I was shocked at how much I had to search for a tarp in the first place and yet the price for this was good. Have now camped with it for a couple of weeks in the Lakes and in the North East with plenty of rain and high wind and absolutely love this item. Our tent has a horrible side door that lets in the rain but we worked a way to put up the tarp that gave us a porch for cooking, eating or just sitting and reading. We were able to sit on camping chairs under it and if more central didn't have our heads too squashed by the material as it was pushed by the wind. It does need a walking pole for the other end if you want it free standing and we made it free standing so that we could put down our tents and still have a dry area right until ready to leave camp. It packs into a relatively small size and if you have two walking poles you could use this on walks as an emergency shelter (the supplied pole is quite heavy) although without any covered ends not perfect for this. It is quick and easy to put up and although it is possible to do so alone it is a lot easier with help. If you have a small tent then I recommend you get this tarp, just in case.