Does a pick up count, and can you give me any tips on how to disguise my Honda as a tarp? I want go to cause some trail erosion.
Me no care, me here free beer. Tap keg, please?
Please try to read the post more carefully.russb-"They are called motorcycles."TOF -"If you apply the car analogy to tarps vs tents...."
Anyone who has camped in the area around Bland and woken up in the morning to see their tent completely covered with those pencil-sized centipedes and slugs knows the advantages of a tent (or an enclosed hammock).
Tarps suck big time!
I read very carefully, the operative word was analogy.Originally Posted by The Old Fhart
Please try to read the post more carefully.
Anyone who has camped in the area around Bland and woken up in the morning to see their tent completely covered with those pencil-sized centipedes and slugs knows the advantages of a tent (or an enclosed hammock).
Tarps suck big time!
A tarp is not a tent just like a motorcycle is not a car.
Tarps don't suck, but my vacuum cleaner does.
The analogy was to a car, not a motorcycle.russb-"I read very carefully, the operative word was analogy. "
Very true. why anyone would use a tarp (which is not a tent) in a situation calling for a tent defies logic.russb-"A tarp is not a tent just like a motorcycle is not a car."
I'm sure there are situations where a tarp would suck, like mosquito season, but Ive been a tarper for 40 years and I love em, except when the skeeters are active. Or in the desert!! Too many creepy crawlers. There I use a Contrail Tarptent. Haven't run into the centipedes. Now that might suck...but I'm sure we'd figure something out. I like the room under a tarp...and the view. I'm not a fan of being enclosed/isolated by tent walls. YMMV.
I tried a tarp 4different trips, multiple nights per trip. 1st trip, the mosquitoes ate me up. 2nd trip, the tarp was great for the first few hot nights, I enjoyed the breeze coming in.
Last two nights, I got absolutely soaked. The wind was blowing the rain up under the tarp and into me, all freaking day and night. It was the most miserable sleeping experience EVER.
Last trip, I shared a DoubleRainbow with a friend, they brought it. again, fine until a storm hit, and then we got soaked. Got soaked with the wind blowing rain up under and on us, and also got more drenched by constantly running out to try to adjust the damn tarp, with no possible way to correct the problem.
I will never tarp tent or tarp again. Screw the weight, I'll carry 4lbsuntilmy Lightheart dou arrives in May.
These tent vs. tarp vs hammock get some pretty one sided arguments.
Tarps can have bug nets, so the fear of the outdoors shouldn't be an issue.
Hammocks use tarps.
A tarp with a bug net IS a double walled tent.
A tarp with a bug net perimeter IS a single wall tent.
If you choose to sleep under the tent fly without the bug net, you are just as exposed as if you were under a tarp, only you don't have all of the benefits.
Most people with the tarp phobia, don't take the time to understand what a tarp is or understand the how-to's and advantages.
"If we had to pay to walk... we'd all be crazy about it."
--Edward Payson Weston
That's because the features of a tarp vs. a tent are so one sided.brooklynkayak-"These tent vs. tarp vs hammock get some pretty one sided arguments.
Most people who choose tents (or hammocks) over tarps don't have phobias but have made a logical decision based on the well understood limitations of a tarp.brooklynkayak-"Most people with the tarp phobia, don't take the time to understand what a tarp is or understand the how-to's and advantages."
Anyone who chooses a tarp solely because of the weight is a UL cultist.
Most people who choose tents (or hammocks) over tarps don't have phobias but have made a logical decision based on the well understood limitations of a tarp.
That's your opinion, and YOU can not speak for others only yourself. And speaking of limitations, your tent and hammocks have their limitations too.
I don't know
MLD Monk Spinntex 7oz with guide line
Head Net .5oz
I also have a Tarptent Moment fund, for those sketchy weather trips. I'm an equal oppurtunity camper.
That's your opinion, and YOU can not speak for others, only yourself.Indwlkr-"That's your opinion, and YOU can not speak for others only yourself. And speaking of limitations, your tent and hammocks have their limitations too."
And it isn't just my opinion, here are the opinions of tarp owners:I'm sure there are situations where a tarp would suck, like mosquito season, .....Or in the desert!! Too many creepy crawlers.P.S. FYI, I have never owned a hammock."The wind was blowing the rain up under the tarp and into me, all freaking day and night. It was the most miserable sleeping experience EVER."
Tarps and tents are just like anything else.
Get a good one, set it up right and understand the limitations and you will be fine.
