Cheap Bikepacking Shelters/Sleep Systems
 

Over the past few days I have been trying different methods of attaching my backpacking gear to my bike. The one thing that has been giving me problems is my tent. It’s a cheap 2 person backpacking tent and it’s very bulky for being a backpacking tent. As much as I would love the excuse to buy another tent, it’s just not in the budget for this season (at least not right now).

I am a huge fan of using what I already have. Which has led me to the desire to try two different methods of shelter. One is making a tarp tent out of my existing backpacking tarp, the other is to try my hand at hammock camping. What appeals to me about hammock camping is also the myriad of uses for the hammock besides a place to sleep, such as a camp chair.
My dilemma is the support poles for my tarp. In the past I used trekking poles. But my poles are too long and too bulky to strap to my bike frame. They might work in a pinch though.

So what is your inexpensive shelter/sleep system?

Won't a simple tarp, ground cloth, and a bit of rope be your cheapest shelter system. Wont protect you from bugs or maybe keep you as dry as a proper tent or bivy but it could work much of the time.

Agree with Robow, if you are where there are trees that you could use for a hammock, you should be able to support a tarp.

I have bought cheap poles, then cut the segments to shorter lengths to meet my needs. I have a trekking pole style tent that needs two poles, I cut longer poles down so that the poles will fold up short enough for a front pannier.

There was a recent thread on shelters and sleeping systems, there might be ideas there.
https://m.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?p=22431696

yes a simple tarp will do, however trees can be sparse… hence I can’t always use the hammock, and can’t always find a stick.

cutting up tent poles would work, except all of my tent poles are fiberglass and are meant to be bent to make up their strength. I have already tried setting up my tarp with several different sets of tent poles on hand, and without sewing in pockets to secure the poles, they won’t work.

I read through the other thread and it’s aimed at weight shaving, I’m trying to shave volume as well as pennies. 99% of the time I sleep with just an inflatable mattress and my sleeping bag, however that 1% of the time I need a shelter, I really need a shelter.

I guess my best bet is to find a way to cut down my trekking poles to be smaller and then reassemble them strong enough to support 30mph wind gusts.

If it is reliably dry, cowboy camping would solve your problem. Here in the NE, it rains about 30% of the time, and has bugs 100% of the time in the warm months, so a tent is pretty much a given.

“Cowboy” camping is how I generally go… but as I get older snuggling down in a burrito for a length of time sucks, especially when the freak thunderstorm comes in mid day and last throughout the next day… precisely what happened today.

Add a bit of netting over your face for buggy nights and you are good to go.

I use a tarp and a hoop-less bivy or bug bivy depending on the trip, but often cowboy camp. I can slide into the bivy if I need to. Often I just pull the tarp over me and my gear if an unexpected shower pops up. I pitch the tarp if bad weather seems at all likely.

Some of this may depend on when and where you choose to tour.

Can you rig something up to carry the poles alongside a fork arm?

I have been looking into this as an option, as of right now it’s not feasible… my bike is a 56 frame and my trekking poles stick out about 6” past the seatpost when butted against the fork tube.

I’m a tall skinny guy at 6’2” and 145lbs on my good days. I suffer from many joint and muscle ailments, and biking is my biggest relief to the pain. My biggest pain triggers are cold and wet; combine those two and it can take weeks to get me out of bed again and able to function.

Most of y’all’s comments I’m discarding because for me they just won’t work.. I need a place to warm up and dry out before the cramps set in… I have learned how to set up my shelters quick fast and in a hurry… typically I can be set up with a shelter, fire going, and coffee on in under 10 minutes, add another two minutes to get comfortable and start peeling my wet cloths to start drying out. In order to do this a burrito or bivy isn’t going to work… I have to be able to sit up and stretch at a minimum, kneel or stand at a maximum (depends on how much energy I exerted throughout the day).

I already have my Cowboy Roll for dry days… I’m not worried about that… Throwing a tarp over me for several days I may as well have stayed at home.

I am asking for advice on how to either strap my existing poles to my bike, or where to find some cheap aluminum poles (under $40.00) that are between 18 and 20” long, or where to buy stuff to make my poles… my initial post was hoping to see some clever ideas people have done to set up a minimalist camp in some of the worst camping conditions imaginable.

Thank you Bearhawker for the suggestion… I will look into the fork position more clearly.

