Originally Posted by
nsherry61
I was not trying to promote a particular pitch. I am trying to promote the incredible effectiveness of a really inexpensive tarp as a backpacking shelter. It's not a simple diamond pitch, and set up the way it was it provided perfect protection from the storm, relatively mild as it was, winds and rain gusting to 20 or 30 mph at the ground (yes, I have an animometer), significantly more across the treetops. I was fully protected on two sides, mostly protected on the third side and on occasion got a gust of wet mist in the open side, but not enough to be anything more than refreshing.
Dogwood, Yes, the storm included driven rain and high winds, but the rain was driven into the protected sides of the tarp. I pitched the tarp for the storm I expected, winds were being relatively consistent, the tarp is in a relatively protected area, and I wanted as much open side as I could get to enjoy the storm while not being too exposed. I would consider the pitch I used to be a moderate storm pitch, not really a serious storm pitch, even if some people would consider wind and rain gusting to 20-30 mph a serious storm.
Cheyou, Regarding your concern about a bad storm making a cheap blue tarp fail, that is the whole reason I started this thread. Pitched correctly with shock absorbers (rubber bands in my case) on the guylines, cheap poly tarps are surprisingly durable, even in heavy gusty battering winds. Without shock absorbers, cheap poly tarps are complete junk. With shock absorbers they hold up extremely well. The tarp pitched in my photo probably has two dozen backpacking nights on it including mountaintop storms significantly windier than last night, and yes, pitched tighter and more closely to the ground.
As for the hassle of using shock absorbing guy lines, rubber bands are cheap, and I use them anyway on all my tarps and tents in potentially windy conditions.
By chance, I happened by Ikea this evening and noticed they have a blue version of the tarp I used (8x10 poly) for $4.99 and they have the twin sized comforter I used (Tilkort) on sale for $12.74.