[pct-l] Tarptent Rainbow - questions

[CHUCK CHELIN]

Good evening, Anne,

I can’t help with the plastic thingie, but maybe I can with the pegs and
cord.  First, I rarely erect any kind of shelter, preferring instead to
sleep under the stars.  I almost never carry a full complement of pegs for
whatever tent or tarp I’m using – maybe half or two thirds of what’s
recommended -- preferring instead to attach my lines to local features or
vegetation, i.e. rocks, trees, bushes, etc.  That’s particularly true for
the primary lines out the front and the rear of the shelter.  Those I try
to tie out nearly horizontally to a tree or a bush, thereby removing much
of the downward line force from the tent pole or trekking pole that holds
the thing up.  Often when I can use trees to install those lines at
sufficient upward angle I can entirely dispense with one or both poles.  The
ability to be erected in that way will depend upon how the particular
shelter is made.

What I typically use for line is a product called “Triptease” by Kelty.
http://www.kelty.com/p-136-triptease-lightline.aspx  It is light, strong,
it is easy to see with some ambient or any artificial light, but it is a
bit expensive.  It should be available in San Diego before you depart.  Other
than that, standard 1/8” parachute cord – “paracord” – is as common as
gravel, very inexpensive, and only slightly heavier.

Enjoy your planning,

Steel-Eye

-Hiking the Pct since before it was the PCT – 1965

http://www.trailjournals.com/steel-eye

http://www.trailjournals.com/SteelEye09/


On Tue, Dec 25, 2012 at 7:39 PM, Anne Estoppey <anne_estoppey at yahoo.com>wrote:

> Hello everybody,
>
> Checking out closely my new Rainbow Tarptent (single). Something I
> couldn't figure out, not even from the video on their website: at each
> CORNER and INSIDE the tent, there is a small plastic snapping thingie
> attached to a short elastic band. What are these for? I cannnot see where I
> could snap them to inside the tent.
>
> Another question: should I really get extra pegs and cords for the sides
> of the tent against strong winds?
>
> I am in New Zealand at the moment. It seems that extra titanium pegs are
> nowhere to be found here. Same for buying extra cord...
>
> Thanks for your help,
> cheers :-)
> Anne
>