I was doing research on which tarp to buy for this season (spoiler: it’s the Borah Gear 7’x9′) when I stumbled across a YouTube video that blew my mind: in ONE TARP // ONE POLE // TWO PITCHES the guy removes the bottom segment of his trekking pole to use as a the short pole for an A-frame storm mode pitch. And here I was worried that I’d need to carry a second trekking pole in order to start using a tarp. I had already upgraded from a Paria Tri-Fold Carbon Cork to an Element Equipment Carbon 3000 pole for weight reasons but it appears that there could also be some functional benefit to having a pole which separates into multiple pieces.