Get a bad one or dont understand how to set one up for the conditions, either tent or tarp and you will have problems.
Bugs are a non issue with tarps.
Plenty of SUL bug tents are available.
Now if you have a tarp as big as a postage stamp without a waterproof bivy, I could see some big problems ahead.
An A-Frame tent rainfly is basically just a tarp over an inner tent.
Some old crap.
The pioneeers and mountain men used tarps and wool blankets but understood how to use them.
No one disagrees that using a tarp takes more skill then a tent in dealing with adverse conditions. But if you know what you are doing, there is no reason you can't use it in any condition that you can use a tent for. Most peoples issues with tarps are due to being uncomfortable outside their comfort zone or not doing something right. However, a tarp doesn't fit everyone's camping style so not everyone is going to be happy with one. But it can be made to work for any situation.
But tarps aren't for everyone. Some people will always need the security of a nylon wall since if you can't see it (whatever it is), it can't see you. And for those that like to hang out inside their shelter for long periods of time, a tent is definitely more suited for that style of camping. But for those that get up early and hike late and only set up camp to sleep, for those that take their scenic breaks during the day, a tarp can work very well.
If you pick your campsite properly and pitch your tarp for the conditions, weather is a non-issue. If you are having problems getting wet, you are doing something wrong. Take the time to figure out what it was so you can do it differently next time.
Bugs don't have to be an issue either. As someone who normally hikes from dawn to dusk, most bugs are usuall gone when you go to sleep. A head net is often all that you need though a mesh bivy can help. If you want a more tent like experience, there are net tents that go under tarps that have alot of room.
I don't get the comment about deserts and creepy-crawlies. I camp in the desserts all the time and I usually sleep out in the open and creepy crawlies are a non-issue. Just don't camp next to an ant hill and away from holes in the ground. In fact, on the PCT, its the desert sections that get the most tarp users.
I've been using a tarp for 4 years and I used on on my thru-hike on the PCT. I've had wind, rain, snow and really bad mosquitos. And yet I not only survived using my tarp, I stayed comfortable, dry and not-bitten. So it can be done, but I understand that not everyone wants to.
I cowboy camped most of the time in the desert on the PCT, and when I wasn't doing that I was using a tarp. Never had a problem with bugs or snakes.
Most of the time, though, I prefer using a tent.
Tarps aren't outside my comfort range, I'm not particularly insecure, and I know what I'm doing. But at the end of a long day, I'm not really that interested in getting involved in a structural engineering problem. Which, I suppose, is one of the reasons I cowboy camped most of the time in the desert on the PCT.
But that's just me.
I cowboy camp all the time.
Only time I had a problem in the desert was when I found a scorpion in my boot.
Are crawling things a problem for tarpers in the desert?
I don't know, since the desert is not an ecosystem I'm all that familiar with. Nothing in the woods causes me concern while sleeping under a tarp, but I don't know enough about the desert to feel comfortable. You folks who have the experience know better. Seems like everything in the desert wants to poke me, sting me, or scratch me.
I still generally prefer a night out under a tarp, and weather has never gotten me yet. No matter how hard the rain fell. Nothing like seeing the moon move across the sky during the night, or seeing the deer feeding near my campsite at dawn. Or the sunrise in the morning. Or the rain splashing all night long. Its all right there to enjoy. Tent walls block most of that.
Dang, I need to get off this computer and get out!!
as a hiker from the jungle to high mountains and everything in between I'm in total agreement...TARPS as a only shelter "SUCK" .. great even required in some forms of camping but as a way to do AT ...ha ha ha
I thru hiked the PCT with a tiny tarp i need twice. I slept under the stars..
i only use tarps that are made out of smartwool. they go great with my mountain house hammock with horse-hair whoopie slings. only the best for me.
"find what you love and let it kill you" -c.b.
I own a 10' X 10" Tent tarp with numerous tie outs. I also own several different tents. The tarp has seen the most miles. It gives me flexibility in ways to set it up depending if I want ventilation or hunker down in a storm. When on my AT thru it was spacious enough that my friends that were tenting would often stop by to visit me while cooking their supper. On cold windy night in a shelter I could use it to block the wind, sometime set it up to cover the picnic table.
For PCT I decided to take a tent & was happy for it in buggy sections. When in the high Sierra in Aug I went with a bivy sack with the little chance of rain & few bugs. There is no perfect shelter for all conditions. Just what works for you. Tarping takes some knowledge of how to set it up & knowing the proper knots.
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