www.military.ie THE DEFENCE FORCES MAGAZINE
| 25
THE PLOUGH POINT
BY JOE PRICE
This month sees us drawing closer to
the end of one of the nicest summers
in quiet awhile. While out over the
past weeks I have been caught in
some very fast moving rainstorms and
showers. So I thought I would share
a quick deploy shelter set up using a
standard 3m X 3m square tarp. The
tarp I am using is a DD 3x3 ultralite but
any square tarp with corner tie outs
would get you out in a pinch.
Joe Price is one of the co-founders of the "Living to Learn" Bushcraft
Community, a member of the Irish Bushcraft Club and an Irish Ambassador for
Mora Knives.
He works in The Camo Shop www.thecamoshop.ie and you can follow the
'Living to Learn' community online:
www.facebook.com/groups/livingtolearn/
• First thing you want to do if you don't have
them to hand is to make 3 tent stakes. They
don't have to be complicated. Find thumb
sized sticks with a natural crook and break
them over your knee. If you're lucky they will
break with a point but if not a quick sharpen
with any knife will give you a quick and
serviceable stake.
• Next you want to pick a tree or you can use
trekking poles and tall limbs. But a tree is
your easiest option. When you pick your
location (flat, out of the wind, free of debris)
lay your tarp down with one corner facing
the tree.
• Raising that corner to head height, tightly
fasten it to the tree. You can use a bungee,
karabiner or a marlin hitch, which is my
preferred method.
• Once the first corner is attached high on
the tree. Take your pre-made stakes and pull
out the furthest corner directly in front of
the tree. This becomes the back point of the
plough. Then simply pull tight and stake out
the other two remaining corners.
The plough point is a very good configuration to
have in your arsenal and with a little bit of prac-
tice can be deployed and up in under 7 minutes.
It requires little to no use of existing kit supplies
and is a good way to get out of the elements if
caught out.
