Low Fiddle Tarp

I really like the Integral Designs silshelter, an oldie but goodie

For me the lowest fiddle factor tarps are tarptents or shaped tarps that can be staked to the ground and then raise with one or two poles. Of course, these don't have the open sense that a flat tarp pitched high would have. Examples include id sil shelter, alphamid, small pyramid tarps, and the wide range of tarptents, the contrail maybe being the fastest / easiest to go up.

That said, with a bit of practice, a traditional flat tarp isn't that much of a pain… maybe double or tripling the time it takes me from 2-3 minutes to 4-9 minutes depending on conditions.

I've considered the Contrail but I'm afraid it wouldn't do well in SE conditions. Most of my trips are very condensation prone for single wall shelters. Of course I'll gladly accept the recommendations of those with tarptent experience in the SE.

You should look at the Mountain Laurel Designs tarps. I have the Patrol – the line lock adjustment that Ron sews into his products make the adjustment VERY easy. If you got a tarp without a beak it would be that much faster to set up. I can't say enough good things about Ron's gear.

Thanks Don. I'm giving the MLD stuff a very hard look. I'm hoping to find something before next weekend but if I don't I may just take this flat tarp and do what I can with it.

Silnylon is going to stretch or sag, depending on climate conditions. This will cause repeat adjustments. Spinnaker and cuben fiber material is less maintenace.
I can second Don's suggestion for MLD gear. The wait can be frustrating, but the end result is quality gear. I have the spectralite Grace Solo. It's last year's model, so it doesn't have the linelocs they come with now. I've had these on another tarp and they allow you to make adjustments without getting out from under it. This makes pitching in the rain faster since you can jam some stakes in the ground and get under the tarp before making adjustments to get it taut.

Hmm… if you are really bothered by condensation (which you will get on the tarp as well) you might want to look at henry's sublite.

The Oware Cattarps are pretty simple…Silnylon, cat. cut ridgeline…My 1.1 goes up quick and stays very taught.

It's not exactly a tarp, but I can't get over how easily my Gatewood Cape goes up. And it's just the right size and weight for going solo. On a recent shakedown trip it rained for ten hours that night, and because I inadvertently had a high pitch from using using my 48" alpenstock (5" longer than recommended), the air flow was optimal…no condensation.

Chris,
The MLD tarps are very nice and very easy and fast to set up. The material quality and craftsmanship are first rate.

With the tarps attached linelocs setup, and retentioning if required, is simple. The first time out with a Grace Solo in spectralite (cuben) the setup, even in fairly strong windy conditions, took me maybe five minutes alone. This amount of time was mostly due to me being extra careful with the tarp. Being new to this fabric and somewhat paranoid about causing damage, I was exta careful.

There are of course numerous quality options but you will not be disappointed if you select a MLD tarp.

Everyone has different preferences and experiences about these things. Personally, I've found flat tarps to be far less fiddle-prone than cat tarps. I can rig a flat tarp tautly, without really thinking about it, quickly. The couple of cat tarps I had required what seemed like tons of banjo-ing (sorry, had to) and they rarely set up completely to my liking. Not to say there aren't great cat tarps out there, just that you might want to try rigging the flat tarp a few more times first. You might find yourself pleasantly surprised.