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Aricxi tarp erection test

March 13, 2021 — BarryK

It will be a little while before go on another hike, so have setup the Aricxi tarp in my backyard.

Information on the Aricxi tarp is here:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000910246238.html

https://bkhome.org/news/202102/planning-equipment-for-next-ultralight-hiking-adventure.html

Have a choice of two carbon fibre poles, 125cm and 114cm lengths:

https://bkhome.org/news/202103/two-cf-straight-tent-poles-compared.html

Where I am currently living, the backyard is only a paved courtyard, so a bit awkward putting in the stakes. Put them in at the corners of the pavers, but it was good enough:

img1

What I found is that the shorter 114cm pole is best for the tarp in "closed" mode, that is, sides right down to the ground.

However, the longer pole might be a better choice at campsites, as the pointed bottom of the pole will sink into the ground, especially in sand.

Also, I could use my titanium poo trowel to dig a hole, so as to lower the pole as required. So the longer pole is probably a better choice, can setup the tent in either open or closed mode.

The tent also came with a inner mesh bivi, with cord so each end can be tied up. Here is a photo showing the mesh bivi, with the tarp erected in "open" mode:

img2

The tail-end of the tarp has loops on both inside and outside. On the outside, is for tying a cord to hold up the tarp:

img3

...and on the inside, the loop can be used to hold up the tail-end of the mesh bivi.

The peak of the tent has the pole underneath. There is no positive holding of the pole in place, it is just going to rely on being tightly staked.

There is no inside loop to tie the mesh bivi to.

If a cord from the mesh bivi is tied to the pole, there is the possibility that the top of the pole could be pulled out of position.

Another potential issue is that the thin end of the 114cm pole could punch through the tent fabric.

Here is a photo from inside:

img3

...you can see how the top of the pole is just sitting there, but I think it should stay in place, as the tarp slopes down all around the pole. But, as you can see, there is nowhere to tie a cord from the mesh bivi.

What I propose, is to sew two loops, inside and outside, same as has been done at the tail-end of the tarp. The pole could go through the inside loop, which would keep it in place, and would give something to tie the mesh bivi to.

The outer loop would enable erection of the tarp without any pole, which I am keen on doing. Would need two conveniently-spaced branches to tie each end of the tarp. 

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