Kelty Noah’s Tarp Shelter Price: $28.99 - 49.99 Shipping Options:: $5 Standard OR $10 Two-Day OR $20 One-Day Shipping Estimates: Ships in 1-2 business days (Friday, Dec 30 to Monday, Jan 02) + transit Condition: New
We have the largest version of this, and it’s great. We bring it on river trips and group backpacks to cover the kitchen/hangout area in case of rain, and also for shade in the desert.
For poles we use oars when rafting, or hiking poles when backpacking, plus a few lengths of lightweight cord. The best set-up is to string it diagonally between two trees as high up as possible, and then use poles/oars on the other two corners to hold up the ends, and stake out the cord beyond each pole.
I have this as well, and it is great for long-distance motorcycle camping. It packs up very small – I jam it in with the rest of my tent fabric. First I pitch the noah, always between trees. I try and get at least three sides attached to trees, if not four. Then I can pitch my tent without worry about getting rained on. I pitch the tent with the opening towards the tarp, and so I can enter and exit in the rain without getting wet. I will often attach the free side of the tarp to the tent itself. Tent becomes sleeping space, and (so long as it’s not too cold), the tarped-area becomes living space, where I can stand up and walk around. It works perfectly.
These are strong and can be configured in multiple ways. They are also heavy and not entirely water repellent. Big drops driven by high winds will splatter on the tarp and mist through to the other side. This appears to be the older version which is being closed out in several stores, hence the low price here. Replace the guy lines and the stakes and this makes an excellent tarp for most camping situations.
Umm, as the owner of the Coleman exact version of this tarp/shelter, I can attest that the poles are pretty much required to make it useful unless you have some trees at just the right distance and location.
I mean, for less than $5 you can buy a tarp almost this size from Harbor Freight that’s probably even more waterproof, so I would have to encourage a pass on this one.