Ground sheet as sun shade?

[Patrick W]

Hi! Starting the PCT in April and planning to carry a tyvek ground sheet in the desert. The tyvek is not construction weight, but lighter. Not sure of the weight per area measurement. Anyway, I’d like to be able to set it up as a sun shade for siestas on hot days. I’m hoping someone can share pics of having done this to give me ideas.   For reference, we are curing at 2-person tent,  and we both use hiking poles.

Thanks!

 

[David Thomas]

Tyvek is pretty tough, bright white and opaque. It should work well as a sunshade.

You can attach / rivet / sew / stick-on grommets on the corners for guying it out in the wind. I like 130-pound Dacron fishing line as very strong but light lines.

You can also just wrap the Tyvek around a pebble, throw a clove hitch or constrictor knot around it, and have an attach point anywhere you like. That’s a good trick for lots of back country hacks.

Note that the ground that has been in the sun will be hot. Look for spots that had been in at least partial shade.

[Monte Masterson]

You might consider purchasing an inexpensive silnylon groundsheet with tieouts. It would be way easier to set up and it won’t pill like Tyvek. If you have the money a 1.0 oz/sq yd cuben Triplex groundsheet from ZPacks would be even better (has 6 tieouts and weighs 4.5 oz, $120)

[Matthew / BPL]

Patrick, there’s a technique I’ve seen where you get a little plastic washer from Ace Hardware, file one side flat and then capture it in duct tape at the edge of a tarp for a guyout point. I think you just poke a hole through the center of the washer. That would be pretty easy and weigh just a few grams.

I think that might be a technique from the polycyro tarp threads.

[Patrick W]

I appreciate the pointers.  Right now I am planning to use this to attach to the groundsheet:

http://a.co/452QyvH

Cheap, light and seems reliable if the reviewers are right.  Always used a tent, so I don’t have much experience improvising set up of a shade/shelter.  Hoping to see some pics of what others have done.  The one idea that comes to me is to stake down two adjacent corners and then use poles in the opposite corners.  I suppose that I will need to put 2 guylines on each pole to keep it stable?

 

[Matthew / BPL]

Just my $.02 but I think those will introduce weird tensions into the fabric. I know your intention is to use it as a sun shade more than a storm shelter so maybe it will work out fine.

You are describing a shed pitch. You only need one guyline per trekking pole to keep that steady. There are plenty of videos around that go through different ways to pitch flat tarps but here is one I found useful when I was experimenting with a 5×9 flat tarp.

[Matthew / BPL]

duct tape + grommets

using a pebble and a guyline as mentioned above

[Matthew / BPL]

Here is the plastic washer technique. This is how I would rig a tyvek ground cloth as a sun shade.

[Patrick W]

Hey, some great ideas!  I appreciate the response and helpful suggestions. As soon as the snow melts, I’ll be in the backyard trying out some new things.  Thank All!

[Elliott Wolin]

One word:  umbrella.  Something like the old Golite Chrome Dome.

Easy to set up any time, can hike with it, often don’t need to wear a hat, lots of ventilation for head and shoulders, may not need long sleeve shirt, I could go on…

[Author]

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