How To Start Tarp Camping In 6 Steps | Gear Overview For Ultralight Backpacking

[@blueporta]

Love how the subtitles tell me that Bivvy bags help keep Giraffes out of your sleep system. Very handy, that!

[@timbschwartz]

Nobody wants giraffes in their sleep system!

[@bakkila99]

@@timbschwartzunless you are a giraffe.

[@davidsugeno5321]

Great video. I appreciate your concise and to the point delivery. Also glad to see Simply Light Designs get some love, Jared does great work. Like memathews, I'm a fan of the Gatewood Cape. Not as roomy or versatile as my 8x10 flat tarp, but I like the smaller footprint. I've had it in some very strong winds, and have been impressed with how it has held up. Haven't ever had to use it as a poncho.

[@timbschwartz]

Thanks for watching, David! Sounds like I need to get on the gatewood cape train haha.

[@markheming3507]

Tim thanks again for a great video…. I spent years and years carrying a tent, sleeping in a hammock etc. but once I decided to go to a tarp, I completely fell in love with ultralight backpacking and connecting to the outdoor Ores so I find that I truly love your videos, and cannot agree more with minimalist tarp backpacking.

[@timbschwartz]

Thanks for the comment, Mark! Yep, tarp camping is amazing, and I'm so glad you enjoyed the video!

[@memathews]

Solid advice on tarps and gear. After many decades of using flat tarps, mostly cheap and light painter's drop cloth types, I moved into a Gatewood Cape about 5 years ago for better inclement weather protection. The Cape is nowhere near as versatile but it's got great coverage in bad weather. I still prefer the openness of a flat tarp and the different styles I can rig, but the Casper has it's uses. As for a ground cloth, I still use cheap plastic, but I throw a few rocks and thick sticks under the edges to create a bathtub effect and that works really well for me.

[@timbschwartz]

Thanks for the comment! I absolutely love the idea behind the gatewood cape, and the price is great too. Maybe I'll pick one up at the end of summer. Great thinking with rocks and sticks! I'll need to give that a shot, although the Tyvek isn't 100% waterproof so I'd need to mess around with it a bit, and maybe change my floor material in that case. Painter's plastic most likely at that point.

[@memathews]

@@timbschwartz You can borrow my Gatewood Cape for a trial, I'm in Beaverton--not far from SMD--and regularly work in Portland. Yeah, I borrowed some Tyvek ground cloth last summer and it's definitely not bathtub-waterproof, I had a minor pressure leak from water-saturated ground. The regular painter's plastic, I can't remember if it's 4 mil or 6 mil, is heavier than polycro and about like Tyvek, but completely waterproof with the sides that raise depending on how much you stuff underneath the edge. A tarp's major benefit for me is fitting in odd spaces around ground cover where a tent just can't fit. I also use the same plastic sheeting for an overhead tarp, it's pretty heavy in that dimension versus sil-poly or sil-nylon, but it's really cheap!

[@timbschwartz]

@@memathews I appreciate that! I'm allllll the way up in the sound these days, but I make it down there from time to time. Yeah, I absolutely love the versatility of tarp in odd places. I really just need to find a spot big enough for my sleeping pad.

[@nedanother9382]

I just started tarp camping. The first trip was great and challenging as I was in a very wet, mosquito infested, granite slab environment above the trees and off trail. I was fortunate to have had almost zero wind for a first trip. The first big item you mentioned that was a bit surprising and not something you typically get when practicing. The "precise" stake placement is for real. I searched an entire lake basin to find a flat dryish spot big enough for me to lay down...I found ONE! and there was no place for stakes - had to stake out to rocks and such everywhere. More finicky but the end result is better than a tent in so many ways - I have what I consider to be the best, big and light tent available and I'll admit I may like this more. I had zero issues with the bugs - the lightest bug net that I know of (sea to summit nano pyramid) worked very well. It must be staked out and stretched tight to get the room. I modded an extra tiny bungy at the knee area to pull it up. Some pitches require you roll down the rather tall net before attaching over head. trust me, plenty of room. It was pretty bullet proof but so much more comfortable and open than a tent. You wonder not whats making the noise outside. If you carry an umbrella (you should) its a perfect no tie up easy way to get away from bugs and keep the net off your head. And finally I disagree with a dyneema flat tarp being bulky. I picked up the HMG 8 x 10 and by some weird twist of physics its smaller in my pack than when it came in the mail. It folds up in the morning so easily to a 6 x 10 x 2.5" with a bunch of guy lines weighs in at 11ozs. I'm looking forward to my next trip in a cpl weeks hopefully. Cheers all.

