Guys who use tarp shelters?

[Z Barebow]

I have done it for several hunting trips. (That is my buddy setting up his FL2 in 2nd pic. Sorry, it is NOT a two MAN tent!)

I use a 8 x 10 sil tarp. I also use a 5x7 sil tarp beneath my pad to keep it clean.

Pretty simple. I leave paracord tied to couple of the eyelets and guy it to near by trees. I could use one of my trecking poles to support and anchor to the ground if needed.

It is colder sleeping under a tarp. Do not camp in low/damp areas. The nightly dew/condensation will accumulate in the lower/foot section of the tarp and your bag will get damp as it brushes against it. Also if you have mosquitos, be ready for misery. (An August MD scouting trip di not yield much sleep!)

FWIW. I now have a BA FL2 and I am not going back to tarp camping unless my life depends on it.

 

[Wrong Burgundy]

Tarps take a bit of getting used to, but once you figure out a few tricks (how to pitch it, keep it on high ground like a tent, etc.) you will like it for early season hunting. And the weight savings are nice.

I use a GoLite Shangri La 2, or GoLite Lair, and my hunting buddy uses a Seek Outside tipi tent, and it is roomy enough for both of us. For a ground cloth, I use either Polycro plastic sheeting (clear, super light and surprisingly durable) or more frequently a lightweight silnylon tent 'footprint' for a one man tent that I found at an online sale. This fits inside my tarp tent, but doesn't extend beyond the edges of the tarp, so if it rains I don't funnel water into my sleeping area. It also has grommets, etc. so I can pin it down in the corners so it stays under my pad, and protects the pad as well from the bare ground. The Shangri-La 2 uses two trekking poles (which I use hiking in with all the time) and is roomy for one hunter. I can get in with my boots on, sit on my sleeping bag/pad and keep gear handy as well. I only use a groundcloth on half of the interior (where the sleeping bag is rolled out) and the other half is just the bare ground; dirty/muddy boots go there.
I also pitch it tight to the ground into the prevailing winds (the foot of it) and slightly raise the opposite/door side, to give it a bit of venting. Early September is usually not bitter cold, and the nights can be warm; the circulation of air is nice, and keeps condensation down.

The Shangri La 1 and 2 models are getting hard to find (discontinued items) but you may start with something like this: http://www.backcountry.com/mountain...YmNzQ2F0NzExMTAwNTk&skid=MOU0231-GOLYL-ONESIZ

Good price, good design, and gets you into the tarp camping world for not too much upfront cost. Something to consider. Good luck -- practice with a few test runs/setup prior to the season will help a lot once you pull the trigger on one.

 

[specialk]

I don't want to hijack but have a question about late season tarp camping.

I'm going to go out for 2nd rifle OTC and wonder about warmth using a hammock, 0* bag and a tarp. I'm pretty hot blooded but from reading above it seems I should think about a 2 man ten.

One other good fortune, I'll be in CO next week and will be checking out my gear (and doing a little scouting too)

 

[jimss]

Not many have caught on to it but what works fantastic for me is to use the poles and fly off my 4 season tent in early fall/winter.My entire setup weighs around 2 lbs and is bomberproof! I have a Nallo GT and there is more room than you would ever need under it for you, your gear and a couple hunters under the fly. I've also been in 1' of snow and high wind with no problem!

Whether you go with a tarp or fly I've used painter plastic that you can get at Home Depot with my Neoair. Never had a problem. In Alaska I've used the same set up buy with a bivy bag under the fly.

 

[Epfd217]

I have not specifically done tarp camping, but I have done the hammock camp and it can work really well. I have a 2-person ENO hammock (weighs more than it needs to but its what I own), the bugnet for the hammock and a 5x7' siltarp for a rainfly. I've camped with it several times in the Boundary Waters Wilderness. I sitll run my thermarest pad in the hammock, otherwise the air circulation below you will make you cold in a hurry, even in summer temps. My overweight hammock camp is just over 3lbs. A 1-person hammock setup would be close to a pound lighter and provides all the necessary sleeping cover, but lacks cover for your pack, cooking and getting dressed.

