Advice on homemade "fast pack" system? (pitching a tent fly without an inner)

[Pigeon]

I own a Terra Nova Solar Photon II and I’m trying to brainstorm a way to pitch the tent fly without an attached inner tent. Terra Nova advertises a fastpack system, which I think is just a groundsheet (and I’ve considered buying it but I’d prefer a bathtub floor.)

I may try to make a tyvek bathtub that’s slightly undersized, then add some extensions at the three appropriate spots for the tent pole to insert into grommets and pop up. I’d have to wipe away water if I pitched in the rain.

My other idea is that instead of a footprint I could use some nylon webbing with metal grommets at the correct distance to erect the Y shaped pole without a groundsheet. I could then pitch the fly and toss down a dry groundsheet.  Any ideas?

[Todd Stough]

I was going to suggest the webbing idea.  then you would be out of the rain to put down the bathtub floor.

[Pigeon]

Todd, do you have an idea what shape I’d want the webbing? My first thought was a triangle. Then i thought about a Y, maybe with some shock cord attached at the top of the Y to create tension for the poles ends by the door.

Construction would be harder for me than most; I dont have a sewing machine or many tools at hand. That’s part of what has me drawn to tyvek, I can buy it on eBay and request some extra tabs and glue it all together.

I think I’m going to practice with some rope.

[Pigeon]

Hmm I quickly tied together some “pulltape” , one piece connecting the top/front of the Y shaped tent-pole and another knotted midway through that rope, running to the rear of the tent. The front piece of rope is under a little stress so it did form a shallow Y. I’ll try to tinker with ways to make this remotely stable.

I’d love to know if anyone has experience with this kind of setup and how I could make it as sturdy as the tent previously appeared. The fly has four velcro tabs that can loop onto the pole tightly. I’d stake the fly down in eight spots at least.

[Todd Stough]

I don’t know what the bottom of your poles look like as far as attachment points.  How about using some zing it or similar small line?  Just tie slip knots.

 

Three strings like a triangle might be best.  Could pretty easily play with triangle vs Y to see which works best.

That would be very cheap or even free, if you have line, to test out.  Also would be almost weightless.  Once the fly is up you will stake it out right?  So the line just needs to hold the poles while you attach the fly?  If so just remove the lines and store at that point.

Even more basic, could you put loops of line on your stakes.  Put the stakes in the ground and attach the poles to the loop on the stakes.

[Pigeon]

Thanks for the ideas, Todd. The loops in the stakes would be about as minimal as I could go but I don’t trust myself to get the geometry right without the rope as a marker. I did just as you suggested using slip knots and lighter line and for less than an ounce I can now pitch the fly on its own.

[Jordo _99]

 

A bit late to the party here…I think you might find that for just a few grams, you can get an easier to use and adjustable piece here:

Instead of slit knots, run the cords through a “lineloc-webbing-grommet” piece at each end:

You can get the poles in/out easier and adjust the tension without taking the poles out.

 

Hope that helps. I’ve used grommets with CF poles and trekking pole tips for a while now and they hold up pretty well. Just make sure you don’t use grosgrain for the webbing…you’ll want something a bit stronger.

[Todd Stough]

Duke I totally missed your two comments.  I’m glad it worked.

Once you stake the fly down you can remove the string right.  Won’t the stakes hold everything in place?

[Pigeon]

Jordo, I may seek out some grommets if/ when I decide to go any further with this. They’d make all the difference in usability and might be necessary for safety. I don’t trust my knots to hold longterm. I had to look up grosgrain; that is what I envisioned at the start but I used some light  tow rope I had on hand and it works well other than large cumbersome knots. It’s overkill strength-wise but weighs very little.

Todd, as it stands the rope has to stay attached once pitched. It’s “locked in” after I insert the pole tips directly into the grommets on the fly. More importantly the rope is the only thing keeping the long section of the pole arched. The pole doesnt firmly attach to the rear of the fly (no built in grommet), it only goes through velcro. The pole tends to migrate out of center in the back which seems to be the only structural flaw and needs a remedy. I could add another attachment point to the rear center of the fly, but without skills to sew that probably won’t happen.  With a couple more small lines connecting that pole-end to the rear stakes I think I’d have a solid pitch. I haven’t yet tested this outside with stakes (inside with weights and clothes hangers.)

I’m not sold on using this fly-only. It feels like a half measure compared to using a dedicated tarp and the headroom still isn’t great, but the small footprint vs usable interior space makes it attractive. I’ve never used trekking poles so the 9 oz (and conveniently short when packed) dedicated pole isn’t too over the top.

With the rope I’m able to easily set up the tent inner after the fly, so I think it’s worth carrying if I may set up in rain. I’ve learned something here :).

 

 

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