Ultra-light tarp tents.

[Neil]

I really don't want to carry a "normal" tent around any more and have been seduced by tarptent.com's website to the point that I think I'll take the plunge and try one out. I was thinking of going floor-less and getting mosquitoe netting. The whole unit for 2 people weighs something like 2 lbs. Has anybody here used this type of shelter?

 

[poison ivy]

Yup, I have the Squall (though with a floor) and absolutely love it. I generally use it by myself, which gives me loads of room... with two people it can get a little squished... not much room for gear. I've used it in downpours and very windy conditions and have no complaints. It was a huge, huge improvement over my old Eureka Solitaire. (No more condensation dripping on my head...)

-- Ivy

 

[DougPaul]

Hammocks

Neil,

You might also consider a hammock. IMO, the Speer Hammock design is a good, practical design. Available assembled, as a kit, or as a how-to-built-it book.

http://www.speerhammocks.com/

I bought a Hennessy, returned it, and got a Speer.

Doug

 

[Neil]

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.

 

[DougPaul]

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.

It can work either way--depends on the details and personal preferences. In some ways/locations, sleeping on the ground is easier, in some the hammock is easier.

I have hammocked with a friend and we just set them up close to each other--we could see each other and were within easy talking range. Speer talks about sharing a tree for the head end of two hammocks. (Might be a little harder to hang the rain fly if one does this.)

Doug

 

[John S]

If you intend to have two people most of the time be sure to check out the Cloudburst. Though a few inches narrower on the ground, there still is plenty of elbowroom for sleeping and it’s roomier at the shoulder level when sitting up. If it’s not too windy, the center stake can be pulled, making for a very easy entry/exit. It’s a great tent.

 

[paul ron]

Yes... Check these out, you may be impressed....

http://www.tarptent.com/products.html

 

[Gris]

Another opinion/option - I use a MSR bug tent (plenty large enough for 2 w/ a bona-fide bath-tub floor) and a large homemade tarp over. Bug tent weighs 1-11 and tarp weighs 1-0. Gives me more room, mix and match flexibility and weatherproofness than a tarptent and needs no tent poles like the larger tarptent...

 

[Cold River Bob]

Neil

I to have the squall and love it, Mine has the floor in it.
I will have mine there if you go to Duckhole next month
Bob

 

[flypn]

I've got a golite hex with all the fixins and love it. its been on the glaciers up here to the beaches in costa rica and performs well in all conditions (with the exception of extremely high winds mixed with precip, it gets blown up into the vents). For winter camping, the small size and light weight makes for a great space saver/maker, and you can dig a cooking area into the snow right inside the tent for those nasty days! good luck in your search.

cheers!

ps, if hammocks are a consideration, I've been pretty impressed my lt wt hennesy hammock, though sleeping in it for me is... an unusual sensation.

 

[swamp]

I sometimes use a bivy under a parabolic tarp, and other times use a megamid.... It depends on my mood....(I'm moody)....

 

[dave.m]

Impregnated Silicone?

For those you using the silicone impregnated fabric based tarp/tents, how does it stand up to those day long soaker types of rains that we get out here?

Here's a quote from one of my old TRs where my pyramid tarp tent which uses good old fashioned urethane coated nylon was overcome. My question is, will silicone impregnated fabrics leak faster? The blurb on the tarptent sites seems to suggest they will.

At this point, it had been raining steady and hard for 18 hours.....

"Sat 4:30am: I am wakened by a drop of water on my face. The
rain is coming down in sheets; with each sheet, I feel a fine
mist settling on me. I fumble for my light and find the inside
of my tarp is dripping with water, absolutely soaked. It is not
the seams. ALL of the fabric is wet. Has the humid conditions formed
by putting a warm body on damp ground caused this much condensation?
Or is the light fabric simply soaking thru? I am not pleased but
consider what alternatives I have. I dig up my balaclava (head gasket)
and burrow my head deeper into the hood of my bag. The rain in the
tent is lighter than the rain outside of tent. I will have to trust
the bivy sack to keep me dry."

 

[poison ivy]

dave.m -- I've used my tarptent overnight in absolute downpours and it's worked much better than other tents I've tried. (I seamsealed as per the directions when I got it and that's it.) The fabric does get a little wet, so if you are touching the sides of the tent, it will create enough condensation to make your bag damp. But I haven't had any trouble with water actually dripping off the walls (as I did with my prior solo tent.) So long as you don't touch the sides, everything stays dry. I pitch it wil the back end facing into the wind and haven't had any issues with the rain coming into the tent through the mesh parts either.

-- Ivy

 

[paul ron]

Silnylon

I have been wondering the same thing. I just bought 10 yards of Silnylon and have been doing some tests for waterproofness. I made a pouch out of a piece and filled it with water. I stapled it to my cork board where it has been for 3 days without a single drop oozing anywhere.

I did another test where I made a pouch filled with water but this time I squeezed the bag forcing the water through the material. It oozed out of the pores of the fabric... but realize this is forced.

My latest test is to see if it can be used as a ground cloth with me laying on it. I want to see if the water will come through as even regualr coated nylon will let water through with the spreading of the fabric.

As for water resistance, it beads up and rolls right off like water on a duck. This stuff is amzing and so light weight. 10 feet x 6 feet weighs 9 ounces. It's thiner than toilet paper and incredably strong, I can't tear it, even on it's thread line.

Now I have to learn how to sew it.

 

[Gris]

i have made/sewn a fw things w/ the silnylon -very easy on a good machine!

 

[Warren]

I've had a lot of water collect on a not taut silnylon tarp, no noticeable leaks. Silnylon is not supposed to hold up to water under pressure.

I've considered using silnylon as a ground cloth but I thought it would be too slippery.

 

[Neil]

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.

 

[poison ivy]

I've considered using silnylon as a ground cloth but I thought it would be too slippery.

It is indeed a little slippery but Shires has a suggestion for that. If you mix a little of GE Silicone Sealer with some mineral spirits and paint a couple of stripes on the groundcloth... it will stop your sleeping bag & pad from sliding around, at least according to the directions.

I haven't bothered to do that... I find that placing my thermarest on the groundcloth upsidedown helps to stop the slippage too.

- Ivy

 

[Warren]

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.

In general I don't, I use a bivy. But for two people under a tarp when there's only one bivy I've been thinking of solutions. Current favorite: foam sleeping pad.

 

[Neil]

In general I don't, I use a bivy.

You lay the bivy down, then your pad, then your bag? Wouldn't a tent floor weigh less than the bivy?