the correctly knotted rope

>>840274
Needing trees is a huge setback

you might be too cheap to camp.

>>840530
Hobos got no money at all and they seem to take to the camping thing like fish to water.

>>840527
Trees are pretty much everywhere though. Except for barren wastelands that is, but why would you want to go /out/ there?

Tarps are fucking stupid meme thing.
Ok, they are good as temporary roof, but ware never ment to be used instead of tents.

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>>840274

Yes. I use an Auscam Hoochie instead of a tent. I used to carry a tent but I got sick of how bulky it was, and how it was a pain in the arse to set up.

I had a look around and the only tents that I saw that really fit the bill were stupidly expensive ($500 for a piece of nylon and some poles? Get fucked.)

I saw how uncle ray used a hoochie above his hammock and I thought I'd try it out.

I'm still trialling it but it's stood up so far to wind and rain. It's not that much different to a tent except you can set it up in a shitload of different ways depending on a number of conditions.

For a basic enclosed tent see pic related.

Red = run the ridgeline through these loops
Blue = tie these loops separately to the ridgeline using a tension knot to keep everything taut
Orange = fold underneath to create closeable flaps
Green = clip / tie these together underneath to create the floor.

Aussie hoochies have snaps as well as loops so you can connect them to other hoochies, or make it into a bivy bag.

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>>840566

This is what I do when there's no trees in the right configuration. You could use hiking poles I guess but I usually just grab some solid sticks. I bury about 20-30 cm, then tie the ridgeline across, then counter-balance that by running a line back in the opposite way and then staking it to the ground.

Is it stable? Yeah, if you do it properly it is. If it's incredibly fucking windy then you could just fuck the sticks off and crawl into it like a giant bivy bag, but I wouldn't recommend it.

I know that there's probably going to be a lot of hate on this post but honestly shit doesn't need to be complicated when you're out. It's not perfect for every single imaginable situation but then again no setup is. I like this setup because it goes up easy (just leave the lines on the tarp when you pack it up), it's cheap, it's versatile and a tarp is really multi-functional whereas a tent is just a tent.

I think the size is roughly 2 by 3 metres, which is enough to sleep two people top to tail when it's set up as a tent. If it's not cold you can set this up as a roof and sleep 4. I've also used this as a bivy bag and had enough room for me (2m tall) plus my 65 litre backpack at my feet.

>>840573

Just to add to that, notice how the base of the feet are angled in towards the tent, the same way that you're supposed to do with your tent stakes. That's so you can get the ridgeline super taut, without risk of collapsing. If you wanted to be anal you could run a couple of extra counter-balancing lines to the left and right (if it's windy) but I've never had to do that as burying the base of the sticks usually keeps it solid.

Also note that I put my rain poncho down as a groundsheet first. I'm going to buy a second hootchie for that soon, but you have to have something there to keep away bugs, moisture and sharp shit that can poke you. If you do that however, you'll be good as gold.

There are some people in this thread who've probably never done it that are complaining about that shit, but it's really not an issue if you're not in a sandstorm or whatever the fuck.

Think about how basic the shit was that the pioneers carried and they stood up to it. Tarps are fine, as long as you have a solid, well made one and you put it up properly you'll have no worries.

>>840554
Bullshit, they were invented before tents. There is nothing wrong with lean-to camping as long as you plan ahead and don't mind sleeping on the ground

>>840573

single stick teepee tarp set up is WAY easier when no trees. Obviously works better with larger tarps.

Also, I don't know why you're poles are away from the tarp, you'd get a more stable structure if they were at the edges of the tarp.

>>840577
>>840573
>>840566
Great overview. I think I'm going to give tarp shelter a try. Will take some pictures and post here later.

Ive spent most of this summer sleepin out side with no tarp/tent at all, just a blanket and have had no problems with bugs, i carry a headnet that i had to use a few times though for mosquitoes, i cover my head/neck with a shemagh then put the headnet on top

>>840839
I guess it doesnt rain where you live

>>840533

Good choice in role models. This'll work out great for you.

Have yet to effectively use solely a tarp as a shelter. Never works for me. I can build any shelter from surrounding materials but a tarp I am shit at doing anything with besides using it in conjunction with a stick frame shelter or using it as a base for a shelter.

>>840872
Vancouver Island, i couldnt pull this off in the other 3 seasons without some sort of water+wind layer

>>840295
>>840293
Nice vagoos you got yourselves there
If I find ants on food I eat them, if I see a spider I do nothing.

>>841055
I got that gene where I can taste the formic acid that ants put out really strongly so fuck that.
And spiders are gross so fuck that too.

>>840326
you seriously live in a temperate rainforest? i've been to temperate rainforests in spring and summer and have never seen many insects about. What temperate rainforest do you live in?

>>840741

You either need a huge tarp, or make do with having an open structure. I tried it with mine which is rectangular but it ended up being small and open.

I put the poles a bit away from the tarp because it makes it way easier to get in and out, but I'll try it with them right up against it, thanks anon

>>841057

>spiders are gross

Get the fuck out of here you faggot

>>840743

Please do, I'd be interested to hear your experience. Let me know if you find a way to improve the design in any way.

>>841055
Sure thing, kid.

>>841097
SIDF please go, no one likes you.

I've been using a tarp for the past 2 years. You wouldn't use it in extreme conditions unless you were used to it.
Good quality hiking tarps are around the (aus) $200 range, so the money saving isn't a huge factor.

>>841123

I'd like to see one of these $200 tarps. Link? I'm sure they're great, but I've never had any trouble using $40 ones.

>>841055
I'm in Australia and frankly if you aren't from here you don't know shit.

