through hikers and ultralight backpackers love using tarps instead of
tents because they're super versatile and they weigh almost nothing let's talk
about a few different ways to use tarp shelters backpacking tarp shelters are
nothing like tarps that you would buy at the hardware store shelters like this
will generally be made out of a lightweight waterproof nylon and then
they have reinforced loops along the edges generally because that's where
you'll want to attach Stakes or guylines and you want those points to be strong
they'll also sometimes have loops along the top for a Ridgeline which is one
instance or one way that you can set up the tarp shelter we're going to talk
about four different ways to set up tarp shelters today starting with the a-frame
this is a really easy and versatile way to set up a tarp you can set it up just
like this with the corners attached to the ground and it gives you enough space
for two people underneath this is also good for rain protection if you need
even more protection from the elements you can also pull the corners in and
raise your trekking poles if you don't need a lot of protection you want more
space you can raise the whole thing up and then guy out the sides to be even
more room underneath it's just a really versatile way of setting up a tarp if
you're going to use the a-frame like this you'll need to have trekking poles
and what you'll do is you'll stake the corners on one side and then you'll put
your trekking poles in and lightly tension them before staking the other
side of the tarp and then tighten down the trekking poles and stake the sides
as needed if you don't like to carry trekking poles with you and if you're
camping in an area where you have trees you can also set up the a-frame using a
Ridgeline that'll be a cord that runs through these top loops if your tarp has
them or if your tarp doesn't have the loops you can just run a cord underneath
along the length of the tarp and attach it to two trees if you set the a-frame
up this way you'll need to create tensions that the tarp doesn't collapse
we'll show you a way to do that a little bit later
this is the closed-end a-frame this setup gives you a little bit more
protection from wind and rain you can set it up with the back end just closed
into the wind and we'll just shed the wind and the weather that's coming in
you set this shelter up by staking down the back middle and then you can adjust
the trekking pole in the front tension that and stick down the front two
corners then you'll stake out the back two corners and the back side as needed
for a protection I've set my shelter up like this but you can adjust the height
of the trekking pole lower and then spread the sides out farther if you need
more protection from the elements or you can adjust this higher if you want more
room this is the wind shed shelter well it's not great for rain as the name
implies it is really good at protecting you from the wind this is a good option
if you don't not concerned about rain or water or if you're backpacking somewhere
where it's really warm as it gives you a lot of space underneath it's also really
great as just like a shelter to hang out in so you can stick down the back sides
and then set this up in such a way if you want like a view of the lake or
wherever it is that you're hanging out I have this front quarter guide out to the
ground and staked there but you could guy this up to a tree and then you'll
have a really big expansive view you'll set this shelter up by sticking down one
long side of the tarp and then you'll add and tension your trekking poles
before sneaking down the other side and then guying out this corner
this setup is called the sea fly and it's essentially a variation on a
lean-to this offers really good wind protection on one side so if you know
what direction your wind is coming from you can set it up facing that way and
then it gives you a lot of visibility on the other side you also get a ground
tarp to protect your gear and this sheds rain really well so if you're sleeping
on ground that's already damp you have an additional protection there you'll
set this up by staking down this ground fly section or ground tarp section and
then you'll add your trekking poles and then you'll tension and guy out the
corners before tensioning out the trekking poles one thing to note is that
this does require a minimum of eight stakes you can also set this up with a
Ridgeline if you don't have trekking poles with you but you'll need to use
that tensioning trick which we're gonna show you now so I've set my tarp shelter
up here using a Ridgeline and what I've done is I've tied a bowline to one tree
here and then I have a trucker's hitch on the other side to tighten the line
and if you were to just drape your tarp over this or run it through the loops
the tarp can move around a lot so instead what we're using are some
friction hitches to help keep it in place so I've got a prusik tied on one
end of the tarp and then another one here the cool thing about friction hitch
is is that when you slide them around they move easily when they're not under
tension but then as soon as you tension them they lock into place I've used to
prosecute any type of friction hitch will work and we'll have links for all
three of those knots in the description below that's it for tarp shelters if you
want to learn more check out both of our videos here and please subscribe we'll
see you guys out there