Talked to a guy at a thrift store who laughed at my tarp setup

I was grabbing a cheap camp stove at this Goodwill outside Boise, and this older dude saw my tent tarp strapped to my pack. He said my tarp lines were too loose and that I'd be fighting puddles in the rain. Told me he's been thru 4 hurricanes camping and never had a wet spot cause he cinches everything at a 45 degree angle. I laughed it off, but when I got home I looked up what he meant about tension angles. Read about it for about 20 minutes and now I think I've been doing it wrong for 2 seasons. Has anyone else had some random stranger change their whole approach to setting up camp?

2 comments

2 Comments

sean_foster521mo ago

4 hurricanes camping" - that line alone made me stop and think. I've been camping for 20 years and never once adjusted my tarp tension based on wind direction or angle. I went down that same rabbit hole you did and ended up completely rethinking my whole shelter setup last spring.

grant_palmer28d ago

You're making it sound like a life-changing epiphany, but it's just a tarp. Did you really have that many close calls or are you just overthinking the whole thing?