Using tarps when the ground is suboptimal; migrating from a tent

IMO Six Moons Designs and TarpTent are state of the art.

http://www.sixmoondesigns.com/shop/shopexd.asp?id=47

http://www.tarptent.com/doublerainbow.html

However for wet and uneven ground the best solution is a hammock.

http://www.hennessyhammock.com/catalogue.htm

Floorless tents have a lot of advantages. In snow you dig to increase your living space. A stump in the middle of the tent for a nightstand is great. I never cook or eat in a tent with a floor, but I do a floorless tent. Wet clothes can drip dry in a floorless tent.

for years i used bivy shelters or bivy sacks both for easy of pitching and often “real estate” is at a premium and finding space for a larger, more mainstream floored shelter could be just a little difficult at times.

tried an original floorless HS Squall with groundsheet. much easier to find a spot to pitch it than a floored shelter, but it proved sub-optimal if heavy rains were expected that weekend. the amount of water we can get at times can easily overwhelm a groundsheet and the largest “LNT” rain trenches i care to dig with a Montbell Ti potty trowel. in these conditions, only a bathtub floor suffices. now, the real-estate issue surfaces again, depending upon where i attempt to bivouac.

it’s a trade-off. how much rain do you expect to see when on a trek is the question i suggest that you ask yourself. the answer to this question, IMHO, together with how easy is it to find adequate real-estate to pitch a floored shelter, will govern your choice of floored vs. floorless shelter.

The floorless, original HS Squall did a fine job when it came to bugs in my limited experience with it. due to the aforementioned heavy rain issue, i gave it away and purchased, immediately after their introduction, a GG Squall Classic (spinnaker and floored), but haven’t had a chance to use it yet, so i can’t comment on it, other than to say that i already know in some places i’ll have problems finding sufficient real-estate to pitch it. i have a SMD Lunar Solo ‘e’, and sometimes have trouble finding sufficient even surface to pitch it.

IIya, using a tarp/bivy combo is something that may take time to get used to. I personally like floorless shelters and use a Golite Hut 1/Equinox bivy combo for three season camping.

In snow you can get in with your boots on without worry of needing to take them off first. With wet leaves I would sit on my closed cell foam pad and bivy before getting in the bag for the night. No, it’s not as comfy as a tent in previously wet ground or if the bugs are out, but for me it’s the way to go when solo. For bugs, I simply wear a headnet to sleep. I try to minimize the time I need to be in the tent but outside the bivy to avoid the bug unpleasantness.

>So, it seems that using a floorless tarp when the ground consists of e.g. snow or wet leaves would be rather unpleasant. How does one avoid this?

I like the GossamerGear Polycryo Ground Cloth. Just put it under yourself and your gear, and leave the rest of the area as open dirt to absorb rain.

If you’re a confirmed ground sleeper then I’ll second the recommendations for Six Moon Designs and Tarptents. (Be sure to read the recent BPL article comparing two of these; both are winners.) You might be pleasantly surprised by the utility of the Six Moon Designs Gatewood Cape as a floorless shelter.

But I’d rather be in a hammock, especially in the wet or snow. No worries about slope or water pooling.