“It always rains on tents.  Rainstorms will travel thousands of miles, against prevailing winds for the opportunity to rain on a tent” (Dave Barry)

tarp_rain_water_funnel_attachmentAfter my last trip to Taman Negara, I resolved to make some sort of water catcher attachment for my tarp so that I could collect rainwater and save myself the hassle of filtering water from the rivers.

As it usually rains in the jungle in the  late afternoon, this is the time when you have already set up camp and changed into your dry clothes.  As such, should a downpour begin, you probably won’t be inclined to go out from beneath the shelter of your tarp to collect water…it’s much nicer to lie back in your hammock and listen to the rain bouncing off your tarp instead.

The system I came up with is nothing new in concept but it has the advantage of being less bulky than the plastic funnel type attachments (usually an upturned plastic bottle that is cut in half), it is ultra lightweight, simplicity itself to make and costs virtually nothing.  Also, as it doesn’t attach directly to the tarp there is less danger of damaging your tarp with the added weight of the water.