I carry an ultralight 2-man tent if I'm hunting or if I anticipate staying in the same place for any length of time. My UL tent is just over 3lbs and toltally worth it in my mind. To each their own. I Know guys who still skip the tarp and use a bivy sack, with or without the pad.

As far as cheap, there is nothing cheaper than a few scraps of leftover tyvek. I say save your money for a BA or REI UL tent in the future. You'll want one, at least I did.

 

[specialk]

Thanks to jims and epfd, I'll be trying my combo out next week, I'm guessing a thermarest will be on my shopping list very soon.

 

[Hunts]

I like the pyramid style(floorless) the best. Have used various Black Diamond ones over the years and stayed very dry and comfortable. Some tarps are going to be lighter but will not give you good storm protection. In these situations you have 2 choices- 1) Bug out and head home or 2) Build a big fire and spend some time drying out your sleeping bag, etc.

 

[gman82001]

Thanks everyone I missed a few posts and just got caught up on this .... I may be holding off until the winter to buy anything because my work schedule may be trying to creep it's way into my long hunting season so I may just do the day hikes this season and re-evaluate what I want to do before next season

 

[wa_archer]

Bha

not sure if anyone mentioned it but check out backcountry college on backcountry hunters and anglers website. great way to use a tarp to make a tent.

https://www.backcountryhunters.org/...f-the-backcountry-college-ultralight-shelters

 

[gman82001]

Thanks a bunch for that

 

[Kaitum]

I sitll run my thermarest pad in the hammock, otherwise the air circulation below you will make you cold in a hurry, even in summer temps.

Thank you for this input. I bought a Hennessey Hammock (the ones with the built in bug net / rain fly) several years ago but have never used it on a back pack / hunting trip. I had always heard air circulation underneath makes for some very cold sleeping conditions if not laying on an insulated pad of some sort. This confirms I'll be taking a pad with me if I ever decide to use my hammock as a lightweight option for camping.

 

[royalaxation]

I solo backcountry bivvy hunted in Utah's High Uinta Wilderness a full week last year w/ just a tarp and a bivvy sack. I highly recommend the tarp setup described in the Backcountry College video from Twisted Stave -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0b5Effcnq6Y. Worked really well. I used a large sil-nylon tarp.

While the NeoAir Thermarest can be used directly on the ground, you'd probably want to clear out as much duff and pokey stuff as you can.

Another idea: slip the pad and your sleeping bag into an OR bivvy sack -- you'll stay warmer, you won't risk puncturing your pad -- it's always a good idea to have a patch kit w/ you if you're packing an inflatable pad -- and if your tarp leaks or rain puddles in under your tarp, you'll stay dry.

Benefits of this system:
*OR bivvy's are bombproof, waterproof, ultralight, and if you just leave your sleeping bag in the bivvy when you pack up, it'll all cram into a compressible stuff sack, meaning you save TONS of room in your pack;
*the tarp packed into the groundcloth bag that came w/ another tent I own
*plenty of room for all your gear
*just enough room to stand up
*all you need is four stakes, some p-cord, and a stick, which, when you're hunting forests and mountains, y'know, they're everywhere!
*there are hundreds of ways to setup a tarp tent (although some of them are more practical than others -- http://www.equipped.com/tarp-shelters.pdf)
*And you'll feel like a backcountry badass w/ your barebones system and the know-how you've gained from learning the knots and process to pitch your tarp

Drawbacks of this system:
*tarps are drafty
*tarps don't insulate well
*potential for getting waterlogged in a downpour
*tarps may not hold up very well in stiff winds

 

[royalaxation]

This year, I'm trying the Stratospire 1 tent from Tarptent, a Designed- and Made-in-America company out in California.

http://www.tarptent.com/stratospire1.html

It's a trekking pole tent w/ large vestibules on either side of the living space that w/stands strong winds, punishing downpours, and a modicum of snowfall.

It's ultralight, dirt cheap (as far as ultralight tents are concerned), minimalist, and it utilizes tools I always have w/ me anyways -- my trekking poles. (I don't want to be humping out 100+lbs of meat and gear w/out any additional stability and support; doing so is a great way to brutalize your back and knees and shorten your effective backcountry backpacking hunting life, just ask any wildland firefighter who's been at the job for more than three years).