How to get a good Notch Li pitch?

[Tortoise]

Looking at your photos again, I think your poles are too long.

If you shorten the pole a few cm you can peg the bottom of the door a bit further out, which will allow the sides to pitch less flappy.

Also, a shorter pole will ease the tension (visible in your photo) between the bottom of the struts and the top of the pole, allowing the tension to be between the top of the struts and the top of the pole (as I think the design intends).

Thanks, Ribuck. Frustrating thing is that these are the poles sold specifically for the Notch by Tarptent. Franco has been able to use poles down to 102 cm with the Notch, which makes it look a great deal better.

Maybe I'll have to try cutting mine off. Bummer if that doesn't work, though. And who uses trekking poles less than 105 cm?? I'm about as short as they come, and 105s are a little bit short for me.

[ribuck]

Maybe I'll have to try cutting mine off. Bummer if that doesn't work, though.

Naah, just make two little holes in the ground where you plant the poles.

[Tortoise]

I realised later that might be a better option.

But I'm still bamboozled about how other people make it work. Look at Zapruda's photo earlier in this thread. His poles are taller than mine, but he gets a good pitch. He started with 110 cm and then raised them 1 or 2 cm.

[ribuck]

Zapruda's photo earlier in this thread. His poles are taller than mine, but he gets a good pitch. He started with 110 cm and then raised them 1 or 2 cm.

On one trip I mistakenly brought my 120cm fixed poles. The Notch Li pitched reasonably well, but the ridgeline was very curved and the sides were rather flappy. Since then, I've used the ridgeline shape as a guide. A slight curve means the height is about right, a strong curve means the height is definitely too high.

If your poles are too long, there are two ways to tweak their length in the field: dig a hole in which to place them, or place them at an angle by moving the base of the poles left or right (not outwards, because that messes up the tension at the top).