pitching a tarp

There is no "standard" pitch. Your tarp, the terrain, and the weather will dictate the pitch du jour. Your tapered tarp will be pitched lower in the rear, which should be pointed into the weather. Campsites are rarely flat and one corner or another can end up in a hole or a slope. Sometimes you get lucky and can tie off to a log, etc. It is as much art as science.

I'm sure there are optimum length poles, but most use their trekking poles which can be adjusted to suit. Having the option for low pitches in bad weather and higher pitches in hot weather is a good thing.

Practice, practice, practice! My first tarp pitch looked like a drunk was at work. Learning your knots and good staking help a lot– especially when the wind picks up at 3AM. There's nothing like a nice taught pitch.

Tarp pitching discussion in the Philosophy & Technique forum.

acronym 6/14/2010 11:14 AM

"My first tarp pitch looked like a drunk was at work."

Mine wasn't much better, but that was also after an hour of tweaking :)

Make the front pole about as tall as your belly button. The rear pole will be about a foot shorter. This will give you room to sit up under the tarp, while still providing good weather protection. (This is assuming a standard A-frame pitch, which is the best option for a tapered tarp like yours.) Rear (lower) end goes in the prevailing wind direction.

Once you've done this, you can vary the pole height for better ventilation and views, vs. better weather protection.

The more important lesson about pitching a tarp is how to choose the best site. Site selection is crucial. But that's another topic.

As others have pointed out, this depends a lot on the campsite. If you've got trees, you may not need a pole at all. A taller pole may allow you to sit up comfortably. A shorter one may make it easier to stay dry in a storm.

thank you for the info and the link. must have been putting the words in the search function wrong.

My hiking pole is fixed at 120 cm or around 48" high, a good 6" above my b-button (I'm 5'10") Foot end of the tarp is set lower. the 120 cm height works with a GG SpinnTwin and a SMD Wild Oasis.

If you have a companion consider using a pole in the middle to keep he side up and prevent sag especially with silnylon.

This was my first attempt. I set the poles at roughly 42 and 30 inches. It seems to be taut to me. Any thoughts?