TiHabanero

This weekend was hot and humid and I thought about using the tent without the fly, but for privacy/security reasons I kept it on. If I were out backpacking it would not bother me, but in a campground it does.
Does anyone use a mesh tent without a fly in a campground setting?
Am I being paranoid?

Rick

Out of sight, out of mind. Unless you are in a secluded place or with trusted friends keep the fly on the tent.

indyfabz

I’ve kept my fly attached but off more in a campground setting more times than I can remember. I think I’m still alive and unmolested.

zandoval 

I used to think a Rain Fly was more important than a mesh or rather mosquito net. Its really a pop up. I would not want to go without either one in the areas I camp. I think in areas where it rains allot a mesh/net is even more important than a rain fly... Ha

Tourist in MSN

If you had your own campsite, i.e. not in a hiker biker site, and the nearest that other campers were was 50 or more feet away, when you keep your rain fly off you should also keep your light off too.

Pratt

Pitching the tent without the rain fly (or sur toit, as my tent calls it) is probably a good way to make it rain at 2am.

staehpj1

I've done that lots of times when I used a tent.

These days I usually don't use the tent and rely on a small tarp and hoopless bivy or bug bivy. Often I sleep on top of them and don't pitch the tarp if I don't need rain or bug protection. It is called cowboy camping and I find it very pleasant when conditions allow.

PedalingWalrus

I suppose this would make sense in a desert environment between the sunset and sunrise.

Otherwise - too hot get have the sun beat on You during the day, plus ... that is when we're cycling ... right?

non desert environment - exactly ... good way to get rained on during the night unless You are a weekend warrior and You timed the weather forecast perfectly ....

... most mesh tents I had had the bottom half non screened ... thus creating a privacy band

I am confused about this ... unless I was biking Baja or something like that

andrewclaus

I'm at the stage in my life where if someone peeks in on me, the punishment is already done. Nobody is going to take a second look.

staehpj1

I figure that in the hiker biker sites folks are way less likely to care much about whether you are in a tent with opaque walls or not. Fairly often I have found others there were sans rain fly or even cowboy camping. Much less so in regular sites.

Tourist in MSN

Good point. I was thinking that it is pretty hard to see inside a mesh tent from the outside. And when I wrote the 50 foot limit for distance from others, I was simply thinking proximity, and that some hiker biker sites get more crowded. But you are correct, the bikers are less likely to get too concerned.

I think this was the most crowded campsite I stayed in on a bike trip.



But it was in Iceland, too cool and rainy to leave the fly off. But social norms in nordic countries are a bit different than USA.

My tent is slightly left of photo center, a small patch of yellowish green hanging on my bike behind my hoop style tent is my washed and still damp jersey.

djb

yup, but it depends.
as said, tents that have part non mesh on the lower part are nice, but if an all mesh tent, you can leave both doors open if applicable, or I've detached one end of fly for more air flow, ready for easy 2am rain scramble. Helps too with tent direction, open end away from neighbours if possible, but every site is different, so basically use common sense for the situation.
I've had times where other campers were fellow bike tourists, it was hot as hell and no one gave a hoot as we are sleeping anyway, other times just did doors and position doors so they aren't facing neighbours doors.

a real advantage to two door tents is better airflow with both vestibules open, yet reasonable privacy or just close one when changing etc

I'll add also that we too are old enough that at times we don't give a darn, so there's that, but strategic tent placement helps a lot

Doug64

My wife and I have used our tent a lot without the rainfly. If it was crowded, we just did our changing in the bathroom. It was not a problem.

Portugal, and it was hot! This our older tent, and it does not have a lot of netting.

MarcusT

I fold back the half of the fly that is over my head and position the tent so that end is less visible to the public.
Yea, it does not do much, but at least it hides my intimate scratching.

staehpj1

I have a knack for picking dates when there are record heat waves so I often find I want extra ventilation, besides it is nice sleeping in the open or barring that just having mesh over you. It is more likely in some areas than others, but I have often had weather I felt was reliable enough to do so on many nights on my trips in much of the American west. It the east it tends to be a little less frequent, but even there I still manage to do so some of the time.

We are talking about campground campsites, but another time where I have often done the no fly or no tarp thing was in picnic pavilions, gazebos, and other improvised camps that are under a roof, but bug protection is still needed.