4 Ways to Pitch a Flat Cut Tarp for Backcountry Hunting

By Brad Brooks

There aren't many must have pieces of gear I feel strongly about that every hunter should have in their quiver of gear, but a flat cut tarp is one of them. The versatility and utility of a flat cut tarp is so broad there will undoubtedly be a situation whether you will either be using one becuase you have it on you, or you will be wishing you had one on you. Particularly for western backcountry hunters, a flat cut tarp is one of the most versatile pieces of gear in your pack. 

I have used a flat cut tarp as my primary shelter on early season archery hunts; I've used them to escape the rain and sun for glassing; and I've also used them at the truck to have a shade or rain-free zone to hang out with a group. With pitching a tarp, learning how to pitch it well requires a little practice and some trial and error. But, once you pitch it a few times, you will quickly learn how to do it well.

Why A "Flat Cut" Tarp

A flat cut tarp, such as our Talus Tarp, is a tarp that has straight edges as opposed to curved or cantenary edges along the sides. There are a lot of tarps out there that have a curved, or cantenary cut, design to help provide a taught pitch. The problem with a non-flat cut tarp is that they are not as versatile as they are designed to be pitched one or two ways. A flat cut tarp can be pitched in nearly limitless ways depending on what you have to pitch it with and how you want to pitch it. A flat cut tarp is the swiss army knife of tarps, and once you use one you will understand the value in the versatility. You will also quickly become proficient in understanding how to customize the pitch to suit your situation.

My Top Four Ways to Pitch a Tarp

Just as a reminder, there are dozens of ways to customize the way you pitch a flat cut tarp. One of the reasons we have built in paracord and line-loc adjusters on every guyout on the Talus Tarp is specifically so you can easily adjust paracord lengths to do just that. Pitching a tarp usually requires a fair amount of small ajustments to get it right, and the ease of adjusting line-locs makes pitching a lot faster and easier. The more practice you have, the quicker you will be able to set one up to suit your needs and your envireonment. 

The following are my favorite and the most common ways to use a tarp when I'm in the backcountry hunting. For most pitches, you will want a set of trekking poles, at least six stakes (sometimes 8), and some extra 2.5mm paracord for added versatility. (hot tip: If you don't have enough stakes, I've wrapped the paracord around a stick and used rocks to weight it down in a pinch).

1. A-Frame

This is a classic boy-scout style setup that gives you a lot of versatility and space when using the tarp as a primary shelter. This pitch can fit one or two people and all your gear. This pitch is easy to do and doesn't require a lot of messing around. To pitch as an A-Frame, you will need two trekking poles for the short ends of your tarp, and a minimum of 6 stakes, but I like to have at least 8.

1. First, pitch out two of the corners on one of the long ends of the tarp. 
2. Next, pitch the other two corners making your tarp as square as you can, approximately 4' away from the other guyouts/stakes. This distance can be modified depending on how steep you like tarp walls to be. 
3. In the middle of one of the short ends, utlizing a longer piece of paracord (our Talus Tarp comes standard with a 54" piece of paracord here) wrap the paracord a couple of times arond the tip of your trekking pole (again, ideally using a clove hitch) and extend the pole until the tarp sides are taught. Run the paracord from the trekking pole tip down to the ground at an angle and stake it out.
4. Repeat on the other short end of the tarp.
5. Stake out or tie down the other guyouts. If you don't have any extra stakes, run a stik through the paracord on our Talus tarp and then lay rocks on top of the stick.
6. You might need to adjust the trekking pole height on either side to get the pitch taught, or re-stake out some of the corners.

2. Modified A-Frame

This is my favorite way to pitch a tarp when I'm using it as a primary shelter because I can point the closed end towards the general direction of the wind to protect my gear from the elements and help buck the wind. In this version, you will end up with one end closed to the ground and one entry side, with two trekking poles being used with one in the middle of the tarp. You could also use a robust stick in the middle of the tarp in a pinch. This pitch can be a little fussy to get it the way I like and usually requires some adjusting of line-locs, corners and/or guyouts and trekking pole height adjustment to get it perfect. 

