Why gray? A completely superfluous question about silnylon shelters.

[spelt with a t]

Although there are some variations available–MLD's brown and yellow and the Gatewood Cape's green and tan options come to mind–it seems the vast majority of cottage shelter makers stick with gray silnylon. Why? It's so…gray.

[michael levi]

Its a good comprimise between stealth and still light enough to let enough light in to make it pleasant when waiting out rain while the sun is shining.

[Max Dilthey]

I got in a bit of an argument over this once, actually.

Grey shelters are terrible and I will never purchase one. I would become depressed by the end of a thru-hike. A yellow or green place to "live" will literally make my day.

[Eric Blumensaadt]

1. Gray is a neutral color.
2. Gray is a color that blends with most natural setttings.
3. Gray is depressing as hell and makes you want to get out of your tent and explore.
4. Gray is cheaper than anything but white.
5. Gray is the color decided upon by cottage industry tent makers so they get a break on price for (secretly) ordering as a group.
6. Gray is great for stealth camping so park rangers won't find you.
7. Gray is popular in the former Confederate states. (The South shall rise again!)
8. Gray is the color that best matches your ti mug.
9. Gray is the color that makes us want to ask, "Geeze Loiuse! why do so many of you make gray tents?"
10. And finally, gray is a color that makes us want to buy a avocado green (or purple, or da-glo orange) parka just for a fr!kk!n break!

Really, do you want to lay in an orange or yellow or red tent if you have a migraine, a hangover or, God forbid, giardiasis?

[spelt with a t]

I have a gray one on the way via gear swap, so I'll find out soon enough if it drives me batty. Green and yellow are two of my favorite colors; I like the look of Hilleberg's green/yellow tents but I'm not in the market for anything that bomber or expensive. My tarp for my hammock is green. Brown isn't even bad when it's the deeper coyote brown. I'd prefer brown over gray if I were purchasing new.

[michael levi]

Grey isnt dark IMO, brown will be the darkest, and green darker too… Grey is a good color IMO.

[spelt with a t]

6. Gray is great for stealth camping so park rangers won't find you.

Is it really? I guess it might be out west where you have a lot of exposed rock above treeline. Out east, green or brown would be more stealthy than gray in most places.

Really, do you want to lay in an orange or yellow or red tent if you have a migraine, a hangover or, God forbid, giardiasis?

I don't see why not? They're warm spectrum colors, cheery. Light filtered through gray is cold and dreary. Not very uplifting if you're sick!

[spelt with a t]

I don't think it's dark; I just think it's pretty bland and dreary and oddly popular despite that.

[Justin Baker]

My favorite tarp color is a very light coyote brown. It has the old timey canvas feel to it.

Example: http://www.bushcraftoutfitters.com/images/coyote%2010×10.jpg

[Franco Darioli]

I would like all the ones that like green to post an example of the type green they like.
Same for yellow.

Or just pick one from these two colour charts :

[EndoftheTrail]

I think most silnylon tent or tarp makers are boutique size operations — so they tend to stick to one color for simplicity. And this usually means sticking with a neutral color — such as grey.

I am happy enough with grey — better IMHO than red or purple . All subjective, of course.

[EndoftheTrail]

"Grey shelters are terrible and I will never purchase one. I would become depressed by the end "

I wonder if you have your mind made up before giving it a try? If that's the case, know that silnylon is a very thin material — so it really doesn't take much light at all to brighten up the interior — even moonbeam will do (which can make sleep difficult sometimes when the moon is full).

[spelt with a t]

The bottom right quadrant of green and the bottom three rows of yellow appeal the most to me.

[spelt with a t]

The purple I can agree with, Ben. My hammock is a garish purple–a production Henessey, albeit a discontinued adventure racing model…I think those were never made in the usual coyote brown other Henesseys use.

[spelt with a t]

Justin, that's a nice earth tone. Lets more light through than the darker browns, for sure.

[Mole J]

Its not dreary. Lighter inside. than a green tent. Fine in the rocky areas.

For stealth in forests or moors Id prefer the 'forage' green like Hilleberg and Terra Nova use( And SMD on the gatewood).

Yellow sucks if insects are an issue. Horticultural sticky traps are yellow as it's the best for attracting flies….

[doug thomas]

Franco, The yellow section looks just like the pee chart we have at work to tell if your hydrated. I guess those colors are out for me.

