SpinnTwinn super high pitch

i know this wont help much with your question, but why not just take extra line (shouldnt weigh too much)& experiment, even just in your yard. or… how about if there is no real weather expected, then dont even put it up

I have a Spinntwinn and agree with Bren, if you don't expect weather then no need to pitch at all.

IR radiative cooling is an important heat loss source, even in good weather.

A tarp pitched six feet up is not going to keep you warm.

Save yourself the trouble when the weather is nice.

I think a tarp pitched above you on a clear night (if it gets cold enough) will help keep you drier from dew forming on your bag.

I think its a great idea. I have done it with a big flat tarp and its really nice.

If it's a clear night, and there is fabric between you and the sky, then you will be 5 or 10 degrees F warmer.

If your sleeping bag is 5 or 10 F warmer than necesary, then it doesn't matter. If you're pushing the bag to it's limit, then better to lower the tarp and do other things to maximize warmth.

If the surface of your sleeping bag is 5 or 10 F warmer, there will be less dew.

If the tarp is higher, then it will block the sky less. But this may not be an issue depending on how high, how wide the tarp is, and trees/ridges that are blocking the horizon.

I will try it out a few times and let everyone know what I find.

Let me try again to explain why/where/when this might be a good idea.

I camp almost exclusively on the AT / in similar environs on the east coast. Usually summer or at least above freezing at night. And I am not typically out on the balds or the Presidentials or something, that would present a different scenario.

So here's a typical tarping environment where a high pitch might make sense. It is 85 degrees at nightfall but at least there is a bit of a breeze. I am hoping to sleep well tonight so I really, really, don't want to cut off the breeze. I could just pitch it as per GG directions with 2 foot tie outs on the sides, leaving maybe 6-12" of clearance, which really does in fact cut off the breeze, particularly if I add in a bivy or one of my own bug netting solutions.

In this scenario, I am not really worried about a lot of horizontal rain (and if it happens I can stake down 1 side of the tarp). So instead, I pitch it really high and wide using my 5 foot guy lines instead of the recommended 24" ones. If I am wimpy, I just stop there and go to sleep and am happy with the sides being so open – 18 to 24 inches off the ground, doubling the horizontal air flow at least. Or, if I am a little more confident, I just cowboy camp 2 feet to the uphill side of the tarp, and if it does indeed rain, I quickly scuttle myself under the wide enclosure. Plus, in the morning, I can sit up comfortably in my custom bathtub and change clothes/eat/etc. if the rain continues.

Not sure I described that very well, but that's why I found this a useful thing to try out. In fact, it is very close to 85 degrees, and thundering like we might have a pretty good rain, and my tarp is set up with this pitch in the front yard! If I wasn't 20 steps from my comfy bed, I think that I would.

Thanks again everyone for comments. By the way in between the time I started typing and now, there is now a pretty good rain coming down. But as per above, not a lot of driving rain. Glad to be heading 20 steps to my bed…

Tim

Tim