completed asym mid

That looks really nice, good job, low weight

That’s pretty much mine except I have a zipper

First, put in the two stakes at the far corners.

Then put the pole in and the one stake at the asym side middle.  Then it should be taut along the opening?

Then put the other two corners in and the middle of the long side.

Maybe you need a taller pole to account for stretch of fabric.  If the site isn’t flat it can be weird, although I can see yours is pretty flat.

A square or rectangular mid is easier in a way – you stake out the four corners and then put the pole in.  Except all mids including asym get weird when the site isn’t flat.  And once you figure out the sequence, the asym is maybe actually easier – only the two far corners and the middle of the asym side have to be in a plane, and since there are only three, that will always be the case, where the four corners of a regular mid can be off plane.

Would a toggle halfway down the door (ZPacks style) help with the door?

@jerry – I’ll try pitching it that way. The first couple of times I’ve pitched it I staked the 4 corners, raised the pole, and then staked the beak.

@matthew – Yea, I plan to add a toggle but was hoping to do it once the whole thing pitches taught. May circle back to this if I can’t get otherwise get it taught.

Looks like you might have a bit too much length on the flap to make it taught.  On the right hand edge of the flap.  I think if you shorten that up at the top, it will pull the flap tight.  You might be able to pin it it up or fold it up with a binder clip to experiment.

I really like the overlapping flap idea instead of a zipper.  I might have to steal that idea for my next shelter.

Ben

I repitched it last night using Jerry’s method – two far corners, lift the center with pole, stake the middle triangle, and then the last two corners. This is definitely better, the doors are usable now without worrying about wind easily pulling them apart. But now it isn’t quite as taught in one of the end panels.

I used 1.5″ catenary cuts which is on the low end of recommended deflection for the length. Perhaps the cat cut wasn’t quite aggressive enough. Or the simplest answer is the fabric stretched a bit unevenly between the different seams when sewing it together.

In any case, the panel lifters should help. I ran out of cord so haven’t tried them yet.

@Ben, good idea with the binder clips to experiment with shortening the edge.

More pictures:

That looks like a great design.

Thanks! Credit to folks here from steering me away from some earlier bad ideas. Super rewarding to see it come together, makes you forget how many hours went into it!

Looking at the second photo, I would have the stakes on the long side a bit closer (lengthwise) , then lift the pole up a bit. That way you should have less of a sharp change on the seam line from the apex to the stake .

Interesting – I see what you’re saying. My pole is maxed out at 56″ in the pictures so I haven’t tried pitching higher. I’ll try that with a rock or piece of wood or finally make the pole jack I’ve been planning on.

yeah, stick 2 inch or 4 inch board under pole to make it longer just to see what happens

I prefer 58″ or 60″ anyway for a little more head room.  If you’re stuck inside when it’s raining, and especially if there’s some condensation on the inside, taller is better.

this design is a bit weird because of the five asymmetric corners.  It takes a bit to figure it out.  But the low weight is good

can you open one side of the door?  I have a couple velcro strips exactly half way up so I can hold it open for ventilation if it’s not raining.  Or you could just have webbing strips.  Depending on the slope of the ground I’ll open one side or the other – open at the foot end and leave the head end more protected.

Re opening the doors, yes there are little Velcro bits for holding open the doors. Hopefully that and the higher pitch height will mitigate condensation. I have been planning on pitching at 60″ for ventilation purposes but didn’t realize that could affect pitch taughtness too.