1. Stake out the back corners of one of the short ends of the tarp for the end you want to keep close to the ground. Do not pull the corners "tight" when you pitch and leave a little slack. This is important for when you put your trekking pole in the middle of the tarp.
2. Using the black X-Pac fabric in the middle of the tarp, place your trekking pole tip into the metal grommet and extend the pole to the ground. I usually keep my trekking poles at the 110-120 cm length. You will have to pull on the tarp fabric to keep the pole from falling over.
3. Take your second trekking pole and use it to pitch the center of the other short end of the tarp by wrapping a long piece of paracord around the tip of your trekking pole (I like to use a clove hitch here) (make sure your pole is about the same height as the other), and then run the paracord to the ground and stake it out. 
4. Stake out the remaining two corners. When you do this, you might find that your trekking pole heights need to be raised or lowered slightly. Adjust as needed to get the sides of your tent right using the line-locs and built in paracord.
5. Stake out the other guyout points.

3. Classic & Modified Lean-To

   Classic Lean-To

When an unexpected storm rolls in, this is the quickest and simplest way to pitch a tarp to protect yourself. This is also a great pitch to utilize as a sun shade during warm weather hunts. This pitch involves pitching two corners close to the ground and two corners up high. You can use trees or sticks to pitch the elevated corners, or two trekking poles.

1. Stake out two corners on one of the long ends of the tarp.
2. Put a longer piece of paracord on the other two corners. With our Talus Tarp, all you have to do is remove the two built-in long pieces of cord on the short ends and swap them out on corner line-locs. 
3. If using trekking poles, extend your trekking pole as high as you can and pitch one of the remaining corners by wrapping the paracord around the tip of your trekking pole, then run the paracord to the ground and stake it out. Repeat for the other corner.
4. Alternatively, use the paracord on the corners to tie off the corners of the tarp to a tree, elevating one end.

   Modified Lean-To

This is a slightly more advance pitch that requires a small amount of ingenuity and using what you have around you. This is a slightly amended version of the lean-to pitch that places one trekking pole in the center of the tarp for added space and height inside of the tarp. You will need three trekking poles for this pitch, or two trekking poles and a tree for one of the corners, or two trekking poles and a robust stick.

1. Pitch two corners on one of the long ends of the tarp to the ground. 
2. Tie off one of the remaining corners to a tree branch or tree, making sure to not tie it off too high (approximately 4-5').
3. Use a trekking pole to pitch the other corner the same way you do for the Classic Lean-To above.
4. Place another trekking pole in the center of the tarp by placing the metal tip of your pole inside the metal grommet and extending the pole until the tarp is taught.

4. Group Site Protection

Once you get to your backcountry camp, sometimes it is nice to have a place to hang out in out of the weather to cook and keep your gear that doesn't go in your tent. If I'm using stock or using a backcountry camp for multiple days, this is where we eat and hang out, make coffee, etc. There are a lot of ways to pitch a high tarp for this use, but you typically need some trees and longer pieces of paracord for this pitch. The line-locs are particularly handy for this pitch as it requires some adjustments while pitching. You will want to make sure your tarp is not pitched completely flat, because if it doesn rain, the water will collect in your tarp and cause it to sag, or even brake. So either pitch the tarp so it is slanted enough to drain, or make sure you have something in the middle to prop it up.

The instructions for this pitch are fairly straightworward, but simply start by tying off one of the corners, and then proceed to tie off the remaining corners in any order you prefer. Becuase of the line-locs, you should be able to tighten the pitch after you have tied off the corners.

Even though these are my top five favorite ways to use and pitch a tarp, there are nearly limitless ways to pitch one. Once you get a little experience using a tarp, you will quickly realize the versatility and utility of having a flat cut tarp.