This Aliexpress flat tarp

[Stephen Parks]

I had referenced this cheap 3mx3m 15D tarp in the “faux duomid” thread, and decided to order one to play around with.  I like the idea of a tarp, but wanted to play around with a cheap one before spending more money.  https://m.aliexpress.com/s/item/32771317058.html#autostay

The quality of this tarp seems decent.  The corner tieouts and the midpoint tieouts have grommets installed (stainless steel, I’m guessing), while the 1/4 location tieouts do not.  While I wasn’t expecting it from the product description, I was pleased to find two tieouts along the ridgeline seam, 1/4 length from each end (also with grommets).  The tieout points are reinforced with semicircles of some plastic fabric bonded to the silnylon.  I don’t know enough about sewing to name the hem stitching, but there seems to be at least double thicknesses of the material folded over on both sides of the panel, with two stitch lines.  The ridgeline seam is taped, which is another feature I wasn’t expecting.  The weight of the tarp is 18oz on the nose.  It came with six ~5m lengths of 4mm reflective cord that isn’t horribly heavy but is unnecessarily bulky, as well as a very oversized stuff sack.

I also ordered ten titanium shepherd hook stakes with snazzy rainbow Tiodizing (will still need some orange paint though).

I tried a few pitches yesterday – both encouraging and humbling.  It was actually much easier then I feared to set up a half pyramid, A-frame and flying diamond, but they weren’t pretty, with a fair bit of wrinkles.  Practice should help some but this requires driving to a friend’s house.  Do people here typically run a separate ridgeline to hang over for A-frame and flying pyramid, or just tension the tarp itself?  It is very convenient to just hook the grommet over the tip of the trekking pole.  I need to think some about my preferred guyline strategy – so many ways to handle storage, attachment and tensioning.

[Michael]

If you aren’t yet a member .. join the Mountain Laurel Designs Facebook group so you can watch the attached video by Ron Bell … I wouldn’t trust the knockoff stuff, but certainly understand the attraction in finding a cheap tarp to experiment with.

https://www.facebook.com/ron.bell.794/videos/g.131793047725/10211220041239045/?type=2&theater

[rmeurant]

In the past, I ordered various Ti stakes (shepherd hook, and two types of V-shape), some with the “snazzy” coloring, from Baoji Ouyuan New-Metal Tech Co.,Ltd, thru AliExpress, and am impressed with their products and service.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/10pcs-lot-3-5mm-Colorful-Titanium-alloy-outdoor-tent-peg-bend-head/32668142797.html?spm=2114.13010608.0.0.ozLa8c

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/6pcs-Plus-Titanium-Tent-Peg-V-Shape-Trigone-Spike-Windproof-Outdoor-Camping-Stake-Nail-15g/1000001801937.html?spm=2114.13010608.0.0.ozLa8c

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/TiTo-6pcs-lot-16cm-Colorful-Titanium-V-shaped-windproof-Tent-Peg-Nail-Stake-with-Rope-Outdoor/32669164536.html?spm=2114.13010608.0.0.ozLa8c

 

[James holden]

That video by ron isnt of a 3F tent but some other chinese one

itlll basically be like saying that MLD tents are the same as MSR because they are both american companies

theres a good discussion of chinese tents on the treklite forums and folks seem to use some of them just fine

if one is worried about the HH just do the hose or balloon tests

the fabric on mine has been waterproof even on 50mm rain dayz

;)

[Franco Darioli]

That Trailstar copy is sold as :
590G TrailStar Camping Tent Ultralight 1-2 Person Outdoor 20D Nylon Both Sides Silicon Pyramid shelter 4 Season United Kingdom
Specs
Brand : TrailStar

[rmeurant]

I note that AliExpress now sells a 1 person double layer dome tent that weighs 1.063 kg for just under $100, it looks like 1.5 poles and requiring staking out (not fully self-supporting). Also a 2 person tent for 1.215 kg. Weights include bag.

Description: Naturehike 20D Nylon Outdoor Camping Taga Ultralight Tent One Bedroom One Man Only 1kg Two Man 1.2kg Waterproof barraca tenda

It looks quite well designed, though I suspect very dependent on being well staked.

[James holden]

theres a decent number of reviews on the nature hike tents … many folks seem to have them work fine though some have had pole issues in high winds …

for an occasional use tent for folks who may use it a few times a year max in moderate environments (most free standing 3 season brand name tents used) itll probably be fine

;)

[Brett Peugh]

Yeah, that Nature Hike 2P tent seems like it would a pretty decent deal for a lightweight 2P tent that can be used for car and other camping.

[Stephen Parks]

Some pics of various pitches (not proud of all of these…)

Last weekend I tried a half pyramid; it was pretty sloppy looking.  I couldn’t figure out what to do to clean this up.  No matter what direction I pulled, it just seemed to create wrinkles in another direction.