[@timbschwartz]

So glad you had a good. time! Congrats on your first tarp camping trip! All good points on the bug netting, although I have yet to spring for an umbrella. When I say they are bulky, its comparative to other UL materials, like silnylon or silpoly - both will actually compress into a much smaller package. That said, it shouldn't make a huge difference for most folks with a reasonable sized pack. My smaller pack is only 9" wide, which for me is the point where I start noticing the bulk of DCF and need to pack things vertically. Thanks for the comment!

[@CordCrenshaw]

Another great video Tim.

[@timbschwartz]

Thanks so much, Cord! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@ianrobertson1667]

Great video! Thanks Tim - you’ve given me the confidence to get out there. I bought a cheap (£50) tarp from decathalon and I plan to use it for the tour de Mont Blanc this July. Keep up the great work

[@timbschwartz]

Hey Ian! Thanks for the comment, and I'm so glad that you found the video helpful! Have fun on your trip!

[@Andy-LucyGSD]

How did the TMB go? I did it during the first week of July this year and wish I’d taken my tarp instead of my tent.

[@RoughingItWithRuth]

I really enjoyed this, and agreed with all the points that you made. Luckily, I have not encountered enough bugs in South Africa to warrant getting a bug net. I just sleep with a head net on in summer and that works fine for me.

[@timbschwartz]

Thanks so much for the comment! Yeah I'm considering going the head net route here for myself soon. The less stuff the better, and the bugs are rarely an issue outside of peak season (now.)

[@ZoomTrainerGuard]

Super High Quality Content, Tim 👌👌👌

[@timbschwartz]

Thanks for the kind words, Jacob! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@corleyoutdoors2887]

Informative and beneficial video!

[@timbschwartz]

Thanks so much! I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[@CarlosCuellarJr]

Great video. What bathtub floor did you have featured in the video under “rain protection” around 7:50 into the video? If it’s the MLD is it better than the Zpacks floors?

[@timbschwartz]

Hey Carlos! Thanks for the comment - glad you enjoyed it! Yep, that's the MLD floor. I haven't used the ZPacks one, but the reason I choose the MLD model is that the sides stand up when you stake it down, as opposed to needing to attach it to the sides of the tarp or tent to give it its shape. My understanding with the Zpacks floor is that its just a shaped piece of DCF, so you need to pull the sides up to make it work, whereas with the MLD the corners are stiff so it stands on its own as long as you have stakes. Its kept me from floating way on more than one occasion. Hope that helps!

[@TwoSoundsatOnce]

Use a green screen lol if you want or a tarp poncho green screen or blue if you want a different backdrop. I do this sometimes because I like to film my tutorials outside as well. Thank you for creating

[@timbschwartz]

Thanks for the tip, Michael!

[@carolynmetzler8980]

Thank you for these videos. They are very helpful. I usually do hammock camping, now preparing for a CDT hike through NM this spring. Not many places to hang a hammock in the southern sections. I’m thinking of just bringing my Hennessy hexagonal sylnylon tarp and pitching it for ground sleeping. Would you please comment on how good that would be? Or would a bonafide rectangular tarp be better? Thank you. Canyonelder

[@timbschwartz]

Hi there! I haven't hiked the CDT so I fear I'm not the best person to answer, but I'll take a crack at it - Without experimenting with it more, I'd say that a hex shaped tarp is probably difficult to set up between two trekking poles (instead of trees) because you don't really have a flat edge to stake down to get things started. I'm sure it's been done, that's just my hunch. Double check my facts here, but if it's going to be dry you could always do a bivy for cowboy camping then a small (7x9) backup tarp in case it rains. If it were me, I'd probably go with a single walled tent in these circumstances as I find them to be much more pleasant in exposed conditions without trees around to block wind. It'll also help keep sand and dust off of your gear throughout the night. Thanks for the question!

[@kudlakp]

Great video! I am just getting into tarps. I bought a Z-packs hexamid Pocket tarp with doors. Been practicing in the yard. Easy set up. I am thinking of just using a combo of permetherin and deet for bugs (in Michigan). Thoughts? I have the S2S pyramid bug net too...

