Favorite shelter system for coastal+beach packrafting?

[Tyler N]

What has worked best for coastal conditions? I have another thread in GEAR (http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=86547) that gets into this topic but am curious about specific feedback from packrafters on models + items that do the trick.

Coastal/shore sites experience spray, wind and mosquitos so I'm reluctant to settle on a super-UL tarp + cross my fingers. Packrafters may have some advantages to double-use gear as shelter materials, but then we also may encounter climates that are more turbulent than 3-season conditions in the woods.

I searched through the threads trying to find this topic covered with no luck; please redirect/filter as needed. Also, there's new gear cropping up all the time so I'm interested in what everyone's loved, hated, or had their eye on. Thanks!

[Justin Baker]

Don't even thinking about setting up on sand in anything other than a freestanding shelter. It never works well.

[spelt with a t]

You might take a look at the gearlists for this trip: http://epiceric.blogspot.com/2011/07/yakutat-to-gustavus-coast-trip-part-1.html

Edit: poke around, the other guys on that trip are sure to have reports of some sort as well.

[Dan @ Durston Gear]

A lot of people, including me, like 'Mids. They've been used on some major coastal packrafting trips (ie. Hig & Erin).

Mids tend to provide a lot of protected space and they're easy to setup (provided you're not on sand). Normally you just need 4 stakes and you can use the paddle shaft as the center pole. For bugs, I clip a solo mesh inner into the back half of the pyramid (I use a MLD DuoMid) so I've got a full protected area and then a ton of vestibule space in the front half. This is really nice with packrafting because you've normally got more gear and quite a bit of it is wet so you want some space to sprawl it out a bit.

[David Chenault]

Mid plus bug inner if necessary. Wins for stormproofing, ease of setup, and space for your junk show.

With proper prep, staking in sand is dead easy. (See Parson's deadmen in Dan's link.)

[David Ure]

Nm

[Tyler N]

Ah – thanks folks; I really appreciate the input. Seems like a mid or UL tarptent w/freestanding tendencies may work best for the shorelines + beaches. I'm realizing I will be investing in 2 shelter systems – 1 specialized for coastal packrafting, and 1 UL tarp+insert for flexible 3-season, land-based conditions. Today I'm putting in an order for an HMG Flat Tarp; I'm still not 100% which bug insert to match it with (enough space to sit up, not just lie flat). The insert will be important since mosquitos and (possibly worse) Lyme-infested ticks will be guaranteed with warm weather.
I figure that practicing pitches w/a simple tarp and, most importantly, scouting the terrain will inform my decision about a more specialized shelter. Also, getting my confidence & comfortability w/deadman pitches will give me a sense of what I can manage on shorelines.

UPDATE:
With feedback from the other thread specifically on SE beaches I'l be going with some UL tent. I like the idea of a mid, but with sandy, turbulent beaches and bugs being present I'll need a fully enclosed + supported shelter. I'll still have the tarp in other conditions but the beaches will need extra fortification.

[David Ure]

Nm

[Tyler N]

Much appreciated Dave. That's a really good point re:uneven ground as a case for non-freestanding systems. I've got a flat tarp on the way so I'll be experimenting w/my local terrain & different pitches/staking arrangements. Hopefully by early Summer I'll have a better sense of the conditions to prioritize for a more specialized shelter (if needed). I'm realizing that coastal regions are definitely not all the same; I just need to hit the beach already!

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