[Adam Rothermich]

I've got green and blue silnylon tarps and a white spinnaker tarp. The green is about an S80, V60 on Franco's chart and the blue is pretty vibrant. In terms of the quality of light under the tarp, I like the white spinnaker the best and green silnylon the least. The light is a sickly green color under the tarp that I don't find pleasant, especially if I have to spend an extended amount of time under it. It makes me think of the green you see in the sky before a really bad thunderstorm, not a very comforting thing to associate with your shelter. I've also got one of those garish orange Marmot tents for car camping and I like it better than the green tarp too. Talk about a cheery color!

Adam

[Ken Thompson]

I don't care for gray. Lets too much light through. I really like the olive brown that MLD now has a shortage of.
I also don't care for the yellow trim on Tarptents either. I don't like the yellow bits on the ULA packs either.

The Hilleberg green is better than the red for me but it too could be a darker shade.

I also don't camp with a hangover like Eric. Nor do I spend all day in a tent, ever.

[Steven McAllister]

A few people have told me that gray is not very stealth.
I live in the North East US. The rocks hear are basically different shades of grey.

I also have other colors of shelters.

I can pitch a gray shelter any time of year and it will blend in with the gray rocks.
My green shelter stands out in the winter, my white shelter stands out in the summer.

Yellow and red stands out in all seasons except certain parts of the fall or during a sunset.

A black shelter is pretty stealth when the sun is low on the horizon, it looks like a shadow, but gets very hot when the sun shines on it.

Blue is always visible. It looks like a hobo tarp which always attracts attention.

Stealth is the game where I live. Too many places where either camping is illegal or you just don't know if it's legal, or maybe you don't want to attract the attention of the locals.

Camping is legal in the Catskills as long as a ranger can't see your camp. This is becoming more true in other places as well.

[spelt with a t]

Its not dreary. Lighter inside.

I think we'll have to agree to disagree. Brighter yes, but the quality of the light is exactly like a gray rainy sky, imo.

For stealth in forests or moors Id prefer the 'forage' green like Hilleberg and Terra Nova use( And SMD on the gatewood).

I do like that color despite the lower light transmission. Hilleberg pairs it with the a yellow inner which probably brightens it up a bit.

Yellow sucks if insects are an issue. Horticultural sticky traps are yellow as it's the best for attracting flies….

I'm aware of this issue but haven't experienced it myself. A bummer since the sunshine yellow MLD uses attracts me as well…

[Kevin @ Seek Outside]

We have experimented with a lot of different colors before settling on forest green and grizzly brown.

Brighter colors such as yellow will attract a lot more bugs. This was apparent on a trip in which I had a combo colored tent.

Brown is actually very pleasant inside as is forest green. Brown actually feels a lot lighter inside than it looks from the outside

Gray or Silver is not bad but not great.

I really like Tan myself but it has not been a great seller.

Purple and Dark Blue are pretty good as well.

[josh wagner]

remember for proper usage:

gray (A if you are in america)
grey (E if you are in Englad)

i personally like gray. i'm not a huge fan of the color green or brown. my 3 hammocks and the 4 quilts i own are black or black and gray. tarp = dark gray cuben. i don't konw what people are doing that they are complaining of dreariness inside. i wake up, make coffee, sit in my hammock and have my coffee, then pack up and hike.

[Max Dilthey]

Different strokes for different folks, I guess.

[spelt with a t]

A few people have told me that gray is not very stealth.
I live in the North East US. The rocks hear are basically different shades of grey.

I also have other colors of shelters.

I can pitch a gray shelter any time of year and it will blend in with the gray rocks.
My green shelter stands out in the winter, my white shelter stands out in the summer.

Yellow and red stands out in all seasons except certain parts of the fall or during a sunset.

A black shelter is pretty stealth when the sun is low on the horizon, it looks like a shadow, but gets very hot when the sun shines on it.

Blue is always visible. It looks like a hobo tarp which always attracts attention.

Stealth is the game where I live. Too many places where either camping is illegal or you just don't know if it's legal, or maybe you don't want to attract the attention of the locals.

Camping is legal in the Catskills as long as a ranger can't see your camp. This is becoming more true in other places as well.

There are rocks in Rocksylvania too, but the majority of camping areas are forested. Green is good in the summer. Brown is probably better for all-season use. The shade of green affects the stealth factor, too. Darker is better. My hammock tarp is too bright a green to be stealthy, but it's at least less conspicuous than my bright purple hammock. For more northerly parts of the northeast, I think your argument for gray is sound.

[Author]

Posts