Originally Posted by
Tourist in MSN
We also always carried a 10 X 10 tarp we would put up if it was raining, we could hang out under the tarp, cook on a stove under the tarp, store our gear under it, etc.
As mentioned I vary between two setups: a minimum camping setup and a regular camping setup.
My minimum camping setup is this:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...e?ie=UTF8&th=1
On the PRO side, it serves as either tube tent or unzips to be a tarp. It cost me ~$25, is less than two pounds and fits inside my pannier.
On the CON side, it doesn't protect me from bugs and requires trees or something else if I want to string it up.
So I take along my minimal camping setup under several circumstances such as (a) typically shorter trips e.g. weekends or weeks and not months (b) as a backup solution when I expect to motel most of the time, but want flexibility (c) when I know more about bugs and weather, either because it is short-term and I can see weather forecasts or if I am in drier areas where I don't expect bugs. Below is an example where the town I stopped at had a motel, but it was full so I camped in their backyard.
In my full camping setup, I've mostly done with vestibule on a tent as well as a footprint. I haven't necessarily carried my tube tent as well. As far as freestanding situations go, those are the minority and I can sometimes work around it. However, I have also found situations where (a) I camped on concrete/asphalt (b) I set up my tent as a bug shelter inside - even on a mattress if it was questionable enough (c) it was convenient to not have to worry about getting stakes into the ground.