[@timbschwartz]

Thanks for the kind words - I'm glad you enjoyed it! Nice pick on the pocket tarp. I have sort of a love hate relationship with DEET. It's basically the nuclear option and it works great. I went on a trip to the Amazon river basin in my 20s and basically bathed in the stuff. The downsides are that it's questionable for your health (although what isn't these days) and it can potentially melt synthetic fabrics, so I haven't used it in a while, especially I've as invested in more expensive gear. Totally personally preference, but I'd give everything a good spray down with permethrin then use Natrapel (I like the wipes) for the bod. I've found they work reasonably well for skeeters, although ticks are probably much more of an issue in Michigan than they are here, so it's sort of a pick your poison situation. All that said, Lyme is definitely a real concern (at least in PA where I grew up), so I don't want to outright say "don't use DEET" because it definitely works, but if it were me I'd probably start with permethrin/Natrapel along with good precautions (regular tick checks, etc), then move on to DEET if that proved insufficient. Hope this helps!

[@willek1335]

Good video and good suggestions. For us in Europe, I'd like to recommend gramxpert's wide silpoly tarp. Silpoly retains way less water than my silnylon tarp, while being more compact than my DCF tarp. It's similarly cheap at ~70, but somehow it only weigh 7.4 oz vs 9 something for other ones at that size range. Maybe it's minimum vs packed weight, I don't know but it makes little difference. The fact that the store is in Europe, means that it's cheaper to transport and no added taxes, which is a huge plus for us. To import things from US to EU can sometimes cost an arm and a leg.

[@timbschwartz]

Thanks for the kind words, Willie! Just checked out the gramxpert website and it looks like solid suggestion. I appreciate you offering up an option for the UK folks!

Happy puppy here with a DD Superlight tarp. That’s a UK company. It’s my first so I can’t really compare to others _but_ the 3x2.9m size makes it versatile. During the summer I’ve learned 4-5 different setups and came up with a few configs myself. Tarpology FTW.

[@zionfinck]

Have you tried the 1/8 inch foam pad as your ground/pad protector or does it just soak up water? I’m concerned about the wet that comes out when sleeping on ground, not actually using it in wet/rainy conditions.

[@timbschwartz]

Thanks for the question! I don't currently have a 1/8" foam pad, but it's on my list to pick up this year. They say they don't absorb water, but wouldn't be able to say for sure without using it. A piece of polycro should help with that if it's an issue, though.

[@markifi]

is there see-through silnylon? i like the idea of a dyneema tarp but 5 metre by 1.36 metres (for a 2.5*2.5 tarp) would cost 200 euros

[@timbschwartz]

Hey Mark! Thanks for the comment. I haven't come across and silnylon that's as translucent as DCF. It still let's a good bit of light in, but definitely not see-through. Hope that helps!

[@TwoSoundsatOnce]

I always prefer to have a setup for two just in case plus it enables work space in the rain.

[@timbschwartz]

Totally! It's pretty much always raining here, so it's nice to have a little bit of room to move around.

[@CharmingGecko]

I’m cool off the extra B-roll. Just gimme all the sweet gear talk.

[@timbschwartz]

Thanks for the feedback! Glad this one was right up your alley then. Trying to strike a balance between the two.

[@RC-qf3mp]

Great video. Some questions: 1) i just started reading Ray Jardine’s tarp book. What do you think about it? He’s got his own ray/way tarp so I’m not sure how helpful it would be if I get a normal rectangular tarp instead of his beaked one. 2) Any other tarp books or resources (apps?) you’d recommend for newbies (in addition to your videos, of course)?

[@timbschwartz]

Hey there! Thanks for the comment and kind words. 1. Ray is a legend! A beaked tarp will certainly get the job done - the reason that I recommend flat tarp is simply because it gives you the latitude to set it up in different configurations, so its fun and great practice for someone just starting out. If down the road someone is like "all I ever do is an A frame" then they could invest in something that only pitches in an A frame. That said, go with whatever it is that you're excited to use, provided that it keeps you safe (this is where sizing up comes in.) 2. Totally, check out Cam Honan at the hiking life: www.thehikinglife.com/ I also really enjoy Andrew Skurka's website and videos, although I'd say his content is a bit less tarp specific, but it's good to learn from folks that are using the right tools for the trip. I also learned the knot system I use from him, albeit with some very slight tweaks. andrewskurka.com/ Have a great weekend!

