best sleeping systems(tent) humid east

http://www.lightheartgear.com/LightHeart_Gear/Solo.html

If you want a tent, this is what I'll recommend.

Although you can definitely save wt by going with a light tarp and bivy.

Either of the bivys you mention will require use of a tarp for anything but fair conditions. It's really up to what you feel comfortable with. If you're comfortable in a bivy, by all means go that route, although here in the south, you definitely need something to keep the bugs out in the warmer seasons.

Not certain how I feel about a bivy as I have never slept in one. Being a side sleeper I kinda wonder in it will be the proper piece of gear.
Thanks for the tent info. I haven't seen this tent on this site before. Weight isn't too bad but not the lightest so many here might no like it. As a beginner to UL the weight looks good to me.
Since I don't use walking poles I'll have to weigh in tent poles. Any thoughts on pole size needed as I have some decent aluminum poles from my TNF Tadpole tent. Didn't see it on the site and couldn't listen to the video but did watch it.
Thanks again, Charlie

EDIT: found pole size on site

Charlie,
Our alternative aluminum tent poles are shock corded and breakdown to only 11" long sections. This was specifically designed for bike riders, etc. where limited storage size is a major issue. The last section of each pole has a length adjustment feature to mimic a hiking/trekking pole so that some pitch adjustment can be made from inside the tent. The pair of poles weighs 8.5 ounces.
Marc Penansky
LightHeart Gear

Charlie, even with the poles Marc referred to, the weight comes in at ~35oz, which is 1oz over the TT Rainbow, although I believe the Lightheart poles break down to a fair bit shorter length than the TT ones if they're the normal Easton Nano segment length that my Rainshadow 2 used, they were more like 18" segments.

Both shelters fill a similar space in the market, so it's a matter of choice, although I got to demo the Cuben Fiber Lightheart Solo the other day and I'm in love with it. The panoramic view can't be beat, and pulling up the fly is simplicity in itself, tension holds it on top of the shelter.

If you really want to save the wt, the cuben LH Solo is a scant 14oz, for a spacious double walled palace.

Also fwiw I'm about 5'10" and was able to stretch out completely with my arms over my head in the Cuben Solo. With a pad and a quilt that wouldn't have been quite as possible, but it's very roomy linearly, and in the knee area, which is oh so critical for side sleeping.

@ Marc: Thanks for the info. Poles sound excellent for biking as size is often a problem. Many cyclist have been attaching the longer tent poles to the frame of their bike when they could not fit them into their pannier

@ Javan: LH Cuben Solo @ 14ozs is incredible though a little pricey. The poles would weigh almost what the tent weighs.

After looking around a bit it seems some of the tents are being made in China(not just LH tents). This is kinda a bummer. I'm trying hard to keep local industry going.

Does LH make some of their tents here?, MLD made here? TT here here?

Charlie,

As far as I understand the standard Solo is manufactured in China, however Judy sews all the custom colored and cuben shelters herself. I've seen her workmanship first hand and it is extremely good.

$15 upgrade and she has a ton of color options, some pretty unique ones, they're all much more vibrant in life than the color table on the site.

Economics.

Charlie
All of the Tarptents are made in Seattle.
Franco

I like using a large tarp & no bivie in Maryland, Northern Virginia, and Southern PA. The mosquitos in the forest & meadow areas along the AT, in the state parks, and along the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers all seem go to bed about 1.5 hours after dusk anyway, so I don't usually wake up with more than 2-3 bites than I had when I went to sleep (and I think they are usually spider bites). BUT, I get ALL the breeze – which is definitely worth it when the temps are above 80.

In swampy areas like Assategue & Chincoteque, I add a full bug-net tent under the tarp (the mosquitos are thick, the biting flies are abundant, and the gnats get in your eyes). This works better than a traditional tent, since you can pitch the tarp edges 2 feet off the ground and get more breezes. You'll want to eat dinner in it too in those two locations.

Bivies are little bit roomier than a sleeping bag. Not fun to get dressed in, or get in/out of in the rain (unless they are under a tarp). One of the nice things about the East is that we are always under the treeline so pitching the tarp in the forest will eliminate a lot of the worries about sideways blowing rain, and all of the worries about splatter bouncing into the tarp.

The absolutely best system I have ever used for east coast touring/treking is a hammock with bug net and fly. A hammock tames humid conditions better than anything else and is a matter of safety and getting sleep in the humid heat of my home state of Texas.

@ Javan: thanks, glad to hear she still makes some of the stuff here. I like the weight but gotta get more finances in order for the cuben.

@James: better economics for the owner perhaps(short term) but for the community local always wins out. The more the money is recirculated within the community the better for everyone else.

