post up your ultra packable shelters

Daniel L said:
Nice stuff - for the tarp only guys, how do you deal with mosquitoes or is that not a concern in your environment?
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my tarp in the picture was set up in a swamp, on the Ocklawaha River. Yeah, 'skeeters are a problem. "Off "spray with Deet, and a ThermaCell make life liveable though.
 
Hilleberg Soulo. It's 4lb 7oz, not bad for a really well built four season tent, and it packs up really small.

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MEC Guides Tarp and MEC Goretex Bivy

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Question for my fellow tarpers...

How do you keep blow by from getting on your bag?

I usually end carrying a bivy/bag cover of some sort. But that adds weight.
 
I find more and more of my backcountry trips I'm going w/ my eVENT bivy, it packs up extremely small, it's lightweight, it has a very small footprint allowing to use almost any site, it's quick (like 30 seconds quick! :D) and I find it adds almost 10 degrees to my sleep system allowing me to go w/ a lighter bag. If it's not cloudy, I have an unobstructed view of the sky, cowboy camping at it's finest!

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I'm using it year round, winter included, it's great in a snow trench or cave- keeps everything nice and dry (and toasty!)

If I know it's likely to be raining, I'll add a 5x5 tarp (5 oz) just to be able to cook/eat out of the rain

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It's a little spartan to be sure, but it's simple and effective and adds to the wilderness experience.
 
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Hi
What is the weight of a bivi bag and a small tarp?

I looked at the Wild Country bivi and a small tarp vs the 3x3 tarp.
The 3x3 tarp was lighter and so much more versatile, I scrapped the bivi idea
 
the bivy is 13 oz, the 5x5 tarp (when I bring it) is 5 oz

the simplicity, small foot print, added warmth and 4 season use is what makes a bivy appealable to me- it's not for everyone to be sure, but either is tarp camping- when my wife goes with, we take a tent :)

I'm assuming you are talking meters, not feet- 3x3' would be pretty darn small :D
 
I also find the tarp/bivy combo pretty hard to beat for versatility. Most of the time, the bivy is all I need or use. And like MTW says, you can take advantage of smaller and sometimes more sheltered places than you can with a tent, minimizing the need for the latter. And when it gets nasty, I can quickly pitch a small, lightweight silnylon tarp overhead. If you want to go light and simple (my bivy/tarp combo weighs 29oz), but still have good weather protection, it's a good way to go. :thumbup:
 
Smithhammer said:
I also find the tarp/bivy combo pretty hard to beat for versatility. Most of the time, the bivy is all I need or use. And like MTW says, you can take advantage of smaller and sometimes more sheltered places than you can with a tent, minimizing the need for the latter. And when it gets nasty, I can quickly pitch a small, lightweight silnylon tarp overhead. If you want to go light and simple (my bivy/tarp combo weighs 29oz), but still have good weather protection, it's a good way to go. :thumbup:
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what happens if you get stuck in a pissing,driving rain? a tarp doesn't offer but top protection. unless it is a huge tarp line 10x13.
 
hard driving rain is the reason a bivy is commonly used w/ smaller tarps, the bivy is either waterproof or highly water resistant- this protects your sleep system from any rain splash

w/o a bivy, a small tarp offers protection but in a hard driving rain there is a definitely a chance you or your gear could get wet

I used to use a poncho-tarp that was small (5x8) w/ a water resistant bivy and it fared pretty well (it was also damn light, the tarp was ~ 8 oz and the bivy ~ 5 oz and it also served as my rain gear), even in some pretty hard rains; I've since switched to a fully waterproof bivy for the sheer simplicity w/ just a minor hit to weight

my previous poncho tarp/bivy combo-

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mtwarden said:
hard driving rain is the reason a bivy is commonly used w/ smaller tarps, the bivy is either waterproof or highly water resistant- this protects your sleep system from any rain splash
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This.

You can set your tarp so it has a steep pitch down to the ground for side protection, but yeah - in a driving rain, water will find it's way in and around the tarp and probably end up soaking your bag. That's where a good lightweight and waterproof bivy really shines.
 
Smithhammer said:
This.

You can set your tarp so it has a steep pitch down to the ground for side protection, but yeah - in a driving rain, water will find it's way in and around the tarp and probably end up soaking your bag. That's where a good lightweight and waterproof bivy really shines.
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better to carry a tent,and a small shovel to make a rain trench.
 
I will often use a tent @ high elevation in the winter (or any season w/ my wife! :)), but I'd simply rather save the weight/volume otherwise- our dangerous fauna here make short work out of tents or tarps :D
 
In the winter we bring a few 5 gallon pails:




All the other seasons it's a Warbonnet Blackbird:

 
My DIY hammock and tarp (I also have a bugnet for it) Below a 3 season Primeloft Gold underquilt I just made. I have slept in -10.F in it with winter underquilt. Everything packs small and about 4lbs with the hammock, bugnet, 12 foot tarp and underquilt.



emergency signal/tarp/poncho/hammock/watercontainer 7ozs DIY.
 
gsx-rboy750 said:
My DIY hammock and tarp (I also have a bugnet for it) Below a 3 season Primeloft Gold underquilt I just made. I have slept in -10.F in it with winter underquilt. Everything packs small and about 4lbs with the hammock, bugnet, 12 foot tarp and underquilt.



emergency signal/tarp/poncho/hammock/watercontainer 7ozs DIY.
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what capacity pack do you use with this setup? 35 litre?
 
uluapark said:
what capacity pack do you use with this setup? 35 litre?
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My tent even for single is a MSR Hubba Hubba. This stuff packs smaller then my tenting setup. Typically I am not a gram weeny and use my Arcteryx Arrakis65 which can go small or large and is Bombproof and I got but have not used much a Granite Gear VC60.
I am in Wisconsin so even in July I pack for 30-40'f.
 
I wanted something that was light and packed down small enough that I could carry it in a daypack for an unexpected overnighter, but was good enough to use on a multi-day outing

Current setup is a Grand Trunks Nano 7 hammock w/ straps and buckles, MacCat Standard tarp, warbonnet bugnet, and I'm in the process of modifying an Ozark Trail cocoon 250 down sleeping bag into a peapod (adding pass-through holes, adding down, and treating with downproof for water resistance)

All in all it compresses really stinking small.
 
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