tarp sleeping

I actually have more peace of mind in bear country using a tarp, since if one wanders into my campsite unexpedly I would have multiple escape and exit options other than the door. With most backpacking tents there is only one door, which is usually located around a vestibule where you will keep your boots/pack etc.. This is most likely where you would have anything the bear would want to investigate, leaving you with no options for escape.

I don't camp in grizzly country, just much less dangerous Sierra black bear country.

I just started camping in a tarp and find it puts my mind much more at ease under a tarp as opposed to being in a tent.

With a tarp, when something goes bump in the night, I can just look around and see it's nothing. With a tent, I can't see through the walls since I lost my super powers, so I'm left to wonder if it's a bear, or just my imagination.

But I'm dealing with black bears, which just want our food and are generally skittish around people otherwise. That being the case, I figure if they can see me (which they can't in a tent) maybe they'll be less likely to approach, though I have no evidence for this.

I'll side with everyone else so far. It may let the bugs in, but being able to look out of your shelter at any time makes me sleep much better, and sometimes I even get a great view in the morning without having to get out of my sleeping bag.

Last weekend I heard a bump in the night and turned my headlamp on to see a raccoon waddling right by my tarp. He looked pretty fat, but he didn't get any food from me. Another time, I've had a fox run right through my tarp on his way to somewhere else. Neither one bothered me a bit, but it was pretty great to get the opportunity to see them from the comfort of my sleeping bag.

The interesting thing for me is when the sounds of the night are sharpened. It is more comforting to me to hear the sounds more distinctly then slightly muffled thru a tent wall. This may sound counter intuitive but that's how it works for me.

I camped with someone last weekend who uses a poncho/tarp – she tends to put it up with a log or similar as a back wall, which is rather nice. Much more solid barrier than another wall of nylon.

I use a tarp with my hammock and tend to pitch it high enough that I can sit up and look around. I like that – also random critters have run right underneath rather than into my shelter.

Actually sleeping under a tarp puts my mind at ease. Cause if I hear a rustling in camp I can just look up, realize it's not a bear or anything that I care about and go back to sleep. When I slept in a tent you never knew what the sound was, and If it was load enough it'd keep me up for awhile since I didn't know what the heck it was. Now I just look up and fall back asleep. bugs can be mitigated multiple ways from attaching some mesh to the quilt, making a drop mesh to hang over you or making/ buying a lightweight inner bug tent, or just use a bivy with netting.

If you're going to get attacked by a bear it is not gonna matter what shelter you stay in. A griz could get into a log cabin if he were so inclined.

To answer your question yes I sleep out in bear country. I carry a tarp but almost always just use it for a pillow.

The only time I have been to grizzly territory I cowboy camped 9/10 of the time.