 

Tried a flying diamond, and that wasn’t pretty either.  It was a pretty low pitch, so I tried propping up the interior with a second trekking pole, which helped interior space but I wasn’t comfortable with how much it stressed the thin fabric and it made the upper end of the tarp even looser.

I tried an Adirondack wind shed, and that was just a lost cause.

This weekend I tried an A-frame with better results.  Its easy to see why this is a popular pitch.  Even though it wasn’t as slack as the other pitches, it still seems like the sides would flap a lot in even a moderate wind (yes, I should probably pitch lower if wind was a concern, but still it seems like it would be floppy).

Plenty good for a play space, though!

And just some pics of the tarp construction:

[rmeurant]

I get the sense that a flat tarp doesn’t really do anything well; it is always a compromise, not least because of the nature of tension and fabric, which is at odds with flat surfaces and straight edges. By comparison, a shaped mid (Khufu, Duomid) just performs really well, except where a general activity shelter is required. Given that my Cuben Khufu is just 300 gm (10.6 oz) with long ties, I wonder whether the optimal solution is a Cuben Khufu/Duomid/Solomid AND a general purpose Cuben cat tarp that can be strung up over a cooking or relaxing area. The cat tarp would be 200-300 gm (7 – 10.6 oz), total 500 – 600 gm (17.6 – 21 oz.).

The lighter alternative is only a Cuben mid with peak detail so that it can also be pitched as a (nominally semicircular) flat tarp (in various pitch configurations).

[W I S N E R !]

Conversely, shaped tarps tend to only do one thing well.

I like flat tarps in that there are multiple pitching options, all of which can be tailored to a specific site or specific conditions; pitching over rocks or bushes, using trees for anchors, pitching very low for wind protection, pitching high and open for shade and views with ventilation, or even pitching a corner extra in a flying diamond pitch to help shelter a fire in light rain.

From what I see in your pictures Stephen, I wouldn’t be worried about those wrinkles one bit.  You appear to have good tension.  Sure, it’s not as sexy as a drum-tight Trailstar, but it’s a flat tarp and it’s never going to be.  It’s still perfectly functional despite a few wrinkles.

[Stephen Parks]

Thanks for the input, Wisner.  As I don’t have any experience with flat tarps, I couldn’t tell if I was close to a good pitch or not.

The ridgeline seam and edge hems on this tarp have at least 5 layers of fabric, whereas it looks like 3 is the norm.  I don’t know if this makes the seams stiffer and harder to stretch and tension the fabric or if most of the seam stiffness is in the thread anyway.

[John G]

I use flat tarps almost exclusively.  The wrinkles don’t matter one bit :).

What matters is whether or not the edges are floppy between the middle and corner tie outs. If they are, you get lots of flapping in the wind – and a noisy night of sleep.

If the pitch geometry is really off, you get taught edges, but floppy areas in the mid panel.  They flap noisily in the wind too.

But the floppy mid panel I’m talking about is due to something like trying to do a half pyramid pitch with a rectangular tarp – using staking points that you saw on the internet – but were for a square tarp. The small “tension” wrinkles in your pitcher won’t cause a flapping noise :)

[rmeurant]

Franco,

I notice a particularly damning feedback by a US based purchaser of the Trailstar copy on AliExpress, dated the 16th Nov. 2016.

590G TrailStar Camping Tent Ultralight 1-2 Person Outdoor 20D Nylon Both Sides Silicon Pyramid shelter tent 4 Season Hiking

Caveat emptor!

[Matthew / BPL]

Stephen, I’m a noob with a flat tarp (although I’ve pitched many hammock tarps over the last five years). My subjective, inexperienced opinion is you are cranking too hard on mid-panel and mid-edge guyouts. Doing so distorts the smooth lines of the tarp which makes for weird tension. I always go for a tight and nice looking pitch thinking that nice looking indicates even tension.

It’s a different material but here’s my first experiment with my new flat tarp from a few weeks ago.

Try again and get the tarp tensioned at the main points and then use the other points to support the tarp And maybe tweak the foot end to give you just a little more foot room.

[Stephen Parks]

John G, thanks for the encouragement :)  I wish I could have had the tarp set up yesterday – not much wind but it would have been a good day to test the waterproofness.

Matthew, for that A-frame picture I posted, I did just what you recommended – I tightened the ridgeline completely before going back to the corners to tighten them up, and only after I was satisfied with that did I touch the mid-edge guys, and even then I didn’t pull those very tight.  This worked much better than my previous attempt, but of course the A-frame is a simple pitch.  I’ll give the half-pyramid another try this weekend, and I’ll try to find some videos in the meantime.  You have a nice looking pitch there, and I like the dual mid-panel points you have on that tarp, and I can see that improving foot room for two people.

 

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