[@BillHimmel]

If I need all this for tarp camping, I might just take a tent!

[@timbschwartz]

Thanks for the comment, Bill! There is a point of diminishing returns with it. Personally, if I need to bring anything other than the tarp and a groundsheet, I'll start considering my 13oz tent since it's roughly equivalent in weight at that point.

[@agrivere5494]

I like the idea of using a tarp, but I still can’t understand the point if you want to keep your gear lightweight. There are a plethora of tents these days that have everything you need (rain protection, bug protection, bathtub floor, etc) in the 16-18 ounce range all in. If you’re bringing a 6 ounce tarp, a 4 ounce bug net, a 4 ounce bathtub floor, and 8 stakes (about the lightest I can find) you’re at or above the weight of a tent without all the extra effort a tarp seems to require. If the point isn’t to save weight, I guess it’s mostly the modularity of the system, in that you can use just the pieces you need depending on the conditions?

[@timbschwartz]

Hi! From a weight perspective, a tarp makes the most sense if you don't take bug protection or a floor. If I need either, I'll probably just take my Plex Solo instead. That said, it can make sense if someone wants to go as light as possible, but only invest in one shelter setup. Thanks for the comment!

[@agrivere5494]

@@timbschwartz That makes sense, and I appreciate the reply!

[@VlasovMichael]

This video convinced me NOT to go the tarp camping route. There is no way bivy + bug system + bath tube floor + tarp will weight or cost significantly less than a 800g trekking pole tent which replaces all that. And it is obviously a lot of work to set up rather than just put 6 stakes in and a trekking pole...

[@VlasovMichael]

actually i checked - a bug bivy which includes bathtub floor is ~350g, a light tarp is ~250g so we are at 600g weight. a lanshan 1 tent is ~800g.

[@timbschwartz]

Totally, there's really a time place for each tool, and if you have lots of addons going with your tarp, you start to approach the weight of a tent. I often use my Plex Solo for exactly this reason.

[@tekknorat]

How to start tarp camping? Just start 😊

[@gcvrsa]

You should not discount the basic woven polypropylene utility tarp. They are cheap, ubiquitous, and very tough, especially when paired with tarp clips. They are obviously the best choice for someone new to tarp camping who wants to try it out. Even a basic sil-nylon tarp will run you in the area of $100 USD, a price which will buy a whole stack of woven poly tarps at any hardware store. The only real challenge with poly tarps is finding really lightweight ones. I have a couple of light green ones that REI used to sell that are far lighter than the usual blue ones you commonly find, and I've never seen any comparable ones. The blue color is of course obnoxious in the woods.

[@timbschwartz]

Thanks for the comment, Gemma! I do agree that that could be a great option for most folks, but at that point we're likely not talking about an "ultralight" kit, which was my primary focus in the video. Let me know if you come across any that are particularly light! I'd love to learn more.

[@personal.YouTube.channel]

All right right off the bat you made One error in what you said. You forgot to mention the heavier canvas. Listen to way sometime between 3 and 6 lb each depending on their sides

[@SteinarBergheim-th1hv]

DCF does not taket much space in your backpack. My 0.51 oz Dyneema tarp, 3,1 by 3,6 m (9 by 11 ft) taket less space than my 0,5 litres water bottle. But yoy cant just put the tarp into your backpack. You have to fold sideways, then roll. Tarp rules over tent

[@pspicer777]

Why not just use a tent?

[@timbschwartz]

Mostly weight, but I'm releasing a video on that topic here in the next couple of days, so keep an eye out!

[@pspicer777]

@@timbschwartz Will do. Thanks!

[@freddiemercerful]

Yeah I mean, by the time you have your groundsheet, your bivvy bag, your mosquito net, there's cheap tents that weigh less than 1kg these days.

[@darryllzwiers7257]

At 6'3 a lot of tents that claim to have 7 foot interior length have steeply tapering walls. At my size I feel like a tarp is a better option for space.

[@pspicer777]

@@darryllzwiers7257 Excellent point. I am just over 6' and have similar challenges. Merry Christmas to you and yours.

[@Reverend_Boony_34C]

I wouldnt call $60 to $70 cheap whether its for a tarp or for anything else.

[@timbschwartz]

Good point! Less expensive than other UL tarps :)

[@Nomad1957]

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