"yuppie" tents

[Myechtatel]

just looked them up. pretty cool but i couldn't imagine using it as a long term tent. i bet it's pretty light though. maybe use one with a bivy sack. looks like it would be lighter than a tarp. but yeah the orange is pretty lame.

 

[EastCoast315]

I have this tent: Mountain Laurel Designs
1 person, about a pound, $190 (EXPENSIVE, but I don't fuck around with crappy gear)

 

[Myechtatel]

wow what the hell is that thing?? does it use a trekking pole? i totally agree about not fucking around with shitty gear.

 

[wizehop]

Bivy and tarp combo all the way..fuck tents of any kind. For me the only thing worse than having to carry a tent is packing it up in the morning. Until I'm rich enough to hire porters to carry and pack my shit when I go on tour, tents are out. I lost my last one under a train and Ive been happy ever since.
I didn't even use a tent for a while afterwards but after a few really bad rainy hell tours I had no choice but to at least arm myself with the bare min. for me its all about the easy of packing up..especially if your in a rush. Nothing like taking down, role up and put the pegs away on your tent while your train roles in....but even for regular camping just hate packing in the morning..specially after a few too many drinks the night before

 

[EastCoast315]

Yeah it's supposed to use a trekking pole, but I rig it up with anything I can find. Sometimes sticks, sometimes with ropes out of the top. I'm thinking about slicing open a walmart tent and grabbing a pole from it, seeing if that works. I couldn't imagine roadwalking/hitching with a trekking pole lol!

 

[Myechtatel]

Bivy and tarp combo all the way..fuck tents of any kind. For me the only thing worse than having to carry a tent is packing it up in the morning. Until I'm rich enough to hire porters to carry and pack my shit when I go on tour, tents are out. I lost my last one under a train and Ive been happy ever since.
I didn't even use a tent for a while afterwards but after a few really bad rainy hell tours I had no choice but to at least arm myself with the bare min. for me its all about the easy of packing up..especially if your in a rush. Nothing like taking down, role up and put the pegs away on your tent while your train roles in....but even for regular camping just hate packing in the morning..specially after a few too many drinks the night before

i agree with you about taking the tent down in the morning. really sucks especially if you have a cheapo walmart tent. but i don't see how a tarp/bivy is much faster. i imagine you have at least 4 tie-outs and stakes that you have to undo and then you have to fold up the tarp real small. i don't have any experience with bivys but i imagine you have to roll that up and put it in a stuff sack as well?
my tent only takes about 2-3 mins to pack without the rainfly and 4-5 min with. it's the other stuff that takes forever. sleeping bag, sleeping pad, getting dressed, etc.

 

[Myechtatel]

Yeah it's supposed to use a trekking pole, but I rig it up with anything I can find. Sometimes sticks, sometimes with ropes out of the top. I'm thinking about slicing open a walmart tent and grabbing a pole from it, seeing if that works. I couldn't imagine roadwalking/hitching with a trekking pole lol!

yeah i hate when tents need trekking poles. that's the only reason they're so light! false advertising! walking around with one would look pretty damn stupid. i wouldn't use a walmart tent pole. those fuckers are practically made of lead they're so heavy. find an aluminum or fiberglass rod.

 

[wizehop]

I only use the tarp when 100% necessary....99% of the time I sleep under the stars. My sleeping bag is in the bivy and it roles up in one quick movement. I use bun-ji cords which are fast and easy, and most of all don't involve knots.
I used to pretend I wanted to do things in the most basic minimalist style as possible. Don't mix whiskey, drink it straight out of the bottle, drink black coffee, carry only what you need ext. It seemed primal and as a man that seemed cool as shit...like catching your own fish and eating it, or starting a fire with nothing but a fart and a spark from a rock, and so on.
Well turns out my dad was right and I'm just a lazy fucker. At the end of the day I want my shit to be as easy as possible. Maybe it came from years of packing too much, but either way at the end of a day even a tent with one pole is one pole too many for me.
I camped san even tarp for a good few years, but for some reason its rained so much the last few years that Ive had to up the anti as being wet for days is no longer enlightening on my aging body.

