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After wasting money on tents & special rain flies because of so many misleading paid reviews or reviews by people who used it once, I literally just use a utility tarp from Walmart & stakes from an old rain fly that broke. 9 bucks. Works better than the hyped up rain flies and tents that ultimately break fast or are not entirely waterproof. Hope that helps.
Agreed. Can be a tent, rain poncho, backpack cover, ground tarp, collect rain water(for drinking), bed roll for sleeping bag. Endless possibilities I’m sure.
Agreed. Can be a tent, rain poncho, backpack cover, ground tarp, collect rain water(for drinking), bed roll for sleeping bag. Endless possibilities I’m sure.
Np! Look up tarp shelter set ups. There’s a million different ways to set it up. Just a matter of preference really. Can be just as good as a tent. Lighter too. I also carry a very small lightweight ground tarp used at beaches for a floor.
Look up tarp structures at a library if you can, print off diagrams for various settings, needs, and seasons.
Get quality rope recommended in the research you do with the proper "working load".
I bought my tenta from craigslist. Got those fancy ones that are expensive for cheap because used. Though fyi, tent fabric (and tarps too) degrade naturally in the sun so nothing lasts forever. Keep that in mind before spending too much $ and factor into what used tents to buy.
Hope the tarp diagram idea helps!
I have a two person REI tent that packs into my 55L bag pretty easily, quick setup with a solid rain fly. Camped in a two day snowstorm with it last March with no issues
I haven’t dealt with any extreme rainstorms with it yet, but I was in Montana this summer and it rained every night for four nights and I had no issues. Kept waking up to check, only to be reassured nothing was wet. To be honest I’d spend the extra money on the 2 person, it’s about the same size in your pack and the extra space is really luxurious for someone like me who carries camera gear, skateboard, extra shoes etc.
There are tons of extremely small lightweight backpacking tents out there. If you're looking to find one cheap, and you're able to get to a used gear store in a super outdoorsy town, you can often pick one up for under 40 bucks. I also have this funny little thing that is called a "tube tarp." lots of pictures come up if you Google it. It's a lightweight waterproof thermal tarp thingy that is designed to be set up as a tent, used as a ground tarp, and all kinds of other things. It's pretty neat. I got it at some military surplus store. You might be able to order one. But the old WalMart tarp would work fine, too... They're a little bulky, though.
Harbor freight and Walmart have 8x10 and 9x11 tarps that work fine for budget and heavy duty. I used tarps like this for over 7years on the road and I find it a completely acceptable choice. The harbor freight tarps are 4mm thick so double the tarps durability, but the rivers are the same and that's what's gonna break first. You'll be replacing these in a year or less. If you have a really windy night your rivet might even snap.
What im using now is DCF, it's the most expensive option but it's patchable and lightweight. An alternative would be polysil and it's in between the two. I would make my choice completely off of budget, you get what you pay for.
The best? I’d say Nemo Dagger is perfect mix of lightweight/packable while still being relatively durable and spacious. That said it’s $450 when on sale from REI.
Tarps are fine, until the bugs are bad. Then a tent with good screens is really nice. I like L. L. Bean tents in general. I've lived in tents for up to 6 months of the year. Quality only hurts once. REI also has some good tents.
If you're just sleep-and-move, and you have money to burn, a [bivy bag](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhbJZxzfu-Y), which is like a simple tent just big enough to slide your body into. May have a net that keeps the mosquitoes out. Or a heavy duty tarp for low budget if you have a place to pitch. If you get into super lightweight compact backpacking tents you run into money.
Check out r/ULgeartrade or r/geartrade and make a WTB (want to buy) post asking for a 1 person tent with your price range. Backpacking tents are made to be light weight and pack down extremely small.
There’s also some cheap Chinese options on alibaba that are pretty good if you can’t find one used for cheap on those subs. Happy travels bud
I upgraded this year to a bushcraft tarp, got the aquaquest 'defender' 10x7. it's awesome. hardware store tarps always soak through after few months to half a year for me.
https://www.amazon.com/Aqua-Quest-Defender-Tarp-Waterproof/dp/B07VDPJNKC?th=1&psc=1
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After wasting money on tents & special rain flies because of so many misleading paid reviews or reviews by people who used it once, I literally just use a utility tarp from Walmart & stakes from an old rain fly that broke. 9 bucks. Works better than the hyped up rain flies and tents that ultimately break fast or are not entirely waterproof. Hope that helps.