@ Franco: glad to hear this. Will look into this brand a little more. The Moment seems close to the Solo but not really a double wall. Close though. Gotta read more about condensation.

@ John: Sounds like you know the conditions. I have had sideways rains near the ocean at times thus my thoughts on a bivy under a tarp. Like the idea of the breeze under a tarp though. I haven't given much thought to a bug net under a tarp.I don't like the bugs around here but agree with you that most go to sleep before me. Currently I set up my inner tent which is all bug netting with the fly ready to pull over everything in the event of rain. Works well but a tad heavy @ 4+lbs.

@ Vick: The Hammock! I love the weight of the entire system. Around here for 3 seasons cold temps are not a factor so no problem there. It just doesn't seem like it would be comfortable. Getting in looks hard but doable, sleeping on your side looks really uncomfortable. Do you ever fall out? I should try this system out before I disregard it.

Lots of great replies folks, thanks
Charlie

"@ Vick: The Hammock! I love the weight of the entire system. Around here for 3 seasons cold temps are not a factor so no problem there. It just doesn't seem like it would be comfortable. Getting in looks hard but doable, sleeping on your side looks really uncomfortable. Do you ever fall out? I should try this system out before I disregard it."

I think you'll find that you'll sleep very comfortably in a hammock. I'm normally a side sleeper in a regular bed or tent, but sleep on my back in a hammock. It's got to do with the arc of the hammock itself, and I don't feel the need to switch to my side.

Hammocks are particularly useful in the northeast, where it's often hard to find a patch of level ground without the usual rocks and roots. With a hammock, all you need is two trees at the proper distance and a little space in between.

I've also tried a hammock. If it fits your sleeping style, I think they are almost ideal for the mid-atlantic trails.

The positives: The hammock was even cooler in the summer than sleeping on the ground under a tarp (since head radiates out the bottom too). It was 1,000% easier to find a place to set up camp. Sleeping on your side with your feet and head at the diagonal corners resulted in a pretty flat sleeping position from shoulders to knees. I didn't need a pillow on back, and only needed a 1/2 height pillow when on my side. Reading before bed was much more comfy. It was easy to get in and out if you hung it anywhere near "chair or barstool high".

The negatives: I toss and turn at night, and the hammock made this a little more difficult (just enough that I'd have to wake up a little to a "groggy" state) which caused me to not be as well rested in the morning. The hammock also gave me a slight "huggy" feeling that caused my shoulders to hunch slightly forward and made the muscles between my shoulder blades a little sore along the spine after several hours (a wider hammock may have helped this though). Sleeping diagonally caused the center of the hammock to have a ridge line that bumped upward in the center more than my waist indented. This caused a mild pressure that was uncomfortable enough to wake me after a couple of hours – especially if my ribs happened to be aligned with the hump. It was a little too cool until 60 degree weather for me without a pad, and a standard pad was a little too narrow, and two pads took up a little too much room for me to want to carry them (but an underquilt would solve this problem and also be lots warmer).

Why do you care about weight you have a bicycle… :)))

@DOn & John: Gonna have to give it a try but as John says the tossing and turning might be problematic. Getting in and out I still have a few concerns What do y'all do when there are no trees. I guess you have to choose your sight accordingly.

@Matt: true but weight is weight and I've climbed some pretty long steep roads wishing the load was lighter. Last year I was on a particularly steep tour on dirt roads in W. Va. Monongahela Forest that kicked my a$$. Don't want to go there again. Getting a lighter bike….this might be the best option.

"@Don & John: Gonna have to give it a try but as John says the tossing and turning might be problematic. Getting in and out I still have a few concerns What do y'all do when there are no trees. I guess you have to choose your sight accordingly."

Well, I've never really had a problem with finding trees in the Northeast. In NH it's impossible to avoid them, assuming you're not actually above treeline, where you're not supposed to be camping anyway. If I were somewhere that I couldn't find trees, I'd probably put the hammock on the ground and use my hiking poles to support both the ends of the hammock and the tarp above ground. It would require the use of a decent pad underneath you for comfort, but it's quite doable.

I find I don't toss and turn in a hammock, mainly because it's much more comfortable than any pad (or bed) I've used. Back in May we did a boat camping trip at Lake George in NY, and I experimented with a tent on the first day and a hammock on the second (wasn't carrying the gear, so I didn't care how much I brought). The hammock was definitely more comfortable, and I just slept better.

I recommend the use of a hammock with a side entry configuration. Warbonnet makes the Blackbird, which is my current favorite. Hennessy Hammocks is now starting to make a side entry style as well as their original bottom entry type, which doesn't work for me as well when using a pad underneath me. Clark also makes a very good line of hammocks.