Tarps and Bugs

Frank,

I loaned my TarpTent to a friend on one of our hikes. I told him the tent would vent much better if he left the beak open. The only time the beak needs to be closed was in blowing rain. The first night I watched him carefully seal the beak. The next morning he mentioned that he had some condensation. I reminded him to leave the beak open. Long story short – leaving the beak open bothered him more than the condensation.

I have had mice run across my face. Once I woke up with a ringtail sniffing my head. Icky, but not a health or safety problem. The joy of sleeping under the stars and looking out at a valley bathed in moonlight more than compensates for the yuck factor.

HYOH, but don't expect me to sleep in a tent.

The following BPL articles were very helpful to me in thinking through the tarp and tent issue, UL and SUL bivvies seems like the way to go if you don't want bugs:

Advanced Tarp Camping Techniques for Inclement Conditions at http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/00150.html

The Poncho Tarp: Techniques and Gear Systems for Inclement Conditions at http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/poncho_tarp_techniques_gear_inclement_conditions.html

Haven't gone back to tarp camping, yet. Did it when a kid. Worst experience was in the Desolation Valley, Sierras. Set up camp under some old very big trees. Half way through the night felt "things" moving and a couple brush across my face. Turned on the flash light and the most beautiful, delicate, long legged and fast wood spiders were pouring out of bark of the big beautiful trees. Closed up the top of the sleeping bag and slipped down inside so they couldn't get in, moved the sleeping area away from the trees next morning, solved the problem. We used to just sleep on a ground cloth, fold it over our sleeping bags, which were big puffy jobs and got wet and cold in the damp. Lo tech days and youth. No tents.

In my experience, the most impervious shelter to bugs and the like is the Hennessy Hammock. You enter thought a small slit so it's even difficult for bugs to enter when you enter or exit the hammock. You are definitely in your own cocoon and therefore more separated from the environment around you. You are free to just use the tarp portion of the hammock if you want a more open feel or the hammock without the tarp.

There are also plenty of MYOG resources WRT hammock-ing. I hope to try it during the winter (if you can call our weather here winter!), more likely during my summer break.

Quote: Lo tech days and youth. No tents.

I can identify with that. Back in high school I used to go backpacking with some friends. We went out one time in November and brought tents, but found a big cave that looked neat so we slept just inside it and built a fire in the opening. I think I may have had a sleeping pad, but no one else did. The water in my Camelbak froze that night. Obviously we weren't too worried about LNT.

Another time we went out to one the kid's farms. We went down into the woods, built a fire and slept around it cowboy style, we just threw our sleeping bags on the grouns and slept there. Did I mention this was in December and it was really windy. Around 2 AM one of the guys woke me up and said they were going back up to house to sleep inside. We all just had cheap Wal-Mart bags at that time and that experience convinced us all to buy better sleeping bags.

I've also wrapped myself in a blue poly tarp and strung one across the bed of a truck and slept there too.

I decided that I wanted a tent and bought one and used it for a few years, but now I've come full circle and gone back to using a tarp. I actually kind of miss those simple days of using the stuff we had lying around the house and sleeping out under the stars. Although it is nicer to be warm all night and carry a light pack.

Adam

Maybe one of these would ease the transition to a tarp.

http://www.backcountrygear.com/catalog/accessdetail.cfm/S2S605

Dan

Sew yourself a Ray-Way net-tent for your tarp.

The net-tent has walls made of netting with a silnylon floor. A bit heavy by UL standards, but not too bad. If you really want a big space with no bugs it is the best thing going.

Frank:

It's not just bugs, but also rodents! It's why I will always stick with tents — there are plenty of other places to cut grams…

In case you’re interested I asked a similar question recently. I posted a review of all the options I saw available to combat bugs while using a tarp. The thread was pretty much just comments from me, but be sure to read down because I responded with new messages as I learned more, instead of just adding to the original like I should have done. The thread can be found here

Ben,
Have you taken a look at MLD Serenity Shelter? seriously going to consider this after seeing a mouse come charging at a sleeping tarp mates head. Was able to fend the beast off with a shoe but it was a close call.
7oz for this enclosure beats my current 3 season set up, looking forward to this purchase once Ron gets his site back up in mid January.
Jim

Looks really good, Jim. Pray tell, what is your current set up? What kind of tarp do you plan to use with this bug shelter?

They crawl in through the tundra…
Just had to share this picture:

We were protected from them in the sleeping bags, but the tarp was something else in the morning. I think the total weight of the shelter went up significantly with all the mosquito carcasses that ended up trapped inside.

-Erin
http://www.aktrekking.com

Blech! Looks like an ad for "Off"… all you need is an arm in front of the camera!

Hi Ben,
Have been using a GG Spin Solo with an A16 bug bivy & a sheet of Tyvek for ground coverage. Like the idea of having some type of enclosure for creepy crawies and mice during 3 season outings. Figured that with Serenity Shelter and GG Spin Solo I would have a tent like shelter for about 13 onces.
Erin that looks nasty! Where & when was that picture taken?

Photo taken late June 2006, tundra flats near the Kvichak River, Bristol Bay region, Southwest Alaska.

Beautiful area. Many mosquitoes in June. I would say that more sane backpackers carry tents there, but I’m not sure there are any other backpackers.

-Erin
http://www.aktrekking.com

Heh, that pic looks like my arm outside on any evening here in South GA!

Seriously, that many mosquitos in one spot doesn't look to fun at all! I didn't even realize there WERE mosquitos in Alaska!

Tom

Erin,
You have just confirmed that Alaska is worse then the Northeast in June, and I thought we had it bad. That picture alone is enough to justify why this thread exists.

The Alaskan State Bird is the mosquito.

Yes – they’re huge. This makes them somewhat easier to slap before they bite you, but also makes them more capable of keeping up with you on a windy mountaintop.

-Erin
http://www.aktrekking.com

"You know how to tell a tough mosquito?" my uncle used to tell us, "You slap it, it slaps you back."

OK,

What's your max count, one hand, no smearing?

(also when and where!)

17 and change, against a picnic table in Coldfoot, Alaska, while writing a postcard to my girlfriend…

It was difficult keeping bug legs and such off of it…