 

[Myechtatel]

haha nice.
that's cool that the bivy rolls up with the sleeping bag. i like the bungee cord idea too but i imagine it's a lot heavier and less versatile than paracord.
i only use the rainfly when absolutely necessary too. i like being able to see out and feel the breeze(even though it ventilates pretty well with the fly too). but i guess it really comes down to whether you're alone or not. i mean, if i was traveling alone i would probably use a bivy and tarp too. it'd be right around 2.5lbs which is what im carrying now. but taking a tent down with two people is a lot easier than one and even if we switched to bivy and tarp, we'd still each be carrying about 2.5 lbs. each so there's no real weight advantage. i admit i do like the idea of a tarp though because of the different ways you can set it up and being able to see out and still be covered. i was thinking of maybe getting this: Integral Designs BugDome :: Bivies, bothies and bug shelters :: Shelters :: Moontrail
and using a tarp with it when i need to. coupled with a tarp will be about 3-3.5 pounds. it's a little roomier than our tent and is lighter, only has one pole and i just like more mesh than panels. i don't know yet though i've got some thinking and comparing to do.
thanks to everyone for all the responses. keep 'em coming!

 

[Myechtatel]

bump> anyone else using a tent?

 

[Alaska]

Andy and bax is good, and the basement of Next Adventure down the street is good too. I just use a bivy shelter. I hit up thrift shops for tents as well, sometimes i find good deals, but i usually give them away, or trade them.

Next Adventure? I've never seen it. Everytime I go to PD I hit Andy and Bax, though. Gotta check it out next time around.

 

[ruther]

I've been using a tarptent from Tarptent Ultralight Shelters They're pretty expensive, but they're definitely worth it. They're extremely lightweight, less than 2 pounds usually and they're really strong. I have the rainbow right now, (there's also a double rainbow lol) but I can set the tent up with one pole and my hiking sticks. There also really modified to fit the weather conditions you're facing.

 

[Myechtatel]

^i was looking at those for a good minute. i really liked the double rainbow but i read a review on it and it wasn't too inspiring. i really like the design though but it does seem rather flimsy. how do you like yours?

 

[wizehop]

Herr Egan,

What kind of camping are you actually doing with this tent?

 

[Myechtatel]

squatting in patches of woods while i'm traveling. i also used it for the gathering in ocala.

 

[cricket]

alls i use is this old coleman rain fly from some huge tent it wieghs next to nothing rolls up tight and has spots for attaching rope to, and my sleepin bag in the winter or a wool blanket/ponco during the summer. like wizehop said i only use my rain fly when its 100% that i actually need to. i do have an eno hammock there nice but i only really use it when i go out hikeing not hitching or hopping. i never used a bivy are they pricey/worth it? i might just use that and a wooly for the summer ifn i find a good one.

 

[xandercrusty82]

I think the bivy and tarp thing is a great combination. But what I've noticed (and maybe it's just me) is that when it is cold a lot of condensation builds up around your sleeping bag from the bivy. Which I suppose with some morning sun and what not wouldn't be too bad. I liked the home made bivy bag made from a space blanket with the silver on one side, and then the other side all duct taped. Kind of like a light version of an all weather mylar blanket. Tent jis just too much of a hassle and more intrusive it feels. Great for the mosquitos and bugs and things of that nature but for that some bug netting will always do. *burritos calling me* That reminds me,

 

[peckerwood0414]

yea thats true..but I remember when I used to bed down in Louisiana&TX with just a bedroll&tarp, man between the ants, chiggers, and (possibly) snakes etc..if u out in the stix that really sux

 

[travelin]

i have used a tee-tiny eureke one man bivy. i used it on an outing in oregon up around mount jefferson in the fall of 03. i found it extremely difficult to put up and even more difficult to take down and get back in the bag. it was very confining for my tastes. i joked with the others that it was "my bigfoot sandwich". you aint getting out of it fast.

i am currently in possession of part of the military ecws sleep system. only have the bivy, patrol bag and stuff sack. im trying to get the black intermediate bag that is supposed to take it down to -30(which i dont believe) but with what i got, i think the addition of a space blanket and/or a wool blanket will work for anything i might encounter in arizona winter(it does get very cold up a bit north of phoenix)

i also have the mil issue sleeping pad but it would have to be attached to a pack seperately and is pretty bulky.

if i survive the christmas dinner ill roll it all out and take pics.

have 47 dollars invested so far and dont want to spend too much more because i aint exactly rolling in money these days.

 

[marc]

alls i use is this old coleman rain fly from some huge tent it wieghs next to nothing rolls up tight and has spots for attaching rope to, and my sleepin bag in the winter or a wool blanket/ponco during the summer. like wizehop said i only use my rain fly when its 100% that i actually need to. i do have an eno hammock there nice but i only really use it when i go out hikeing not hitching or hopping. i never used a bivy are they pricey/worth it? i might just use that and a wooly for the summer ifn i find a good one.

youve never put up your hammock in a boxcar?