When it comes to tarp poles, you could do a lot worse than These....
A decent sturdy pole, good range of (telescopic) height, with a secure thumb-screw type lock (as opposed to "twist and grip"). £2 dearer than when I bought mine 3 or 4 years back, but still good VFM, I'd say.
I had a bit of a tarp-love-in phase a while back... and these poles never let me down, in all weathers, in all seasons.(Providing they are the same spec as when I bought mine. The blurb suggests they appear to be).
They won't be the best on the market, of course, but neither are they the most expensive.
Just noticed you are thinking of getting a 6x6 Awning That is huge. Ours is 6x2 and use an adjustable ridge pole coming off the A frame and go from there,
I understood it was one of two sizes considered? The other being 6x4? The requirement being big enough for a family to sit out and relax, and cook/eat.
The dimensions for the doorway suggested a need for 6 metre width. 4 or 6 metre depth was more subjective.
'Course I could be wholly wrong !!
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Thank you for all the great advice and pics! We went for the 6m one based on recommendation for our family size and it was suggested we could fold it over to make it smaller when needed. I think the layout for it would be 2 poles at front and 2 at back for a canopy cover the width of the door and then angles down to the ground. I saw a pic once of a family that used their canvas fly sheet from their ridge tent and the sides were at the ground. It looked spacious and secure.
Will post pics when we get a chance to play around with it all
Sorry for so many posts! I really feel all over the place on this awning. My husband and I had a long chat trying to figure out how to make it work or return it. I came up with the idea of unpicking the seam at the halfway mark and turning it into 2 awnings. So either we can use both at the same time or have one as a back up.
I have been given great advice here and I think this is the best of those.
It's here!! Who knows when we will get to use it for now. We've got so much going on at the moment.
Now to sort out the poles. I'm curious as to how you use the washing line poles. I have one and it's quite sturdy but how do you attach it to the awning? Sorry if that is a silly question.
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Mama Bear, I wish you luck, especially finding a site that has pitches big enough to take that and the tent. But this thread is getting beyond me, so Im out of this.
Sorry about that Geoff, you've given very valuable advice and that's why I'm going to cut the awning in half making it come out only 3 metres. With angles and such, that should be reduced a bit further.
We are not first time tenters but we are first time awning users. We've had larger tents in the past so feel quite confident we will find pitches.
Mama Bear. Its just I have limited knowledge on tarps and awnings, so my last bit of advice would be to have a look through this thread... click here to get some great advice from people who know far more about it. This is where I started off. Good luck.
When I initially had my bell tent, it too proved a while before the right opportunity came to use it!
As Geoff has intimated though, tarps and awnings are extremely versatile, whether using a lightweight one with my lavvu or bigger ones for other tents, such as the bell. Or indeed, instead of the tent.....
RE the washing line poles, it will depend on what is on top? Some have a round hook which is very versatile again, guys or any line can be clipped over and I use them as extras on my Kara (a big vintage cotton canvas ridge tent in the BCT style) tent awning, and the lavvu tarp. Sometimes the hook bit can be threaded through the awning eyelets? However, for your awning, I wonder whether the ones Geoff obtained from GO might not be better?
I hope you all get as much enjoyment out of your bell tent as I do of mine!
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Topic: Bell Tent advice...
That is huge. Ours is 6x2 and use an adjustable ridge pole coming off the A frame and go from there, 
!!