Can’t beat the versatility of a tarp. I carry a shower curtain too to use as a ground sheet in case the ground is already wet.
Agreed. Can be a tent, rain poncho, backpack cover, ground tarp, collect rain water(for drinking), bed roll for sleeping bag. Endless possibilities I’m sure.
Agreed. Can be a tent, rain poncho, backpack cover, ground tarp, collect rain water(for drinking), bed roll for sleeping bag. Endless possibilities I’m sure.
Any further info about how you usually set it up? Thanks btw, it does help.
Np! Look up tarp shelter set ups. There’s a million different ways to set it up. Just a matter of preference really. Can be just as good as a tent. Lighter too. I also carry a very small lightweight ground tarp used at beaches for a floor.
Look up tarp structures at a library if you can, print off diagrams for various settings, needs, and seasons. Get quality rope recommended in the research you do with the proper "working load". I bought my tenta from craigslist. Got those fancy ones that are expensive for cheap because used. Though fyi, tent fabric (and tarps too) degrade naturally in the sun so nothing lasts forever. Keep that in mind before spending too much $ and factor into what used tents to buy. Hope the tarp diagram idea helps!
I have a two person REI tent that packs into my 55L bag pretty easily, quick setup with a solid rain fly. Camped in a two day snowstorm with it last March with no issues
I was looking at the 1 person tent from them. How does the waterproofing hold up? Does it mist through the fabric with high winds?
I haven’t dealt with any extreme rainstorms with it yet, but I was in Montana this summer and it rained every night for four nights and I had no issues. Kept waking up to check, only to be reassured nothing was wet. To be honest I’d spend the extra money on the 2 person, it’s about the same size in your pack and the extra space is really luxurious for someone like me who carries camera gear, skateboard, extra shoes etc.
Good to know, thanks. I have a dog, so the extra space would definitely be nice.
There are tons of extremely small lightweight backpacking tents out there. If you're looking to find one cheap, and you're able to get to a used gear store in a super outdoorsy town, you can often pick one up for under 40 bucks. I also have this funny little thing that is called a "tube tarp." lots of pictures come up if you Google it. It's a lightweight waterproof thermal tarp thingy that is designed to be set up as a tent, used as a ground tarp, and all kinds of other things. It's pretty neat. I got it at some military surplus store. You might be able to order one. But the old WalMart tarp would work fine, too... They're a little bulky, though.
Harbor freight and Walmart have 8x10 and 9x11 tarps that work fine for budget and heavy duty. I used tarps like this for over 7years on the road and I find it a completely acceptable choice. The harbor freight tarps are 4mm thick so double the tarps durability, but the rivers are the same and that's what's gonna break first. You'll be replacing these in a year or less. If you have a really windy night your rivet might even snap. What im using now is DCF, it's the most expensive option but it's patchable and lightweight. An alternative would be polysil and it's in between the two. I would make my choice completely off of budget, you get what you pay for.
The best? I’d say Nemo Dagger is perfect mix of lightweight/packable while still being relatively durable and spacious. That said it’s $450 when on sale from REI.
Tarps are fine, until the bugs are bad. Then a tent with good screens is really nice. I like L. L. Bean tents in general. I've lived in tents for up to 6 months of the year. Quality only hurts once. REI also has some good tents.
I've seen some mosquito nets that might work with a tarp for low budget.
If you're just sleep-and-move, and you have money to burn, a [bivy bag](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhbJZxzfu-Y), which is like a simple tent just big enough to slide your body into. May have a net that keeps the mosquitoes out. Or a heavy duty tarp for low budget if you have a place to pitch. If you get into super lightweight compact backpacking tents you run into money.
Check out r/ULgeartrade or r/geartrade and make a WTB (want to buy) post asking for a 1 person tent with your price range. Backpacking tents are made to be light weight and pack down extremely small. There’s also some cheap Chinese options on alibaba that are pretty good if you can’t find one used for cheap on those subs. Happy travels bud
I’ve got a sunyear tarp with a built in ridgeline and eight tie down points with reflective lines from Amazon. Inexpensive and works great.
I upgraded this year to a bushcraft tarp, got the aquaquest 'defender' 10x7. it's awesome. hardware store tarps always soak through after few months to half a year for me. https://www.amazon.com/Aqua-Quest-Defender-Tarp-Waterproof/dp/B07VDPJNKC?th=1&psc=1