Can someone explain the Tarp Versus Tent idea?

imported
#1

p.s. - I know what a tent is.

So what’s a tarp? A bivvy sack?

AnimalmMom

#2

All a trap is is a water proof roof, like a tent that guys out to what ever is around. Typically between two trees and tied at the sides to look like a house roof. It can be high or low to protect from wind and rain and tied different ways to accomidated the ground. The Go Lite brand has a “nest” or bug bivy that attaches under and has a waterproof floor. We hike with a couple that had one and it was cool. They tend to be a little lighter than tents and not as warm. But still nice I think.

Bushwack

#3

Or do you just sleep in the shelter if it rains? It just seems to me that if it rains a covering isnt enough to keep you dry, or am I completely whacked?

AnimalMom

#4

If it’s going to rain hit the shelter. Folks set the tarp low to the ground, these things are around 8’X10’ so they have a large surface to shed rain. You get a sit up height in the middle but the edges are only ten inches of the ground. Or you can have one edge touch the ground and build a leantoo with the wind at your back. Go to REI.com and type tarp in the search, look at the Walrus Trekker Tart and you can see the shape and the possible ways to set it up. You can use them without a floor, you just have to pick a nub so the water runs around you and not under. Or you can opt for a floor and bug net set up like GoLite’s Birdnest, a water proof bottom and some bug net that velcros to the top of the tarp. You get a four by nine area to spread out under.

Bushwhack

#5

Thanks for the help.

AnimalMom

#6

The weight savings tarp v. tent is significant and on long hikes, weight matters. Sil nylon fabric absorbs very little water as opposed to typical tent fabric which is treated taffeta. That’s why those that carry tents run for the (plentiful) AT shelters in the rain cause they know that their tents can double maybe even triple in weight from picking up water-- tarps using the silicone impregnated (expensive) treatment will not do this–water can be shaken off easily enough. Tarps will keep you dry if rigged right which is a mastered art. I’m still learning. The larger the tarp, the easier to rig it to stay dry. The more masterful at rigging you are the more comfortable you will be at getting by with a smaller tarp and saving even more weight.

The ultimate level to reach is the poncho/tarp: rainware that can be rigged for shelter… Now that’s incredible! I am in the process of making such a shelter and can email the designs or you can check them at www.unc.edu/~mkirk I really think tarps are better now for the AT. You’ll need to be extra careful where and how you rig the shelter, and you’ll need to carry some bug protection in the summer, but after you get comfortable with them, ttarps are great. I used a tube tent and tarp made from a cannibalized tube tent for the majority of my AT hike. You can read up on more relevant info at http://thru-hiker.com

Oh yeah, a bivy is a sack you can crawl into to keep your sleeping bag and you dry. It originated as a minimalist shelter for alpine climbers and due to the nature of the waterproof/breathable fabrics’ performance in the humid and wet conditions of the southeast appalachians is not the best option. The manufactured popular brands tend to weigh as much as a tarp and cost equal amount if not more… (w/b membrane fabrics cost mucho dinero. Hope this helps

Sweeper

#7

Tarps kind of scare me, but I’ll definitely try them out before deciding. I’d like to see them in action.

Been doing my research and it seems like I’d be a tenter rather than a shelter person but I’m flexible. I very well may bring my big Weimy so I’ll need some sort fo shelter.

We’ll see.

AnimalMom

#8

AnimalmMom: Can’t speak for anyone else but do have tarp experience. I carried a 10/12 sil tarp the whole journey. It has many limitations but no more than a tent. Never got wet and I can tell you I saw my share of nasty weather. Did have animals walk through on occasion, no big deal. In summer used a bug bivy to hide from black flies and mosquitos. Weighed less than tent and had much more room. Drawback, sometimes hard to find place to set up. Win some loose some. All in all it was lighter, roomier, but more primitive than tent. Every one I hiked with loved their tent.
Snowman Ga–Me 01

Snowman 01

#9

My advice is, get a tent.

Get the lightest fully enclosed tent you can find. The full enclosure is important because you want your tent to do two things: keep out water and keep out bugs. Most nights you’ll sleep in a shelter, so most nights your tent won’t get wet and not gain weight by moisture. If you use it and it does get wet, they don’t take long to dry out on a simple closeline in the sun while you take a few hours rest–and there will be times you take entire days off.

Again, my advice is get a tent–the lightest you can find–which should be somewhere in the vicinity of three pounds.

Sincerely–Paul English

Paul English

#10

I bought an 10 x 10 silicone-impregnated tarp from Campmor. I cut a foot off each side and reattached the grommits. (Just sewing straight lines - not rocket science. That gave me the perfect tarp (8 x 10)for my height (5’ 2"). I’m a confirmed tarper. If I’d been in a tent I never would have seen the little cub who paid me a visit one night. The visibility and airiness is excellent. You do have to find a solution for the bugs. I bought yardage of no-seeum netting and hang it from my tarp high point and kind of drape it around me and tuck it under me or my bag. Works for me and it’s lighter than a bug bivy. I love the height inside a tarp. I also found that if the perfect pitching area did not happen to be where I was, and rain came along, well, I’d open my umbrella and kind of create an “annex” to change the pitch of the tarp and the rain would run elsewhere. Happy tarping!

Two Hats