Ultra-light tarp tents.

[Warren]

When solo, pad inside the bivy (3 season) or one inside bivy, the other pad outside (4 season) so I can use it to sit on. IN lean to's or warm weather I do just lay the bag on top of the bivy, but this is pretty rare.

A bivy is heavier than a light ground cloth, but it's much more flexible and provides some extra benefits:

+10 on bag rating, you can use a lighter bag.

Protects bag from spindrift, moisture, windblown rain.

Makes the bag an odd shaped but usable around camp comforter.

on clear nights or ones where you just feel bold you have the confidence to just lay it down on that ledge and not worry if the weather turns sour.

Fits anywhere you can lay down.

While I try to travel light, lightness is not my ultimate measure, flexibility more than anything else is the main determinate in my choice of kit. A tarp or floorless tent with a bivy is a *very* flexible setup.

 

[spaddock]

I thought of a hammock except I'll usually either be with my son or my wife. I figured one tarp tent would be simpler than 2 hammocks.

You + Wife + Hammock = Good times

-Shayne

 

[jbrown]

I have used one of the mylar space blankets for a groundcloth under my tarp with great success. They are relatively puncture resistant, but will tear very easily once a hole is started. My tarp is an 8x10 silnylon Campmor brand tarp. It's a little heavier than the ultralight tarp, but at 1lb 6oz (I think?) and a huge coverage for 1 guy, it's great. I have been in a medium to heavy shower in it and had dry pine needles in the morning. It has great ventillation! My only problem is that there's no psychological "barrier" from the night noises, so I have to pull my head inside my sleeping bag when I get scared.

 

[spaddock]

Black Diamonad has a lot of cool new shelters.
http://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/gear/firstlight.php

Or they have things they call 'mids which look like tarps to me.


-Shayne

 

[DougPaul]

Groundcloth

A good source for cheap groundcloths is your local hardware store: mine sells plastic dropcloths in thicknesses from .5mil to 4mil. Choose your weight vs durability.

A few minutes with a pair of scissors and you can also make a footprint for a tent.

Doug

 

[Chip]

A lot of people don't bother with floors for their tents. What do you use for a ground cloth? I've heard of people using extra large orange garbage bags slit open.

If you've got the tarp, netting and ground cover or bivy's - is it just the additional elbow room you're looking for ?

I still like tents. I like the bugs and mice on the outside and me on the inside !

 

[Neil]

From another thread:

as far for hammock vs tarptent. i went for UL tarp over UL bug tent in lieu of hammock based upoen versatility - both as to number of users and conditions/pitch (sometimes a bug tent is all you need, sometimes a tarp).

I'm looking at the Golite bug shelter for about 90$ and an 8x10 sylnylon tarp from Campmor for a little less. Anybody care to comment?

 

[Chip]

with the bug tent, tarp, rope, stakes (and some groundcover ?) it looks like this would be easier and about the same weight ,or am I missing something ?

 

[Gris]

Here's my take/set-up (keep in mind up to this point I'm basically a summer camper). The only issue with using a bug tent under a tarp is that you have to have some way of guying out the sides of the netting under/to the tarp. Thus, if yer not a do-it-yourself-er you probably ought to go with a system that already includes that feature. Two leap to mind, the GoLite Cave & Nest and the MSR Twin Peaks (or Trekker Wing) and its bug tent. If you want to be better protected from groundwater or if you may encounter snow, I'd go with the MSR set-up. It weighs a little more but has a true bath-tub floor and the tarp is much sturdier. My own set-up is a MSR bug-tent and a homemade tarp. I'm still fiddling with the bug guy-outs because while the MSR bug tent does hang from the tarp, it does not have guy-outs for the mesh. My current fix is fishing line threaded through the mesh and attached to fabric loops on the inside of my tarp (that were already there - another story). But I want something more permanent and truly adjustable, like nylon string with cordlocks. Trust me the bug tent guy-outs are essential if ya wanna be able to move around in there.

 

[lumberzac]

Having used both a sil tarp and the Eureka Zeus 2, I would go with the tarp. The Zeus' lack of good ventilation turns it into a rainforest inside. One thing with the tarp is you have to pay attention to which way the wind is blowing to prevent rain from blowing in.

 

[Gris]

Or, you can just sew these things on like i did.

 

[Warren]

I have the 8x10 campmor tarp. It's more versatile then a tent, better ventilation and much roomier.

I have a bug bivy for when I go out in bug season, but in general, I just don't go out in bug season especially now that I have a kayak.

 

[Blue]

We've been considering a Lightsabre Bivy from Black Diamond (1 lb 4 oz), for the Long Trail, but we heard it might be a little hard to get out of in the morning. Has anyone tried it? (We are both under 5'10 and weight less than 135 lbs, so we're small)

Also it appears that tarptent.com has a waiting list to buy the Squall?

 

[Warren]

I haven't had problems getting in and out bivies, changing clothes in one is the usual challenge for me. I have heard thru hikers complain about the long term annoyance of tarps and bivies.

Rather than a bivy with a pole structure that doesn't give you all that much head room a small (4') tarp over the head may work as well and provide more room. Integral designs is worth checking out for lightweight bivies.

I wish someone would start making a two person bivy again.

 

[Tramper Al]

We?

We've been considering a Lightsabre Bivy from Black Diamond (1 lb 4 oz), for the Long Trail, but we heard it might be a little hard to get out of in the morning. Has anyone tried it? (We are both under 5'10 and weight less than 135 lbs, so we're small)
Also it appears that tarptent.com has a waiting list to buy the Squall?

Blue, I think you will definitely find the Lightsabre Bivy to be a tight fit for more than one person.

I was looking for a tarp-tent recently, the waitlist for a Shires tent gave me time to do further research, and I ended up preferring a Six Moon Design solo tarp-tent. You can see they have a popular 2 person tent as well.

 

[John S]

Also it appears that tarptent.com has a waiting list to buy the Squall?

That’s not unusual. They make them in small production runs and don’t get too far ahead of themselves. I was quoted six weeks about this time last year and it arrived in four or five.

I saw the new Squall recently. The wide entry is a big improvement over the old peaked front.

 

[Blue]

Blue, I think you will definitely find the Lightsabre Bivy to be a tight fit for more than one person.

LOL - yeah, I can see the headlines. "Couple trapped in bivy on Long Trail."

I meant that we would each carry one.. sorry about that.. sometimes I only have 13.5 seconds to post while working...so the details get obscured.

 

[Neil]

Thread ressurection.​

I used a syl-nylon tarp this summer and it was great. Now, I'm wondering about using the same set-up for winter camping. I figured on a very simple bivy, my pro-lite and my bag. I'd be very interested to read other users' comments.

 

[the starchild]

Thread ressurection.​

I used a syl-nylon tarp this summer and it was great. Now, I'm wondering about using the same set-up for winter camping. I figured on a very simple bivy, my pro-lite and my bag. I'd be very interested to read other users' comments.

Neil you took the words out of my mouth!

i will be trying this set-up too, down to my prolite4. i'll have a mtn chair too for more insulation from the snow.

 

[DougPaul]

Thread ressurection.​

I used a syl-nylon tarp this summer and it was great. Now, I'm wondering about using the same set-up for winter camping. I figured on a very simple bivy, my pro-lite and my bag. I'd be very interested to read other users' comments.

The Prolite 4 is probably inadequate for winter. Should be ok if you combine it with a closed-cell foam pad. The closed-cell pad is also a safety if the inflatable springs a leak.

As for the tarp, consider what you will do if the weather is blowing snow.

Doug