Yama Mountain Gear Cirriform Tarp

“There's many aspects of tarp camping. The "full" tarp experience comes from a flat(ish) tarp that can be setup multiple ways depending on the environment or the conditions. You'll be using one or two setups most of the time, but adjusting pitch height and tieout points to the weather conditions, like using trees and stuff instead of poles where possible. You don't need to learn crazy skills in terms of setting up the tarp but campsite selection skills become a lot more important. The Cirriform, while a great shelter, its more like a floorless tent. So it sits somewhere in between. It has a defined shape and there's not that many pitching options besides higher or lower and possibly using trees or sticks instead of your trekking poles. Other shaped tarps like the MLD Solomid or any pyramid shelter also have this limitation. The big advantage of shaped tarps vs a flat tarp is they offer more protection. My suggestion if you want to try it out without breaking the bank, get a nice bug bivy and a cheap flat tarp. The bug bivy you can probably re-use on its own or with whatever tarp you end up getting so you can get a nice one. The flat tarp is just that, a big rectangle. 7x9 is a great beginner size. Jupiter uploaded a very nice intro video to tarp camping just yesterday which is a great summary: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJl5M7\_\_qc8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJl5M7__qc8)”