Tent or tarp?

ApolloUniverse

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I picked myself up a nice 2lb tent for $200 and I find that its nice not having to worry about insects at night at all. There are condensation issues and sometimes it can be hard to set it up in certain situations. For just starting uot, I think a tent is right for me. But eventually I think the tarp setup wuold be best for the weight setup and versatility. Eventually. Right now, i just wanna travel however i can ;)
 

trashswag86

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UL tent system idea

I've already got a waterproof/windproof bivy, (military surplus bivys can be had for $40-$70, and weigh about 2 lb. I prefer the older style camo ones cause they're wider around, and I've got a thick air mattress and with this newer digital camo bivy, my quilt gets compressed some) and a poncho ($15-20) that lays out about 5x7 feet. 4 guylines will be used with the poncho, to maximize surface area. I can pitch it low and sleep with my pack and head under it when it rains, but I'll also be able to pitch it high and drape a mosquito net over it. (I've seen them on Amazon for beds, cribs, etc) All this plus 2 basic tent poles.

Idk the final weight, maybe 3 lbs? But hella versatile. If I wanna hop a freight train, my bivy let's me choose from a wider range of cars. And then if I wanna meditate on a hill, and not get eat by skeeters, I can pitch the poncho and mosquito net.
So that makes 5, maybe 6 uses:
1 poncho for day rain
2 poncho/bivy for night rain
3 poncho/net for mosquitos and for its adjustable height.
4 bivy for trains
5. Poncho as a 💩 curtain. I can pot a squat with this thing on anywhere without exposing myself to others.
6 I bet you could wear the poncho like a dress, (provided you've got a waterproof jacket as well) in real heavy rain. I haven't tried this yet to see how well it works, but coupled with waterproof shoes or waterproof socks, I think it might work at least in a pinch.

And all for what I think will be about 3 lb, and will all have been gotten for under $100.
 
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Robb the Pikey

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i´ve a Tarp from the east german army, still water resistant.

quebec 2016
 

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