I plan on bikepacking my back yard. Northwest east Oregon, Southeast Washington, and into the base of the Idaho Panhandle. I want to leave as soon as possible. The temps are above freezing at night, lower elevations are passable, and day time temps are bearable for all day rides. The trout are biting, and the salmon are running. I have about 4 weeks before the heat gets unbearable and pushes me to higher elevations where food and water are scarce for a month or so.
The only problem is the unpredictable rain. Normally it’s starting to dry out by now, but this year the rain keeps coming… I can get 5 or six hours of good ride time in between storms on most days.

Just practice setting up your tent without poles... You can do it...

Other wise all you need is a Light weight tarp 12x12 and a Bug net...

Anything else ya need you can find along the way...

already have a 12x12 backpacking tarp and a bug net… I find the net to be more hassle than it’s worth. Bugs don’t seam to like me.

Unless you're in the desert, surely you can find one tree or sign/fence post as my friend has done here. The bugs weren't bad on that tour and he had a beautiful view of the Missouri River that evening. Made possible by a tarp, a few stakes, and a piece of rope.


https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...9f5755a016.jpg

yes I’m on the edge of the desert… my first night camp spot is about 15 miles from the closest tree sizable enough to support a ridgline. Most of the sage brush is under 24” tall if I’m lucky I might find a tumble weed large enough. But I can’t afford to take that chance.

The way your friend has his tarp tent configured is exactly how I set my tarp up on most occasions. Although he isn’t 300 feet from the water.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...4ba66b5602.jpg
When I cowboy camped, I'd always bring a tarp with poles in case of rain. I went cheap and heavy-ish on the poles by repurposing old fiberglass tent poles. I took out the shock cord and cut them into a length that would fit into my pannier added back the connectors when needed and rethreaded the shock cord. It wasn't hard to do. They're heavier than aluminum poles, but there's only two of them so it's not really that big of a deal. Running a ridgeline between two trees would save on the poles. You can use your bike as one of the poles if you have something for the other side.
In the picture below, I'm using my fiberglass DIY poles: I can dig them out sometime and get a picture of them if you'd like.

that is an awesome camp setup. Great picture and explanation. I think my backpacking tent poles are too light… but this gives me an idea to see if I can pick up some replacement poles for a heftier tent and modify those… I know Bi-Mart sells the aluminum joints and shock cord for poles… they might have a replacement universal tent pole kit..

Edit:
I found these which would be the same brand Bi-Mart carries

https://www.amazon.com/Coghlans-Fibe...99019161&psc=1

If you had a few months, I would suggest buying a cheap aluminum tent pole from asia on Ebay. Shipping these days from asia can be fast or can take several months, it is a roll of the dice. Before covid, I bought tent poles from asia to use for trekking pole tents, made something similar to a click stand for a couple of my bikes. But I was not in a rush. Even before covid, shipping often took a month. And costs from asia on some of this cheap stuff from asia have doubled since before covid.

For a tarp, the 11 mm ones would be best, cut the segments to the desired length with a hack saw. I used trekking pole rubber feet, also shipped from asia, bought on Ebay. But in the past few years, shipping costs and delays for shipping have gotten bad.

My substitute for a click stand as an example in photo, segments cut short enough to fit in my handlebar bag when collapsed. This is the 11 mm pole.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...51f0e54597.jpg

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...d6ef0d5973.jpg

I have done the same for trekking pole type tents where the pole is less than four feet long, with both 11 mm and with 8.5 mm poles. I cut the segments short enough so that I could fold them up to fit in my front pannier. The 8.5 mm poles were too small for the trekking pole rubber feet, so I wrapped some electrical tape around the pole to make it thick enough that the trekking pole rubber feet would grip and stay on.

This won't solve your immeditate problem of wanting to leave immediately, but if you planned in advance for your next trip, it might work. If you wanted to use longer than four feet, I would suggest the 11 mm poles.

The point I am going to make is very much counter to what M Rose is after with compact options that are easy to bike pack attach to a bike.

If the above is in the mix -

You want a good shelter - as in a sturdy tent.

I am somewhat in the same boat getting in to periods of soreness. Usually that is major soreness after doing something I am not in shape to do and my recovery takes over a month. So I can relate somewhat, perhaps not to the same extent/frequency as you.

