setting up Golite poncho tarp

Hi Brett,

Here's a shot af an 8×10 tarp set up.

I even have a bug net in it. Plenty of room and easy to pitch.

I'd start with an 8×10 and work your way down to a smaller tarp with experience.

The above set up weighs 750g. My two person tent it replaced weighs 2.6 kilograms. Big difference!

Good luck with tarping!! It's the way to go.

fred

…but so light.

Yeah, I was a "tarper" for years before I could afford tents but with TarpTent and Go-Lite single wall tents abounding I'll remain a tenter. Just ordered the TT Moment a few days ago.

Eric
BTW, After using a Vietnam era poncho decades ago I'll NEVER use a poncho again. Can't abide 'em in a wind or on a steep trail, either up or down.

Having recently acquired the GoLite Poncho Tarp I would like to resurrect this thread and solicit any additional setup pictures from anyone with this particular tarp. This is a great thread and has some excellent ideas. Just looking for a few additional pictures.

5×8 has a ton of pitches, but best w/ photos I've found is this:

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=42675

Here are a some pictures of a GoLite Poncho/Tarp. This is before I got trekking poles. Back then I used a hiking staff. In the desert there often is not a suitable branch to use as a pole, and no trees to tie it off. You will notice that I often ran two ridgelines under the the tarp, starting from the center front, and then back to each rear corner. I took these pictures to show my son some options.

Here is a MLD Pro Poncho. This area was almost 100% volcanic rock, and it was hard to find a sandy spot that was large enough for a campsite. Had to be creative is placing the guylines. But after a windy night, it was still pretty taunt.

Edit: Wrong about the last picture. It is the GoLite.

There have been some great photos on previous threads. An example of a 1/2 pyramid can be found here .

Similar to the GoLite.

I think the GoLite is 8'8" X 4'10"

The MLD is 9' x 5'5" (front) x 4'5" in the rear.

Here I had just set it up quickly with 4 stakes for seam sealing of the ridge. It would have been more taunt with the left guyline placed more to the left.

I almost always set up my tarps or poncho/tarps in A-frame mode or variations (one side with short guys and longer on the other). With a poncho/tarp you are usually going to need a bivy if you get much rain or snow. With a full tarp, I don't use a bivy.

I'd forgotten this thread, but it really helped me.

Here is the set up in Yosemite (Oct 2007) of golite poncho tarp. My son was using tarptent in picture. Was a great trip.

Here is a MLD poncho tarp using line from tree to tree

mine is a ID, but same size as the Golite

a frame

1/2 pyramid

lean-to

this is a nice one- modified a frame

unless it’s stormy, I generally settle on the half pyramid

I think there are a couple of examples of the half pyramid on this thread but wanted to add a third because the pitch below shows it in a storm capable pitch (i.e., to the ground) and because I think this is an extremely easy pitch to get right. I was practicing in the backyard today and I think this has become my new favorite. I just love this Poncho Tarp. Note that in this example I didn't guy out the hood which obviously I would do in the field using either a second trekking pole or a tree.

I am really considering getting one, you can hardly find a rain jacket for that weight, yet alone a shelter, poncho, and pack cover…

have been looking into poncho-tarps, and for sure gunna throw one together. Haven't found a good hood plan yet (although the Pro-Poncho idea is tempting), any recommendations?

Here is a link to a couple of Golite Poncho Pitches I was playing around with for a while.

BPL Poncho Pitch

Ozzy,

I like this hood plan http://thru-hiker.com/projects/hood_pattern.php
I have used it on 2 rain jackets and 2 wind-shirts and it works nicely.
I first made it out of tyvek to make sure the size was right… and it was.

The newer golite poncho is made of 15d sil nylon which weighs less by the way. 7ish ounces.

Honestly, between Golite's new direct-to-consumer business model and that 7d coated fabric is hard to get and expensive (relatively speaking) when you can, when you add in the effort of sewing, I really think just buying Golite's poncho is the way to go. I bought one before they went direct and still think it was a great buy. I did go to the effort of making a Lytw8 bivy to complement the poncho tarp, and have a windshirt cut waiting to be sewn together as well.

Jeff

I have a similar-sized flat tarp that I pitch in half-pyramid, and I like that the best.
It offers good protection on 3 sides, and is easy to pitch, and offers side-entry.
I like side-entry MUCH better than crawling in/out the end of an A-frame.

It would be fairly easy and light to add a permanent/ Velcro/ or zippered beak to the half pyramid. Hmm.

Many of the modern popular shaped-tarp shelters today are simply variations of the half-pyramid, with beaks added.

I have a SMD Gatewood Cape that I think is awesome for its dual-purpose roles, and for its coverage. Plus, SMD makes a matching bug inner tent for it.

