TarpTent in winter?

imported
#1

Tent alternatives in the winter? DO these tarps offer cold/wind protection? I am nervous about freezing to death. What about in the driving rain?

Kas

#2

Check out the photo & entry for my journal dated March 31, 2004 for what happens when you use a henry Shires tarptent in the snow. It was cold but, as you can see, the vents on the side close down from the weight of the snow. The cold came mostly from the ground. I used a reflective heat foil blanket and shared my tent with a hiker who only had a tarp. I shivered a little at first but slept okay after warming up. I did get wet from the body moisture trapped by the foil blanket. Still, better wet and warm than dry and cold. There are other tents that would be warmer, but it was more than adequate. Driving rain is not a problem in a tarptent. Mine is a 2-person tarptent with a floor and front beak. You have to orient it away from the rain. I also carried a tarp to put up for gear storage outside my tent and I would put that over the front door.

hitrailer

#3

After reading many many stories of the Tarp tent I am going with a Real Tent, I will start my thru-Hike in Feb. I have heard countless stories of being cold in these things, getting wet by blowing rain, and one way or another their gear always managing to get wet, a tent is going to keep you and your gear, warm and dry. Many people will swear by these things hanging fron a tree also, but the same applys for these also. However, The Henry Shires Tarp tent with a floor is close to a real tent and much lighter.

Thermo

#4

I think you’d be ok in a TarpTent starting in Feb. I’ve got one, too, and liked it for my hike. If it’s a wet/heavy snow I wouldn’t want to be in it, but in February you could be pretty secure that a spot in a shelter would be open for you.

0101

#5

I used my Tarptent Squall with sewn-in floor in the Smokies last Winter. It snowed 6" on the Tarptent. I noticed the tarptent was sagging with the weight of the snow so I had to knock it off all night. It was nothing all that bad. I’ve actaully encountered the same thing with a 3-season tent in the Winter. Overall, I would use it again as I experienced no real problems in the snow.

guru

#6

A lot of tarp enthusiasts will swear blind that it’s your sleeping bag, not your shelter that you should use for warmth and insulation, but you have to ask yourself exactly WHY?? and what’s so wrong with the combination. I used to have a tarp tent and although they have their advantages, they are prone to drafts and don’t warm up like a regular tent: one freezing night in the Bolivian Andes particularly springs to mind.

St Rick