Switched from a heavy tent to a tarp setup and actually liked it

I always thought tarps were for ultralight weirdos. Used my 6 pound dome tent for years. Then I did a 3 day trip in the Smokies and my back was killing me after the first mile. Tried a simple 8x10 tarp with some paracord and stakes. Setting it up took 15 minutes after watching one YouTube video. No bugs got in because I pitched it low to the ground. Weighed under 2 pounds total. Has anyone else made the switch and found a brand of stakes that work best for rocky ground?

3 comments

3 Comments

phoenix_martin4013d ago

Man I felt that "back was killing me" line in my bones. I did the same thing last year, lugged a 5 pound Coleman dome tent up Mount Rogers and seriously questioned my life choices. Swapped to an 8x10 silnylon tarp and honestly my only regret is not doing it sooner. For rocky ground I've been using the MSR Groundhog minis, they're short but bite into gravel better than my old generic stakes ever did. Plus when the wind kicked up last month in the Shenandoahs I just dropped the pitch lower and slept fine while my buddy was fighting with his tent poles at 2 AM.

young.ryan13d ago

My buddy Tom did the tarp thing last year on the Superior Hiking Trail, thought he was gonna be all stealth and minimalist. First night out we got hit with this nasty sideways rain, and he set his tarp up too high like a dummy, woke up at 3 AM soaked to the bone because the wind was blowing the rain right under it. He spent the rest of the trip sleeping in my tent and swore off tarps forever. But I think his main issue was he watched too many YouTube videos instead of just practicing in his yard.

flores.emma13d ago

Figured out the hard way that tarps are all about site selection more than the gear itself. Tom probably picked a nice clearing instead of a spot with a natural windbreak like a ridge or thick brush. Spent a miserable night in the Boundary Waters once because I was so focused on the perfect pitch that I ignored the fact I was basically camped in a wind tunnel.