Bivy, tent, or shelter?

imported
#1

i was just curious what people think the most effective way of spending the nights on the trail, i have heard many different opinions, bivy sack, tent, or shelter all the way

Clong

Clong

#2

I liked shelters and became conmfortable with them early on. Never had the issues many folks dislike about shelters (snoring, mice etc.) Maybe I was just too tired. They are great when it rains or weather turns nasty. If i hiked again id use a tent a lot more, more flexibility.

With that being said, don’t think of shelters as an option or easy way out of thinking/buying a tent/tarp. You need something other than shelters. You can’t always depend on them and it would be stupid to depend on them and not have an option. No one is gonna have sympathy for you if you show up to a shelter while its raining and it’s full. People don’t have to make room, although that is the general rule of thumb. Especially if they know your going ultra light and avoiding carrying the proper items because you want the easy way out. There are very light weight options i.e. tarps and hammocks so check em out!
In short, have something. Even when you think you know where ever thru for miles is and your sure no one is gonna be at that shelter, the mysterious boyscout troup of 40 shows up out of nowhere and monoplizes the place or its a holiday weekend and everyone and their moms are out.

A-Train

#3

You forgot about under the stars, weather permitting. I slept one night with Monty at my feet sideways, I had to put my feet on him to stretch out, it was also about four feet to the ground from the edge he was on. Long night. Some kind of shelter is nice even if its a garbage bag. I once slept in my Gregory Massif. Tight fit but I could pull the drift collar up to my shoulder and squish down inside.

bw

#4

After hiking a fair portion of the A.T, I did’nt have a problem with the shelters. It can be a bit of a drag when hikers turn up late or the early morning lunatics decide to use a 100 decibel flame thrower to cook breakfast…right next to your head!! (This happened to me). Apart from that, they take a bit of getting used to but not much. I recommend carrying some sort of shelter with you. You can always pitch your tent/tarp near the shelter and leave belongings inside, this avoids “unintentional antisocial” encounters. Good luck. Ross

Ross - London,England

#5

Well …I started with a tent, switched to a hammock for a few weeks and then went back to my tent. I like my tent as it gave me a lot of independance on where I camped and since I tend to snor a bit it kept me from annoying other hikers. The hammock was comforable but didn’t give me the type of “organization” I liked at night. I like to spread out my stuff a bit and do some journaling and maybe some reading. In the beginning I didn’t do much sheltering. They tended to be pretty full of hikers and mice. Later on in the hike however, I started using the shelters more. The hiking population thinned a bit and we had so much rain that I came to like being out of the weather when possible. Bottom line is that I believe you should carry some type of shelter, whether it be a small tent, a tarp or a bivy. Personally I would suggest a tent or tarp over the bivy, mainly because the bivy’s tend to be pretty cramped. You can get tents and tarps that weigh 2 pounds or less, which isn’t that bad all things considered. I would suggest that you NOT depend on shelter exclusively. As soon as you do that “Murphy’s Law” steps in and they end up all being full. As previously stated …it’s important to be flexible.

Footslogger

#6

Concur with all, don’t depend solely on shelters. It really cramps your milage and options (i.e. you have to be at a certain place at a certain time). They are nice and have a lot of room to move around in out of the rain and weather, but do fill up and get crowded.

These huge heavy duty garbage bags are sold today, which would work completely for you w/o anything else. And it would be good to have one as insurance even if you have a tent or tarp. You can roll out your sleeping bag and pad inside of them completely and this provides good protection again rain and moisture, plus provide something to help hold heat in also on chilly nights.

A large poncho provides good rain protection, can be used as a tarp and also can be used as a heat retainer. In fact hiking in them is tough due to the heat build up. They become something like a sauna. But talk about multiple use, a large pull over poncho can be shelter, rain gear, and warmth against the cold and chill all in one.

The nice thing about a tent or shelter is that you have a little room to move around, you can take your hiker boots off and your clothes and change into bed clothes. So that is really nice. It is tough to do this under a poncho or flapping in the wind tarp, but nothing is impossible.

:cheers

Maintain

#7

I think there are many variables when it comes to selecting where to sleep. My decision frequently depended on who I was hiking with that day, who else was there at the shelter, how far it was to the next shelter, or how far from the last shelter, the weather, the condition of the shelter, tenting spots in the area, etc.

Peaks

#8

Tent when taking the wife. Tarp when it is just me in cool weather. Tent for me when buggie. Looking for screen for tarp. Shelters are nice in bad weather (rain, snow, ice storm, etc.) Even though we had section hiked over 800 miles of the AT before our thru hike, we checked out our options in the backyard. When it was raining or snowing we headed outside with the tent and put it up to see what would happen and how wet it got on the inside putting it up. Every time it went below 20 degrees we were outside in the tent in our sleeping bags and spent the night to see how our pads and bags worked in keeping us warm. With over 40 years of backpacking I still learn something everytime I experiment. So give it a try. You would not believe the number of people at Neels Gap buying new equipment. Who are buying it again in Damascus VA. Don’t experiment on your thru hike, do it at home it is a lot cheaper!!! One hiker got his first maildrop at Neels Gap… 54 lbs of food!!!

Papa Smurf