In situations warranting an expedient set up of shelter, the tarp over the ridge line approach would be preferable. Less time and less fine motor knotting when you're in the elements and under stress.

It should probably be noted that I have never used my tarp as a stand alone shelter, but rather as a rain fly for my Byer Amazonas hammock, hence the relatively large 10' x 12' size.

The Equinox siliconized tarp that I have is very light (the 10' x 12' size weighs less than 19 oz) although it is a bit pricey at $85.00 US. These are available from Campmor out of Mahwah, NJ. Also be aware the newer style tarps are a dark green, not the older bright green version shown on the website.

Jim

I have an 8 by 10 Equinox and I think it is about 12 ounces. I'm planning to use it as a primary shelter for a backpack trip this summer.

I found this video on setting up a tarp and I emailed this guy and asked why he "hung" the tarp from the ridgeline rather than just throwing the tarp over the line. His response was that he was taught to do it this way. He asked me to try it both ways and see which I prefered and let him know. Very nice guy and very helpful.

I'm afraid that too much stress on the tarp (from wind and/or precipitation) would tear the ties off of it. Seems like running the tarp over the ridgeline would provide much more support than "hanging" the tarp, and I think securing the tarp to the ridgeline with the prusik hitch would eliminate the drips coming under the tarp (running down the ridgeline and dripping at the low point).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjMmla9DSzo&eurl=http://www.bushcraftnorthwest.com/articles/articles.htm

In fact that is exactly my experience. Tying it off rather than draping it over has resulted in having the ties unravel, tear, or knot up bad such that I won't do it again given the choice.

I can't go to Youtube anymore here, but you can pass along my reasons if you like.

One tip from something I've tried is to drape the tarp over the ridgeline and then secure each end of the tarp to the ridgeline using 2 loops of cord and prusik knots. That way the tarp can be moved along the ridgeline and pulled as taught as you like without having to get out from under the tarp or re-tie anything. The knots seem to help prevent a bit of the moisture from running up the full length of the ridgeline too.

> There are ways to stop that

A-frame supports or drip sticks/ drip lines, for a couple of examples.

You could also intentionally have one end of the line supporting the tarp lower than the other by a few inches which tends to cause any water to follow the line to the lowest point at one end, rather than going to the center of the support line (under the tarp) due water/tarp/snow loads causing it to drop off inside under the tarp. It would be wise to use the tie offs on each end when using this method.

As far as the wear and tear on the tarp, the supporting line could be wrapped with a spare blanket or you could also find a way of making / attaching some sort of load spreader under the tarp or on the line itself. Of course this carries its own weight penalty to be dealt with. YMMV

Regards,
Comanche7

It depends on preference, length of cord, distance between ridge supports (trees?), and the strength of the tarp's tie-outs.

I prefer using the tie-outs due to more flexibility in anchor points with less cord and not having to worry about water seepage along the cord. (I do still have to worry about water seepage into my hammock from the support straps though. )

Setup the ridgeline. Attach 2' lengths of chord to middle grommets on the a frame with half hitches. secure these to the ridge line w/ taught-line-hitches (magnus hitch) leaving the standing end dangling. The magnus hitch only slides one-way on the ridgeline, allowing you to stretch the tarp taught. This configuration eliminates any sag in the ridge, as well as allows a drip line at each end. Go to UTUBE and search for "rigging a tarp" for a video by ray mears showing a good way to secure the ridge line tighly to the trees for easy removal. The great thing about this technique is that the tarp will be taught even if the ridge line is somewhat loose.