The use of a poncho tarp got real popular around here a few years ago, but then seemed to fall out of favor with some who thought they'd rather have separate pieces so they could walk around camp in the rain outside while their shelter was up.
But I think this format will gain popularity again. And I think the Gatewood Cape is the best implementation of the format.

After using a 5×8 flat tarp, which is basically what most of these poncho tarps are, I found the Gatewood Cape to be roomy and tent-like inside, with great protection from weather, and only 3 ounces heavier than my 5×8 ID Siltarp. It is WELL worth those extra 3 ounces when the weather turns bad. And I saved weight with the Gatewood Cape anyway because it doubles as my raingear.
The GC with bug inner-tent weighs 18-19 ounces as a combo, and it's also raingear and the net tent has a floor. It has a working front door that ties-back if you want, and it can vent out the hood at the top, and has a floor in the net tent, and it stuffs into its own pocket so you don't even need a stuff sack.

Let's look at the popular ZPacks Hexamid. The bug net version weighs around 10-11 ounces, depending on how it's outfitted. And it's cuben fiber and expensive.
But it has no waterproof floor, and if you add even a groundsheet, you add 2 ounces or more. Otherwise, on wet ground you will get wet.
And if you add raingear, it will be hard to find raingear that's less than 5-6 ounces total. And if you do find it, it will be expensive.
And the Hexamid, nice as it is, is not a double-wall shelter, and the Gatewood cape with inner net tent IS a true double-wall shelter.

So, the GC is pretty competitive because of this dual function capability it has, and the cost is generally less than cuben fiber alternatives that might be able to match it for weight vs function.
I personally think it is a very good package that Ron at SMD designed.

Hey, I'm 6'2" and I've mentioned before that I'm considering getting a Gatewood cape but am worried about being too tall and sticking out the end of the shelter.

I've used my cheapo 13 oz Sea to Summit tarp-poncho in the half pyramid in fair weather a few times and I keep waking up with my feet sticking six inches or more out of the end of a shelter–this was no problem in fair weather with a synthetic fill sleeping bag, but becomes much more of an issue now that I've got a down bag and am likely to find myself in poor weather at some point.

The safer option that I'm thinking about is a bivy with the Golite poncho tarp — it would probably end up being a little more expensive and a few ounces heavier, but better protection. The only worry I have with this is condensation. I haven't used it enough to say whether this is a prevailing issue, but the ripstop nylon of the poncho-tarp I have now has been getting me rather wet with condensation.

My preference is to either carry only one hiking pole or none at all–I don't mind the second pole, but I add that in to the weight efficiency of any shelter.

Any recommendations? Any tall users that have tried out the Gatewood?

Hey I am actually going this route. What I did was find a used (like new) bivy and im going to use it as splash and bug protection with the golite tarp.

The bivy I got is a Borah Cuben with M50 top it weighs 4.7 ounces with a bungee cord system I added.

4.7 + 8.5 ounces (stakes and guylines with the golite)

=13.2 ounces for something that costs me $170 isn't bad.

The first user review on the SMD site for the GC says that he's 6'3" and almost touches his head and feet to the ends, but he fits.
The inner net tent is 7 feet long, but it's the angle of the shelter leading to the ends that can affect toes and head.

I think the solution to this is to pitch the cape about 6" off the ground, with a 48"-49" pole, and it fits better. I use a 48.5" pole, and I have read other users like the longer pole too.

I'm almost 5'11" tall, and I had enough room that I didn't notice any feeling of being confined or touching anything.
I don't use trekking poles either, but they offer a 1.8 ounce 49" 3-piece Easton CF pole for $30.
The Gatewood Cape's frontal coverage which is a very extended beak that has a zippered door is really a welcome addition in bad weather. There is just no substitute for that coverage in a rain storm with swirly winds. The GC is miles better than my ID Siltarp 5×8 in terms of keeping me out of the weather. I think there is no comparison at all.

I predict that if you pitch the GC a little bit higher(6" off the ground, with 48-49" pole), like a lot of us GC users do, you'll fit in it and you'll love it.
You'll eliminate the condensation problems that come with bivvies by having the SMD Serenity net-tent inside the GC as a true double-wall shelter, have bug protection, and not be confined like a normal bivy bag is.

I know I sound excited, but I have been using this GC lately, and it is really a good design. It works.

I was fortunate to have had some experience with my GoLite poncho tarp in rain last year and quickly came to the conclusion that it doesn't work well when raining when pitched in a half pyramid. It leaves zero room to maneuver, sit up, cook/eat etc.. while it's raining.

I ended up getting the GG SpinnTwinn when I expect conditions to actually require shelter from rain. Bottom line is that a 5×8 or similar small tarps make little sense to me. If it's not going to rain then you don't even need to setup a tarp. If it is going to rain you will very much appreciate having some room.

The only time I will take a small tarp as my only shelter would be on a short trip where I am reasonably certain that I won't encounter rain. At that point it is an emergency shelter.