Do you all take poles then for setting up tarps when bikepacking then?

Sometimes. See above for options using a bike and wheels. These inevitably give a low pitch though. A lightweight pole or two can open things out a bit. I rarely pitch in trees. Most of the places I go there aren’t any and I tend to prefer open sites anyway.

Nice crocodile Dundee moment there Matt 🤣

Just a touch ott for a solo bikepacker I fear…

I always take a pole with me (a 48” bearbones carbon one I got for my lunar solo, fits in my part frame bag no problem. Sometimes take a 900mm one to supplement it).

I really need to have more practice setting it up at home as I dont use it often enough and it’s usually somewhere god forsaken in the dark after a couple of beers… resulting pitch is usually suboptimal 😂

As Matt says, he’s got several canoes to carry the kit in so larger, more comfortable kit isn’t such a problem. On a bike not only is weight an issue but reducing bulk also plays a part, the Rig7 is probably as big/bulky as I’d be prepared to carry, in fact by the time we get to thinking about using it we’ll take the Copper Spur instead.

I’ve used the wheels for poles setup as pictured by @Scotroutes just once and it’s too cramped for me – I like to be able to sit up and sort myself out.

It’s all about finding out what works for you.

I’ll dig out a pic of my weeny tarp as well…. 🤪

I’ve got some old poles left over from a tent I threw away. Would they be too bendy? They are the sort you push into a sleeve in the fly sheet to make a dome tent..

Also found this, looks really useful:

https://www.rei.com/blog/camp/how-to-set-up-an-ultralight-tarp-shelter-for-backpacking

Erm….what is going on^^^?

This is the link:

https: //www.rei.com/blog/camp/how-to-set-up-an-ultralight-tarp-shelter-for-backpacking

I’ve checked the above, it is correct. Why is it linking to a different webpage about solar showers instead of the intended page about how to set up a tarp?

(I’ve added a space after the https so that you can see the link)

The Muricans all seem to favour larger tarps. Of course, that article also assumes the use of two walking poles.

As regards your flexy poles, unlikely they’d be up to the job. You need something more rigid so you can get a decent bit of tension on the tarp.

Folks who use trekking poles to pitch their tarps:

Alpkit do an extra long trekking pole (150cm instead of 133cm) specifically with tarp pitching in mind. Is it worth it? Do you find yourself wishing you had more headroom?

Headroom has never bothered me for my use of a tarp – short overnight stops. I can see how it might be handy if I was using the tarp as a longer term shelter or as a day shelter though.

Pennine outdoor do a range of lightweight proofed materials if you fancy making a tarp. The lightest groundsheet material I have found is 65g a m2 but thts from another company that I can’t remember but will find if anyone is interested.

@shermer75 – there are a lot of tarps, shaped tarps and ultralight tents whose quoted weights assume the use of trekking poles which makes sense when you consider that the primary market is long distance hikers who’ll likely be using poles so there’s an automatic weight saving. If you are bike based then that’s not really relevant.

Looking at the pole I think you are referring to then it’s 67cm long at minimum length which would be awkward to carry on a bike. Other than that, I don’t see any reason not to use it, you can always set it at a lower height.

Remember that tarps (plain ones) can be set at any height depending on the pitch and the prevailing weather so if it’s fine then you can set it high to get good ventilation. Conversely if it’s stormy you are able to pull it close to the ground to improve protection but at the expense of volume, explicitly height, under the tarp.

@whitestone those are the ones! 🙂

I’d only use them when hiking tho, if I was on the bike I’d prob be looking at other pitching solutions…