Any experience with basic tarp shelters in the rain?
09-20-20, 11:39 PM
#26
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A 3 season free standing tent is most appropriate because you can’t find nice soft grass everywhere to stake out a tarp and you need it to be waterproof. Doug64 is right. How does a tarp work on hard ground ya can’t get a stake into? I tried a Tarptent squall? 2 for a few nights and hated it. Waste of money if you aren’t in the ideal campsite. TNF Tadpole 2 works well for me.
09-21-20, 08:44 AM
#27
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My big agnes HV 1 copper spur bikepacking tent weighs 2.5 lbs. No bugs or critters, water proof, no condensation/clammy like a bivy. Long enough for me, can sit up in it and has a small fly for shoes or a bag at the door for cover. Not quite sure what the OP goals are? Seems ilke a tarp would be lacking?
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09-22-20, 07:27 PM
#28
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As fate would have it... I went digging for a bag to use tomorrow for something. I did not find the bag. However, what I did find was my entire hammock set up. Here I thought I left it at the cabins.. That also means that since it was hidden in a box here it never made it up to the cabins to start with. I normally keep the set in a dry sack (heavy kayaking type, 20L) and I recall looking for it thinking it was surely in one of the two dry sacks I use for that purpose and not seeing it.
Anywho... This changes my whole game plan. I got both the tarp with doors (separate parts) and the hammock. So if I am stringing up the tarp I might as well string up the hammock. And its fully enclosed - zip up bug net - so is critter-proof.
Anywho... This changes my whole game plan. I got both the tarp with doors (separate parts) and the hammock. So if I am stringing up the tarp I might as well string up the hammock. And its fully enclosed - zip up bug net - so is critter-proof.
09-23-20, 06:27 AM
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My feeling is that once you have thrown in a ground cloth and a tarp and a rope as a main guide line, tie downs and stakes, you might not be saving yourself much weight and then you don't have a way to keep the bugs out nor a guarantee of staying dry vs. today's lightweight tent.
And if it’s been raining before you set up camp you are going to want a floor unless you like sleeping in mud.
Last edited by indyfabz; 09-23-20 at 06:31 AM.
09-23-20, 10:56 AM
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Most of my tarp camping was done decades ago when there was snow on the ground. A space blanket worked great as a ground sheet. Little heavy but it was quite strong. I do not mean the single use ones, the one I used was fiber reinforced and was quite durable.
09-23-20, 11:13 AM
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A piece of Tyvek also makes for a nice ground cloth beneath a tarp or tent but it can be a little noisy until it is more broken in. I've heard of people tossing it in a wash machine to speed up the process but I've never done this myself to know if it really works.
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09-23-20, 01:03 PM
#33
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I've used tarps quite a bit with car-camping and last week used one while bike touring in northern MN. We expected and had variable weather. Tarps can offer a lot of protection for very little weight. We have a 10x12 silnylon tarp that weighs in just shy of a pound. Add in setup lines & rigging lines and stakes and we're at about 2 lbs. If you take two additional setup poles that can add a half pound(for 50 inch aluminum tent-type poles) to 1.25 lbs for a pair of adjustable hiking sticks. We had hiking sticks last week.
We also had a 4.5 lb two-person tent. Lows at night got down to the low 30's..we were comfortable and had a great trip.
We also had a 4.5 lb two-person tent. Lows at night got down to the low 30's..we were comfortable and had a great trip.
09-23-20, 02:45 PM
#34
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Yup, washing works. And the Tyvek tape works really well too.
09-23-20, 03:13 PM
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The photos above are an excellent illustration of the importance of site selection. Site selection, and experience with your equipment, is often more important your equipment is. The newest, most expensive tent will flood when pitched in a swale. The poor guy with a tarp can stay comfortably dry a few meters away.
09-23-20, 04:56 PM
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Yep, it is a Morrison 2 tent. I like it a lot. Plenty of room for the two of us, easy to set up, fairly light, inexpensive and dry. I think I paid $125 a few years ago. On one tour this summer we had a 20 minute cloudburst..monsoon, horizontal rain & couldn't see across the street (we were in a bar at the time grabbing a bite to eat) white-squall downpour. We got back to camp and inside the tent and contents were bone-dry. I'd buy another..they're still available.
Last edited by fishboat; 09-23-20 at 04:57 PM. Reason: typo
09-23-20, 04:59 PM
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