Tent, Tarp, Poncho ? etc

[Carrot Cruncher]

Without discussing/arguing the merits of staying in place or roughing it, for those people who have decided to plan for the possibility of having to rough it for a while, what is your choice of shelter and why ?

My initial plans involved a tent but unfortunately a decent lightweight one can be expensive (mine was fairly cheap but also fairly heavy) so a few months ago I purchased a second hand DD Tarp for a tenner at a carboot and I love it

It is extremely light which is a major factor imo, packs down nice and small, is flexible in the type of shelter you can make, in fact (at least in my opinion ) it is the perfect tool for the job

So whats your choice and why ?

[TeeDee]

Without discussing/arguing the merits of staying in place or roughing it, for those people who have decided to plan for the possibility of having to rough it for a while, what is your choice of shelter and why ?

My initial plans involved a tent but unfortunately a decent lightweight one can be expensive (mine was fairly cheap but also fairly heavy) so a few months ago I purchased a second hand DD Tarp for a tenner at a carboot and I love it

It is extremely light which is a major factor imo, packs down nice and small, is flexible in the type of shelter you can make, in fact (at least in my opinion ) it is the perfect tool for the job

So whats your choice and why ?

Bivvy Bag and Poncho Set+up as tarp. If need be you can push all your gear into the bottom of the bag and tucked the 'head' over , its then protected from elements whilst you bimble around with the poncho on. Secondly when the poncho isn't acting as a tarp you have a far less vertical visual profile in the woods or whatever to anyone who maybe looking.


QUICK UPDATE. With hindsight the Tarp AND Bag may sound like overkill and additional weight you don't need to be carrying. The reason I suggest it is that i have had to camp out in some pretty foul weather and a tarp by itself will not stop the horizontal rain that can occur , also the bag will provide a Insulation factor around your sleeping bag and stop on draughts and breezes from robbing precious warmth.
If you've slept out year round with just a tarp ie spring ,summer, winter , fair-doo's but I know for me to remain operational and functional the addition of a bag pays dividends.

[TomW]

In my bob I have a large tarp, normal blue one of the market. I chose it for ease of use and cost. My wife has a slightly smaller one that would be used as groundsheet unless we got aeperated where it would be big enough to be her shelter . If time and transport were.on our side I would also pickup our tent(s) for longer term comfort. But if necessary a tarp us enough for us. If you line it with a space blanket it can be pretty warm too!

[diamond lil]

I would be staying put if at all possible, but just wanted to say that tents are not cheap, are easily lost and they take time to put up and take down again. Plus they're very visible. I think the other things sound better.

[TomW]

Me too lil, it would be proper teotwawki to send me to the woods and even then I would hopefully have my vehicle. My bob is most likely to see action in the living room, when I've broken down or if I get stuck at work. All scenarios throw up used for a tarp when a tent would be fairly useless/impractical.

[pseudonym]

Bivvy bag and DD Tarp for me too, tried and tested in all 4 seasons, main advantage over a tent is you can see people approaching

[itsybitsy]

DD???

[pseudonym]

DD???

Brand of Hammock or Tarp:

http://www.ddhammocks.com/products

[itsybitsy]

So what do you do with a tarp then? Just string it up across a couple of trees?

[pseudonym]

So what do you do with a tarp then? Just string it up across a couple of trees?

Yep,

A few set up methods here, he is using a poncho but you'll get the idea: