It's a level that I believe craftsman makes and I use it to hang pictures and stuff. It shoots a laser across the surface you set it on to make a continuous and straight line. We just put it on the fabric and set it at the angle we wanted and it made a very straight laser line on the fabric that we then cut. It worked very well. I think one costs around 20 bucks at home depot.

Justin was the #1 sized grommet a good pick for this? I was looking at grommet kits but I will likely go with #0 for attaching to standard tent poles. FYI mcmastercarr.com has aluminum grommets.

Edited by Bender on 11/10/2009 07:54:52 MST.

Bender:

#0 grommets are advertised as having a .25" diameter hole. The pole tips I purchased from Quest Outfitters were larger than that. The plastic tip for .344" poles measured .26". The aluminum tip for the .430" poles measured .27". I use #1 grommets (.28125" hole) and they work fine.

Measure your pole tips before you commit to a grommet kit.

Good luck,

Lance

Edited by Lancem on 11/10/2009 10:31:17 MST.

Bender, I used the #1 grommets because they fit the easton tent poles with the grommet tips I use. The #0 grommets wouldn't have fit the poles. But maybe you could get a thinner pole/grommet tip that would work for you. I found the #1 grommets to work perfectly for me. As Lance pointed out, just measure your pole tips and make sure they will fit the grommet you plan on using before you commit to buying a kit.

Justin good job on your tarptent. I've just recieved my my
materials today and cann't wait to get started. What size needles do you use. Also did you change any of the measurements?
~Sean

Sean, the needle was a microtex sharp needle size #70 and I used hydropone thread from thru-hiker.com. I'd actually recommend using an even thinner needle than the #70. Thinner needle, smaller holes, more watertight. Make sure to get the sharp needles and not the slightly blunt ones for knit type fabric. I didn't change any measurements from the henry shires website for the tarptent for 2. I just did not include a floor to save weight. I use a piece of tyvek that I cut to fit the size of my sleeping bag instead. Good luck on yours!! Post pics when you're done.

Awesome looking tarptent. From the pictures it look like you modified the original tarptent design. Would you please post the design mods you made from the original design.

"I didn't change any measurements from the henry shires website for the tarptent for 2"

The photo is a little misleading because he took it before he had his poles. In the photo the back side is staked to the ground instead of elevated with a pole like it would normally be.

Correct. I was just anxious to see it set up. I started another thread with more pics when my poles arrived and I was able to set it up correctly. Here are a few pics of it set up with the poles...

Hi Justin

I suggest the mid-side guys are just a bit too tight.

Cheers