Diamond Shelter

[Sparky93]

I am possibly going on a backpacking trip to the hoosier national forest somtime this month with the Purdue Outing Club. I am planning on using a diamond tarp shelter for the two nights we would be staying in the woods and have a couple of questions regarding this. My first question is does anybody have any experience with this tarp from harbor freight http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200384666_200384666?cm_sp=Upsells-_-Top%20Sellers-_-Product%20Page I will probably be ordering it, so I won't be able to inspect it in the store. Also wich size would be better for making a diamond shelter 8'x10' or 10'x12' tarp?

Thanks,
C.M.

[Winter]

Always go with the bigger tarp.

[crashdive123]

I have several from Harbor Freight. I do not use them for camping. The observations I have made for this type of tarp are.
1. Grommets tear out relatively easy.
2. They are fairly heavy.
3. Condensation builds up easily on them.
4. They are very noisy in a breeze or rain.
5. They do not roll/fold up very small.

You can buy the same/similar tarps at a variety of places, WalMart being one. If that is what you can afford, then that is what you can afford. If you can afford a silnylon tarp that is the way to go. Keep an eye out for used military ponchos - I see them for around $10 at gun shows.

[finallyME]

An 8X10 is best for an A-frame. The best sizes of tarps for diamond pitching are square ones. By the way, Walmart sells a 5X7 that is not one of those supper heavy poly tarps. It is a coated nylon tarp and around the $10 range.
IMHO, the poly tarp will work, if you don't put it up in heavy wind. You are young, so the weight isn't that much an issue. All tarps build up condensation if not pitched correctly.
A cheaper option would be a tyvek tarp. Go to a construction site and look for scraps big enough. Tyvek homewrap is less than 2 oz a sq yard.

[Sparky93]

An 8X10 is best for an A-frame. The best sizes of tarps for diamond pitching are square ones. By the way, Walmart sells a 5X7 that is not one of those supper heavy poly tarps. It is a coated nylon tarp and around the $10 range.
IMHO, the poly tarp will work, if you don't put it up in heavy wind. You are young, so the weight isn't that much an issue. All tarps build up condensation if not pitched correctly.
A cheaper option would be a tyvek tarp. Go to a construction site and look for scraps big enough. Tyvek homewrap is less than 2 oz a sq yard.
Construction sites are alot easier to find up here than back at home. One of the rules at Purdue University is that there always has to be construction going on.

[COWBOYSURVIVAL]

I saw a new style tarp at "Big Lots" a few weeks back, I didn't buy it but wish I would have. 10 bucks hunter green and not your average poly tarp or canvas tarp, definately not silnylon. It was polycanvas. Anyone tried one, I think it it may be worth a try, lightweight no rattle...

[Sparky93]

I saw a new style tarp at "Big Lots" a few weeks back, I didn't buy it but wish I would have. 10 bucks hunter green and not your average poly tarp or canvas tarp, definately not silnylon. It was polycanvas. Anyone tried one, I think it it may be worth a try, lightweight no rattle...
That sounds just like what I want, I wonder where I could get one....

[Sparky93]

Okay, I may go with this it's not the polycanvas but it apears to fit my needs. 10x10 should be big enough, right?
This is what I'm goin for http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7ylxm2_SOA

[crashdive123]

10 x 10 should be plenty big.

[Rick]

Sparky, I have a lightweight backpacking tarp that I've used. I don't set up the diamond shape but I have used it quite a bit. I picked it up here:

http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/Product___20069?cm_vc=PDPZ1

[COWBOYSURVIVAL]

I'll see about pikin' one up and get ya'll a brand name.

[finallyME]

For me, I think 8X10 is the smallest I would want. I know people who go smaller. Anything bigger than that is plenty big.

[kyratshooter]

I have spent many a night under a diamond shelter set up as a plow point. 8x8 is impossibly small. 9x9 is usable and 10x10 is excellent, but usually weighs a ton unless it is the silnylon. My best backpacking diamonds were made from bed sheets treated with a heavy waterproofing solution I mix up myself.

It gives shelter from three sides and sheds water well. If you are using the poly-tarp be sure to tie loops at each grommet and put a stake at each loop. You might even consider piling some duff over the edge of the tarp to keep the wind out this time of year.

Try to set it up with one of the back edges into the wind. Hunker down with your feet at the back and your body lying along the side away from the wind. Do not try to use it with your feet in back and your head at the point. Pile your gear along the other side to break the wind coming under the tarp edge.

If you have a rectangular tarp then fold the long side under and use it as the wind break and as a ground cloth. sleep on the turned under section and pile your gear on the other side.

[Sparky93]

I have spent many a night under a diamond shelter set up as a plow point. 8x8 is impossibly small. 9x9 is usable and 10x10 is excellent, but usually weighs a ton unless it is the silnylon. My best backpacking diamonds were made from bed sheets treated with a heavy waterproofing solution I mix up myself.

It gives shelter from three sides and sheds water well. If you are using the poly-tarp be sure to tie loops at each grommet and put a stake at each loop. You might even consider piling some duff over the edge of the tarp to keep the wind out this time of year.

Try to set it up with one of the back edges into the wind. Hunker down with your feet at the back and your body lying along the side away from the wind. Do not try to use it with your feet in back and your head at the point. Pile your gear along the other side to break the wind coming under the tarp edge.

If you have a rectangular tarp then fold the long side under and use it as the wind break and as a ground cloth. sleep on the turned under section and pile your gear on the other side.

Thanks for the info, thats exactly what I wanted to know. My tarp I got is 10x12 and I plan to tie paracord loops onto each grommet, I like the bed sheet idea also. What is the recipe for your waterproofing solution?

[Rick]

Uh oh. If he tells you he will probably have to kill you. I'm sure it has to do with shine and nitro. That way if snakes bothered him at night he could squeeze out a mouthful and spit at 'em. If the nitro didn't kill 'em then the shine would give them double vision.

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