You may want to read my earlier blog regarding Ultralight Camping to gain a perspective on Ultralight camping. In this blog I am going to talk about one element of my lightweight gear and give you some useful links if you are interested.

 Several years ago I shifted from a tent to a tarp, primarily as a way to save weight. My tarp plus ground cloth is about a pound. I use trekking poles that I use as my tent poles, so they do double duty. I find the tarp approach to be very flexible and actually provides significantly more covered space then the typical one or two person tents. You can adjust the set up for different weather conditions.

 

 I made my trap based on a design I found in Ray Jardine’s book Beyond Backpacking. He has a web site that http://www.rayjardine.com/index.shtml that provides information on Tarp Kits that you can buy that includes all of the material. The most challenging material for most to find in the SilNylon, which is an ultralight and ultratough material that is waterproof. I have the great fortune to live in a town that has an store named Rain Shed that specializes in outdoor gear material. Their web site is: http://www.therainshed.com/ and you can purchase material directly from them. Sewing the tarp took patience but was not overly difficult, my is far from perfect but it has served my very well.