New tarp design, I think.

[Backpack Jack]

Here's my new tarp design that I put together for my trip to Glacier National Park. Once I figure out all the bugs I might try to sell these on gear deals if anyone is interested. It's made from Silnylon seconds from Noah Lamports and sewn on my Singer 401A. I used bias tape around the edges, and had to reinforce the peak tie outs after a mishap setting it up before my trip. This shelter offers many ways to set it up and can be battened down for a storm. I think it weighs around 8 oz, but the final production may be little more since I am going to make it a little longer. I welcome all feed back positive or negative, that's the way we learn right!

Ok here we go.

This is the tarp in full open mode for shade.

This shows the wing pulled over the end to keep out rain/wind.

I'm working on a way to get a tighter seal, maybe velcro for the opening.

Inside view with the ends closed up. The foam is around 25"x 75"

This shows the wings as mini vestibules/wind breaks.

My version of a lean to with side wind/sun protection.

When it's all closed up in storm mode it looks just like the old pup tents we used to sleep in as kids.

Let me know what you think.

Jack

[BlackHatGuy]

Hey Jack!

Looks pretty cool. Very ingenious!

[Jon Holthaus]

That's thinking outside the box… Or triangular prism in this case. Definitely like it, love to hear post-use comments on this shape. I like the versatility.

[Backpack Jack]

Thanks guys for the comments. I used it at Glacier with no problems, and even had to put it in storm mode one night because of a threat of rain. Right now it's a little short in storm mode, but doeable. I had all my gear inside accept for food, you can weather a storm alright, just a little shy on the head room. As it stands now the length is 12' long from wing tip to wing tip stretched out, I think I need to go to 13 1/2' to make it work right. I really like the overall design though, thanks Jon, that was my exact thinking when I was thinking of a new design, outside the box, tired of the same old thing, wanted something different and new. I'm sure there are other ways to set it up, but those were just the ones that came to mind.

[Paul McLaughlin]

Jack – nice design. Have you tried pulling the end panel in under the side instead of wrapping ti over? I'm thinking that might get you better coverage. Another thought is that if you made the end so that it has another tie-out point a few inches back from the corner, you get a little flap that might help seal it against the side. Which makes me think, what about having several points along that edge, for variability of pitch? Just ideas you might want to try.

[Franco Darioli]

new, sort of…
This is a Paddy Pallin (Aussie DIY guru and later shop owner ,company founder) from about 45 years ago.

It was made with Silk Japara (actually a lightweight cotton)
Similar to some US 'lean to" type shelter usually set up as in the picture above.
What is new is having the end flaps on opposite sides , not sure if that is an advantage
Franco
edited to add picture…

[Backpack Jack]

@ Paul, I tried to pull the wing in on my first set up, but couldn't get it pulled tight enough without lowering the tarp and sacrificing head room. I did put some more tie outs on the ridge line underneath, in about 2" and that does work better, but really sacraficed the interior room length, that's why I think another 1 1/2' longer might work better. I think I may add some velcro along that line to keep it together, it may add a few oz but would be a lot better closure. Thanks for all the comments guys, I really like the design and will be making a newer version soon. @ Franco that's why I posted "new tarp design I think" people have been at this far longer than I've been alive. LOL Thanks for the pic and info.

[Backpack Jack]

Here it is in storm mode with the ridge line mods at Glacier.

View of the inside, I put my pack in later, just to the right at about where my shoulder would be lying in the bivy, shoes inside the bivy and everything else on the opposite side. The ground sheet was a DriDucts Poncho, also used as rain gear if needed.

Here it is in lean-to mode, it was pretty windy down by the lake that night, and putting it up in this mod gave me plenty of room to move around and see the stars. You could cook in this mod also, but not in Glacier it isn't permited, there is a designated site for cooking, sleeping, and hanging food.

This one was taken with 60 second exposure, my cuben stuff sack with my head lamp inside to make a UL lantern

[Franco Darioli]

Jack,
A few weeks ago I made a small saw.
Turns out that it is very similar to the Sven saw..
Yesterday I made a different version, no doubt someone has done that too ,already.

Now the good point is that when your idea matches an existing one, it probably has some merit…

About 3000 years ago King Solomon (famous for his wisdom) declared :
There is nothing new under the Sun .
As he was saying that the crowd responded "Yes ,yes we knew that already,already. Get on with it !"
Franco

[Hiking Malto]

Jack,
What was the thinking on placing the two wings on opposite sides vs the same? It would seem that if they were on the same side you could do more of a directional setup. With them on the opposite sides you have to worry about exposure from one side or the other? I look forward to seeing how this works with more real world rain. I found that my tarp works the best when it's not raining :). Also, loved the Glacier trip highlights. Looks like a beautiful area.

[Mark Dijkstra]

Very clever. Instead of making the "door" go over the wall when it's closed, I would make a few loops to clip it under the wall. If you then extend the wall a little further you should have much better coverage against rain. I would also make it a lot bigger. It seems a little claustofobic right now. Especially in bad weather it's nice to have some extra space.

[James Marco]

Nice Job.
It always takes at least two prototypes to get everything sorted out. Then a few years of use to decide/implement refinements.

I agree that the wings are probably best left attached to one side, though. Winds are generally from a single direction, sunshine and rain, too. Of course, this will give you a Wheelan style tarp. Sold sometime around 1910-1925. This will complicate sewing, though, with a long center seam. This is NOT a detriment. A long rolled seam can often act as a reinforcement of the silnylon, similar to running a line through & along the ridge, decreasing streatching and increasing strength.

Similar to any roof, all lower water sheding needs to be coverd by upper water sheding. The wings really belong under the tarp body, as was already mentioned.

Anyway, it is a good first attempt! I flipped through some history books and find most modern designs are off shoots of ancient ones. Tarps are the basic shelter against the elements and have been since cave man days, I would guess. Skins were used before canvas. Just as we use silnylon and cuben today. Even the geodesic designs were used by the mongols in BC times. I don't believe that it is possible to come up with anything "new" in tarp designs.

[Backpack Jack]

Thanks Franco, your little history lesson made me laugh.

@Greg , I thought if I made the wings opposite each other it would provide more shade during the day ie.. When the sun is rising or setting the shade will be different, also if the wind was coming from one direction I could just close up that end and leave the other side open, this set up is mainly for fair weather. The wings were made mainly to put my pack there and keep it in the shade during the day, or if I was laying down I could scoot my pad down to one end or the other, sticking out a little in the shade of the wing to get a breeze and still be in the shade. Who knows I might make the next one with the wings on both sides.

@ Mark I agree I did want to make it bigger, but was trying to keep from making a sewn ridge line, trying to keep it as simple as possible, whats that saying "KISS", keep it simple stupid, thats me. I would still like to put the door/wings to the inside in storm mode, I do believe it would give better storm protection, just need to do some more sketching on paper first before I ruin more Silnylon. LOL, I new I should have taken up a class in engineering, darn!

@ James, I agree I think it's going to take a few more attemps before I am totally happy with it, and work out all the kinks.

Thanks guys for all the info and comments.

[John West]

Looks great Jack! Hopefully your trip to Glacier was awesome, and glad to see you decided to try out the tarp for the trip.

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