>>841123
kek you don't need to pay $200 to get a good quality tarp. Sure you can spend your money on space age bullshit but you'll do just as well spending a quarter of that on something solidly built from good material.

>>840741

If you put the poles on the edge of the tarp then you can't angle them, making it less stable. Plus they get in the way when you're getting in and out of the tent.

Maybe try it before you talk bullshit.

>>840293

Spread old campfire ash in a circle around your sleeping areas. Mixing it with black pepper will also make an effective long-term deterrent.

If it's raining, though, then I can't help you there. Maybe hitch your tarp in such a way as to place a fire under there with ya.

>>841123
Do you mean one of those pre-made tarp-tents like this?
>http://www.backcountrygear.com/hilleberg-tarp-10-ul.html?gclid=CPeQ9IaHz84CFYcfhgodEEAAcg

I was looking at tarps around the $40-$50 dollar range. For that price range, I don't think I could get any tent worth lightweight backpacking with. I might be a bit too optimistic on this but I think it's worth a try.

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>>841129
see
>>836614
with poles cost $300

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>>840293

>>840274
There are better ways to use a tarp for shelter than THAT. You'll need a large tarp, but the added bulk will be worth it.

Search NativeSurvival and Humble Trekker on YouTube.

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>>840527
not really, this pic isnt mine but is my most used setup, you only need one raised tie-up point, it doesnt have to be a tree, it could be something as simple as a stick dug into the ground.

>needing trees is a huge setback
is a phrase better suited for hammocks, not tarps

>>841090
>i've been to temperate rainforests in spring and summer and have never seen many insects about.

You're kidding right? Do you know what a temperate rain forest is?

>>840274
buy a $20 hammock off of ebay

>>840293

This is why hammock tents are pretty good.

>>841577
>lying on the ground with no tarp or pad
Are you a spider

>>841580
Yeah, I've been to them. Lake district forests (not very big, still a temperate rainforest), and there were obviously insects, but not that many.

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>>841577
>tied to a fucking tree......

>>841618
Then he would have two shelters that suck

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>>841620
Except where I live the spiders fly around using single strands of silk to float on. They also use the same type of technique to anchor their webs over very long distances. My tent is normally covered in spider silk and various types of spiders.

When you walk through the woods here you must carry a stick up in front of you and keep swirling it around. If you don't, you get spiders like this planted right on your face, as they are ALWAYS face height.

>>841979
What kind of Satan spawned hell hole do you live in and how can I never ever come anywhere near it?

>>841981
You should see the long jawed spiders we have here too. They drop down the instant they are disturbed. They always hang around in tree limbs and shrubs that overhang water. So, if you are in a boat or wading in the water they drop down on you and the water. When in the water they climb the nearest thing, which is always you.

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>>842005
Forgot pic.

Why would you do that? It looks like such a pain in the ass. A tent is way more practical, and if you don't feel like you need it just vivac ffs.

>>841979
>>841981
>>842005
It's called Goddamn North Carolina.
Motherfucking constant nightmare fuel during the spring, summer, and 50% of fall. Jesus.

>>842005
>>842007

Jesus Christ how horrifying.

>>840293
>pic
I'm officially scared. And I say this as someone who likes spiders and has handled tarantulas.

>>840554
Tell that to Outward Bound, NOLS, etc etc. those folks live in tarps while on expedition

>>841963

>Didn't read the post

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>>842042
We also have these things which feel like a sledge hammer when they sting you.

>>840293
>>841979
>>842007
came for tarps, left with arachnophobia.

Thank you guys...

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>>842231
Sleep in tents.

>>842231
ayye no problem nutsack!

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>>842235
Looks a bit like an assassin spider. Wonder if its jaws are an adaptation for the same sort of work?

ie. Eating other spiders.

>>841979
(you know those are harmless, right?)

>>842292
When they meet each other on a branch they extend those and fight.

>>842397
The spikes on their backs will irritate your skin if they touch you.

>>840274
Do you have mosquitoes in your area? I do. That's why I don't use a tarp.

>>840274
this is retarded... just get https://www.amazon.co.uk/Yellowstone-Matterhorn-Tent/dp/B01CI2RGZO/ref=pd_sim_sbs_200_3?ie=UTF8&dpID=31WYlGA-0RL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&refRID=6838G3M7NPZ7632KRBKZ

and fix the downsides (sealing, hooks and bars) you are at 30 bucks and have all you need even if there arent any trees around..

what a bunch of pussies itt. All bugs that mistake trespassing my camp are just free protein to me.

>>842223
you mean wasps?
they are harmless if you arent a dick to them or step on them barefoot

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>>843167
That's a cicada killer, not just any wasp. Also, bald face hornets are wasps and ultra giant dicks.

>>843167
Or, you put your tarp over their favorite nesting site and they land on you constantly looking around for the holes they made.

>>842552
Bugnet

>wew

>>842223
Not a wasp... hornet.

>>841195
>you don't need to pay $200 to get a good quality tarp
I wouldn't recommend a $200 tarp, even for a beginner. The cheapest yet usable tarp I've seen was around $500 and it was on sale and sadly, no longer in production. For someone who is used to a tent I wouldn't recommend anything under $1000. Add 2k and we're talking about some serious expedition gear.

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>>843723

>>843685
If I'm going to the trouble of using mosquito netting I can set up a tent and not get bitten, rained on, or have the wind blowing through willy nilly.

>>843723
what a fucking rich dumbass, please keep your shitty opinions to yourself

>>840274

Surplus GI ponchos. The poly tarps "crinkle" too much, and are less versatile.

>>843723
I use a blue, $16, 16'x20' tarp from the local hardware store.