DIY 1lb 2-man Tarp/Tent

[BenFrank]

The past few years I have ran a simple a-frame tarp and it did fine at keeping me dry but having a breeze blowing on me while sleeping kind of got to me after a while. So this off season I set out to design and build a small lightweight floorless shelter with the ability to close off each end. Attached are a few screenshots of what I came up with in Sketch Up.

Dimensions:
110" long
44" tall at peak
24" tall at foot end
68" wide at head end
52" wide at foot end

Est. weight with lines/stakes: 15-16oz

The yellow sleeping pads are 72"x20" for scale.

I will mostly be running it solo but designed it so two guys can fit and be reasonably comfortable. I just ordered 7 yds of 1.1oz silpoly and all the hardware and misc bits, so hopefully I'll get started in the next week or so. I'll post back when I have some progress to show. Thanks to all of the rokslide diy'ers for the inspiration. This is my first time designing and sewing a project from scratch.

 

[cvandervort]

Looks like my mountain Smith LT, but way lighter! Looking forward to following this one! Good luck!


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[joshdidthis]

Looks like a great design! Looking forward to seeing pictures of it.

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[WoodBow]

Interesting design. I would prefer the shorter pole inside. Wouldn't require too much more fabric, would make it easier to pitch, and you'd get a bit more square footage to boot.

Im afraid your weight estimate is pretty conservative but i have been wrong many times before. 7 yards of 1.1 oz material will actually weigh. 14.14 oz. The 1.1 oz is per square yard. 7 yards of fabric is 14 square yards. Not sure if you worked that into your math or not. Obviously you wont use all of the 7 yards. My diy supertarp with zippered annex and 10 6" aluminum stakes weighs 2 lbs 5 ozs. The 10 stakes weigh 4 ozs total. I used either 1.1 or 1.3 fabric. Can't remember. I assume you will use your trekking poles to pitch, but if not you will have some extra weight for poles. I use my trekking poles so i do not include pole weight in the shelter weight.

Looks like you are on the path to a good shelter though. Enjoy the journey. Thanks for sharing it with us.

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[Beendare]

Good looking shelter, best of luck with it.

Personally I'm a big fan of ventilation in these tents....big vents is a good thing, IMO.

 

[BenFrank]

Looks like my mountain Smith LT, but way lighter! Looking forward to following this one! Good luck!

Yes, a lot of inspiration from the LT. The materials cost almost as much but hopefully the weight savings will be worth making it myself. Searching the web I found almost the exact tent I had envisioned but looks like it is only available in the UK. http://www.trekkertent.com/home/home/7-stealth-2.html

Interesting design. I would prefer the shorter pole inside. Wouldn't require too much more fabric, would make it easier to pitch, and you'd get a bit more square footage to boot.

My plan is to construct it so that it can be pitched with either poles on the inside our outside or with no poles and the ridge strung between two trees. That's assuming my plan translates to the finished product.

As far as weight goes, I tried to calculate the exact square yardage of the fabric and came up with ~10oz. I plan to use light titanium stakes which come in at 1.6 oz for 8. These are definitely light duty stakes and I will have to supplement with rocks or logs if I run into heavy wind. I plan to use trekking poles and didn't include those in my weight either.

Good looking shelter, best of luck with it.

Personally I'm a big fan of ventilation in these tents....big vents is a good thing, IMO.

Yeah, I thought a lot about ventilation especially if we had two guys in a small shelter like this. I plan on a good sized vent at the back and a slightly smaller one at the peak. I also plan to do a 1" catenary cut along the perimeter to allow some air in underneath. My other tarp has great ventilation but is breezy, so I guess there is always a trade off.[/QUOTE]

 

[Beendare]

Have you seen this one, the Mountainsmith Mtn shelter? I think there are a lot of guys that like this. You might be able to draw some inspiration from it.
Mtn shelter $129


The seams on this one will add weight- but also strength. And if you do a big long wall, I would think its is a good idea to have a guyout or 2.

If you want outer poles you can get preformed inverted V's or curves at Quest outfitters.

 

[gumbl3]

My .02 .. get rid of the cat curve and add some tie out attachments on the side like the megatarp. You'll be able to get a tight pitch that way and it makes for more inside room.. I didn't make this with the curve, it only looks like that because of the tie outs. Only downside is at minimum you'll have to add 2 stakes to the whole setup .. Looks sweet

 

[WoodBow]

Another vote for guy outs.

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[Beendare]

My .02 .. get rid of the cat curve and add some tie out attachments on the side like the megatarp. You'll be able to get a tight pitch that way and it makes for more inside room.. I didn't make this with the curve, it only looks like that because of the tie outs. Only downside is at minimum you'll have to add 2 stakes to the whole setup .. Looks sweet

..

Good placement on those ^ tieouts Gumbl3. They add tension and interior space...without creating slack in other areas.

...

 

[Edlobo]

Good luck following

 

[mcdonder]

Looks like a good idea!

 

[BenFrank]

Got all of my materials in and have been making good progress. Here is a rundown of the materials and cost for those interested.

Ripstopbytheroll.com:
(7yds) 1.1oz Sil Poly $41.65
(1yd) No see um mesh $3.00
(5ft) #3 YKK coil zipper w/ slider $2.10
Seam Grip Seam Sealant $7.50
Gutermann MARA 70 thread $3.60

Dutchwaregear.com:
(6) Line Locs $2.26
(3) Beastee Dee Rings $0.45
(2) Toggles $0.40
webbing/grosgrain/velcro/shockcord $2.13

TOTAL (w/ shipping): $75.60

I've got all of the main pieces assembled and just need to work on the ridge pulls and vent covers. Should be able to get it pitched in the yard within a few days.

 

[Waldo320]

Wish I had some sewing skills. Looks good

 

[BenFrank]

First pitch. It’s not perfect but pretty happy so far. I still need to do the vent covers. Per the the advice of others I think I’ll add at least one pull out to each side.

 

[reaper]

Nice work!

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[Beendare]

Nice job BF

 

[MtnMuley]

Very good work! I wish I had the patience to try this.

 

[duckhunter175]

Slick!

 

[t_how423]

Well done! Will be curious to hear how it works for ya.

Something like this is def on my project list.

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