late summer tarp camping

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siguy

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Aug 26, 2006
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at WAR this past weekend i decided that i would try sleeping in just a tarp shelter for the whole weekend.

when i got there and set up, i had four or five people generously offer me their spare tent, but i was determined to see how the tarp was to spend the night in.

the setup i took was a space blanket tarp with grommets in the corners, an AMK emergency blanket (tyvek type stuff with survival instructions on it) for a groundcloth, a midsized wool/synthetic blanket (85/15) and paracord and a hiking pole.

i have set it up during the day plenty of times and lay down in them, and imagined what might some issues be...but before last weekend i hadn't spent a night with such a minimalist setup.

excuses always come up when i set out to do it in the backyard and i've used a tent the other times for the sake of simplicity.

the first night was warm and buggy. luckily big john generously lent me a long sheet of mosquito netting. it was dark when we arrived, so i hurriedly whittled some stakes and set up the tarp lean to style, but very low to the ground so that the front was raised only about a foot. draping the bug netting was tricky since it didn't really cover the sides very well. that night i had several buzzy visitors to interrupt my sleep.

on saturday when i had a few minutes i took my tarp down and set it up again, but A frame style. i used a hiking pole and a tree to set up a ridgeline of paracord. the peak ended up being only about a foot and a half off of the ground after i staked it down, with the sides being...i don't know...probably about 2-2.5 feet wide. this time the bug netting only had to cover the two openings, which it did well and i had no visitors all night. but it was considerably colder, and i woke up several times during the night shivering. i made it through though, and the next day had several people offer me spare sleeping bags. i was determined though to make it work. i did accept kevin's offer of a wiggy's poncho liner.

sunday night was even a tad colder than saturday night, down around 40 degrees, and i slept like a baby. i woke up briefly at dawn, but was very cozy so went back to sleep for a few more minutes. as soon as i pull together a few dollars, i am definitly going to buy two of the wiggy's liners and use those in conjunction with a larger tarp that i want to buy.

so here is the basic picture: use a larger tarp, use a couple of poncho liners, use a bug net.

my experience so far has been mixed, but i think that this tarp shelter idea can really rock if i get it down right.

just thought i would share, and thanks to everyone that lent me things or offered.
 
Keep at it dude. You will eventually find what works for ya.:thumbup:

Those wiggys are sweet gear. A pocho liner is manditory in my kit. In your defense, those are some pretty low temps for just a tarp and liner, so I think you did pretty well:thumbup:
 
sorry, i don't have any. my camera gave up the ghost a few weeks ago, i was bummed i didn't have it to take with me.

i think i heard someone mentioning that they wanted to grab a pic of it though...did anyone take a photo?
 
40 degrees is pretty cold to go without a sleeping bag. Props to you. I like the idea of your tarp and bug net set up though.

I would suggest getting a backpacking size sleeping bag instead of the poncho liners. You can find a 30 degree bag for around $70, and it probably wouldn't take up any more space than the poncho liners.

It would be cool if someone took pics.
 
i have one of those Coleman Transverse bags....0 degree rated (or so it says) i used it a few times since i got it at Christmas last year. it handled 15 degrees and a 4 degree windchill pretty good....(i had a sleep mat under me and that helped alot.) my feet still got coldish and i slept pretty rough....trains kept me awake.

but i used my gi poncho liner around my feet and i got toasty and fell asleep pretty quick. just not for long, damn trains.


the bag was like 50 bucks
 
Great little write up siguy, thanks. Do you, or anyone who uses these, find that the poncho liners keep you more warm than a wool blanket? I've never played with one of the liners before.

I'm wanting to switch to tarps and blankets for 3-season use as well, and have been using a wool blanket (not an issue in summer of course).
 
How did you use the Wiggy's poncho liners - as a blanket or folded over as a sleeping bag?
 
SpookyPistolero said:
Great little write up siguy, thanks. Do you, or anyone who uses these, find that the poncho liners keep you more warm than a wool blanket? I've never played with one of the liners before.