Having been on tour for several weeks in some pretty raw weather and hunkering down for a couple days in camp to ride out weather - your tent is your best friend to escape said weather - if that is what you are trying to do. Otherwise, ducking out to a bed and breakfast or hotel would be a lot more comfortable - if there is the option on your tour where you end up trying ride out said weather to do that (if there is one around, if you can afford it?).

From some prior threads/posts - I think you've seen my videos on the Ohio to Erie tour I did fall of '20. If you havent - the 1st one was pretty long and broken in to segments on types of gear. There was a whole section on shelter options. I had the options of all of what is discussed in the thread here, minus the trekking poles. I could cut sticks/tree limbs to make poles or use sectional tent poles if it got to that to ground pitch a tarp. With all the options coupled with the riding - I found that my body took to ground dwelling much better than hammock camping. The one time I was most comfortable in the hammock was the 1st night I was out. I stealth camped and the hammock was significantly less work to get up and down so it was the best option to keep "stealthy" - and why I used it other times on the trip. Once I was in to the trip my back didn't work right in the hammock. I actually found that very strange because I switched to a hammock many years ago for backpacking and it was a significant improvement in my sleeping on camping trips (whether backpacking or not). However, the way my body worked with being on the bike day after day - that really messed with things and coupled with the hammock my back had a really hard time. Therefore, going to the ground in the tent was significantly better on the trip.

Back to the point about tents - if that is what you are wanting to do - camp (as opposed to bed and breakfast or hotel it for the trip) - then my (significant) suggestion is to have a quality sturdy tent. When you are cooped up in the tent for a whole day and 2 nights you will appreciate this. If you DONT have a quality sturdy tent you might be laying there kicking yourself for not having one.

What I will say, additionally, about sturdy tents and waiting out weather - laying in a tent not able to get up, stand, stretch, and get in other positions other than those you can do horizontal or leaning up on an elbow, gets very boring and tiring.

My point - consider your specific scenario with how your body reacts to things and plan accordingly. If you need to keep things light and limited - then consider other options (bed and breakfast, hotel, call a friend to pick you up) and factor them in to your trip. What you don't want to do is "get out there" and run in to trouble and end up in otherwise avoidable misery.

When I read where you are I was thinking dry, but read on to see you are having wet weather. So you need some cover. Still since you say elsewhere that bugs aren't a problem a tarp should work. I find that I can genreally get by without carrying poles. The bike can be a pole on one end and for some pitches one is enough, but for two the other end can be a tree, picnic table, sign post, fence, guard rail or whatever.

Edited to add... I often think about getting back near that general area. I figure that the Sisters area would be great for some mixed off road touring and maybe some backpacking thrown in.

yes typically we are very dry here. This year we are abnormally wet. I feel like the coast moved in… I think I even smelled the ocean on this morning’s breeze.

I would love to head to Sister’s. I was down that way last year for Memorial Day Weekend and hiked around quite a bit from base camp. I remember wishing would have brought my bike.

KC8QVO i really wish a tent right now was an option… and I still haven’t completely given up on it…. Your ‘20 Earie Canal Trip combined with the crazy weather pattern we are currently having is what made me realize I might be hunkered down for several days at a time.

Tourist in MSN your poles look exactly like what I am wanting. Small pack volume, but tall enough to make a decently size shelter support. I am going to look into them for my permanent pole solution.

I think there still is a Pacific La Nina, maybe for a few more months, that could keep you a bit damper than normal. That has kept Wisc unusually cool through Apr and into May.

I had not thought to look at Amazon, they have one like I have bought before.
https://www.amazon.com/MagiDeal-Repl...dp/B06XKJ8Z9P/

But note the delivery dates, might be shipped from Asia.

I had to spend some quality time with a spreadsheet to do the calculations for how long to cut each segment to get the length I needed and to get it short enough to fold.

Looks like they have the rubber feet too.
https://www.amazon.com/Walking-Rubbe...dp/B099N2FJ9G/

I am a visual person. I have found for projects like this that Sketchup makes life very simple.

Tarptent sells poles of various lengths for their tents at reasonable prices.

It seems your biggest hurdle is not knowing how to pitch a tarp taking advantage of your natural terrain. Other posters have offered plenty of suggestions that work great. Maybe if you searched YouTube for tarp pitching ideas you'd find a few solutions you could work with.