tarptents ok with kids?

[timothy bennett]

I’ve been drooling over the tarp tents for a little while now. However, what i really need is a 3 person tent (for me, my wife and 3yr old). anyway, would you think a tarptent would be suitable for a small kid? any issues with him running around, knocking walls over, condensation raining down, etc.??

thanks for any advice!

[tkkn c]

I made a ray-way tarp, just a little bigger than the 2 person tarp. I also made a larger net tent. I use the net tent with the tarp when the kids go. It helps contain them under the tarp. The net tent also contains their stuff under the tarp. I have yet to figure out how my kids can catapult gear 30 ft away from the tarp when they are under it.

The home made net tent and tarp weigh a little under 2 lbs and fits three people as long as one is under 8 years old.

[Mark Verber]

It would depend on your 3y old. My daughter mostly learned learned not to contact the walls of our tarptent. There were a few opportunities for learning (e.g. having some cold condensation hitting her face) before she fully got it. She still forgets sometimes, but it has been managable. We never had a problem getting so damp than performance of our gear was an issue… but I still have her using a sythetic bag rather than a down bag because she sometimes lifts up her legs inside the sleeping bag are runs them against the side of the tarptent.

If you put the 3y old in the middle using the rainshield2, there would be a lot of room for him to move without him getting to the tarptent walls.

[D G]

I use a Six Moon Designs Europa (05) when I bring my 8 year old. It’s nice since you can be careless and rub against the sides, which are mesh. I’ve never had issues with our bags getting wet even when there was heavy condensation (which if and when it occurs only occurs on the top 3d of the canopy.

It really depends on how much a kid moves around. Mine really moves around quite a bit when sleeping. I can’t use a regular tarp with my son. Once, his bag ended up getting wet when the entire lower part of his bag ended up outside of the tarp while sleeping.

Dan

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