I'm wanting to switch to tarps and blankets for 3-season use as well, and have been using a wool blanket (not an issue in summer of course).
Click to expand...

the poncho liner when DOUBLED is fairly warm. i would say down in the 40 or high 30 area... i used to use two liners as my sleeping bag when i was at Ft Lewis during the fall in 99. it worked well.

two liners in a pack take VERY little space and dont weigh all that much. i still use that configuration for spring /fall camping. hard to beat for me
 
Sweet little write up siguy! I myself have been interested in tarp and blanket camping just to try to be more primative. How do you think this set up would fair in rainy or drizzling conditions?
 
i started out with both the blanket and the liner over me, just the thin groundcloth under me. i woke up partyway through the night and was a little cold at the contact points so i moved the poncho liner underneath me with just the blanket on top and i was perfectly warm for the rest of the night.

as to the sleeping bag vs liners-i think that the liners are just a bit more versatile. for instance, i could tie one or both up into the poncho on a cold day for extra insulation, or i could more easily share with another person in an emergency or in case i was with someone i wanted to snuggle with...:rolleyes:;)

as to the drizzly/wet conditions, i can't say for sure whether or not since it didn't do anything more than drizzle for a few minutes last weekend, but i would feel confident as long as i had a good size tarp (looking to upgrade to a 10x10' silnylon) and if it was really wet i would want to dig a small ditch around the perimeter to keep water from washing into the tarp. the tarp that i used was just about as tall as me, maybe an inch or two longer, and if it had rained or drizzled i would have probably got wet.

edited to add:
poncho liner vs wool blanket-the wool blanket that i have is a bit on the small side, i don't know how it compares to an army blanket or similar, but i think its a little smaller. the poncho liner in the stuff sack that kevin had was about the same size as the blanket, and as far as i could tell about the same weight, maybe a tad lighter. i like to fold my blanket up and put it against my back inside the pack to add padding against other items, so i would probably do the same with the poncho liners, but i will see when i get them. note though that the poncho liner was not only plenty long enough (whereas the blanket left my toes hanging out) but it was also quite wide, almost wide enough for me to double up and use as a sleeping bag alone. so a larger, warmer, more diverse blanket for about the same weight is definitely worth it to me.
 
Well, I think its cool you stuck with it! I wish you had pics though.

I'm going to try it too. When, I don't know. When gas isn't 3 bucks a gallon.
 
Right on! It sounds like you got this system worked out to your needs! It seems I always wake up in the middle of the night cold regardless of what ever I'm sleeping in! I think this sounds like a good set up.
 
one thing that can help alot if you still have trouble then you can get a warm winter hat, thick socks and a thin baselayer (longjohns) and that will keep you alot warmer too.

it didn't help me a ton, since the whole rest of me was cold, but when you are looking for that last bit of warmth it makes a difference.
 
Hi Simon.

What did you use under you? Did you have a pad or gather natural material? Even a very thin sheet of closed cell foam will help prevent the Earth from sucking the heat out of your body.

-- FLIX
 
i just had the groundsheet and tried to double up the blanket under me, which didn't work so well.

when i put the poncho liner under me though it insulated me well. it is thicker and a little stiffer than the blanket that i have.
 
If you really want to go minimalist/lightweight, you could take a closed cell foam pad, cut it to fit your torso (neck/shoulders--->mid thighs) - keep your core off the ground, and is very little weight in a pack.
 
For tarp camping, this Mantis Net has to be one of the coolest pieces of gear. 4.5 oz. I have seen full body ones, which is kind of a waste and harder to set up.

I am sure you can make your own version without too much difficulty.

Brian
 
I'm thinking of doing this to. My only question is how would you attach the bug net? Would you put it over or under the tarp? Thanks guys.
 
i ended up draping it over the tarp, since it was plenty long but not quite wide enough to stake out to the sides underneath the tarp.

i am trying to figure out a way to carry a more structured bug net, i'm thinking one of those net boxes that you can buy at walmart or something similar. that way i could rig it up inside the tarp and keep everything dry.
 
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