Give me your opinions in my shelter

Could you provide more details regarding the location, duration, and expected weather conditions for this trip?

Edit: I'm an idiot. I see you're hiking the AT.

Sounds like a sweet adventure!

Your Golite is very similar in weight and design to my BD BetaLight which I love for the ease and speed of set up. Problem is that it is too large for just me, divided in the center which is a waste for one person and I hike with one pole so I always had to find a stick, which was fine but an extra step.

In the end I got a SMD Luna Solo for solo trips.

If it was up to me, it would be down to the tarp or tarp tent with bias torward the Bilgy. Although I have no personal experience with that particular set up, I think it would fit the bill for ease of set up and interior space, as long as you don't mind two poles.

I am not a bivy kind of guy so I have no real opinion on that.

Keep in mind, you will be setting up your shelter over… and over… and over… and over…

In my opinion, the Bivy plus the flat tarp is ideal. here's why:

1. You can use your bivy bag in shelters. Keeps out mice and bugs, but no setup.

2. Your flat tarp is flexible. It can be set up to accommodate lots of conditions. It can be set up quickly. It can be tied down tight for protection from the elements.

3. Your bivy might be fine on 60%+ of your nights with no tarp. Then, you can save a ton of time by just laying down and sleeping.

As for your comfort in the bivy, that's personal, but I've been using a bivy all summer so far. Set it up in a place that has good airflow. If there's a breeze, you'll be great. A full bug bivy is not a bad idea, but again, I recommend simplicity!

I could probably set up the Golite tarp in a minute or so because it is so easy to set up, so if a storm is to come I would be dry within a minute. I could also throw everything under the tarp before setting up so nothing gets wet.

I have also considered the SMD Wild Oasis but it seems too small for having to be on it for so long and I heard humidity is a problem.

I enjoy hiking with two poles so again, that is not a problem for my Golite Tarp, and if I can also hang from a tree to avoid poles in the inside.

If you think you'll always have room for the Golite tarp, I'd bring it! But, the sections of the AT I've hiked occasionally had limited camping space. In the Northeast (my neck of the woods) tent footprint is not a zero entity- sometimes it matters. I prefer bivy bags and hammocks out here for the simplicity in rough, sloped, briared, wet, and rocky camp conditions.

I don't want to sound dismissive. This is a great thread; you've presented the options in a really clear way.

It sounds to me like the GoLite is your favorite. Just go with your GoLite! If you're happy with it, you'll have a happier hike. It's also a cheery yellow!

Ticks are a real problem on the East Coast as is Lyme disease; bear this in mind when you're making a shelter decision. Depending on where you live in Texas, you're likely prepared for the humidity.

I should have added that bivy would also be used with the Golite tarp.

I am not experienced setting up flat tarps so I am scared of heavy rain ruining my gear for days.

But again the Golite Tarp is close to a pound heavier than the flat tarp.

The closest version to the Shangri-La 2 in cuben fiber is Zpacks triplex tent and it doesn't have air vents at the top, plus it is $425 but only 10.4 ounces.

That's a good point, can ticks go through no-see-um?

You are right, this is my top choice, hence why I came to this forum because you all will care about the extra pound and have the power to convince me, in other places they will tell me not to care about the extra pound lol.

Ok I revise my opinion.

For a long thru hike I would take the Golite. As I said before, I have the BD Betalight and it has never let me down in weather. Even got stuck in a blizzard once and it was just fine buried under all that snow.

Fast to set up, a good weight to protection ratio, and you simply don't worry about weather at the end of the day. Ticks are another matter. I hear they prevail on the AT but I guess that's why you do daily body checks.

Well…I thru-hiked the AT in 1983, using a 10 x 10 tarp purchased from Campmor and no bivy. I more or less shelter-hopped about 90% of the time and used the tarp or other options for the remainder.

Obviously things have changed with equipment for the better. I'm a complete convert from my Kelty Tioga, Svea 123, North Face synthetic sleeping bag, Danner boots, etc. My base weight was about 23 lbs., and that was considered fairly remarkable at the time.

I 100% agree with what Max Dilthey said in his post: "In my opinion, the Bivy plus the flat tarp is ideal." Most nights you won't have rain, you'll appreciate the company and water sources at the shelters, and you'll certainly love the weight savings. That 10 x 10 tarp worked great when necessary and I had some of my better experiences watching the rain.

My 2 cents…..Russ Wilkenloh

I would not consider anything but a cuben tarp/inner net combo. Zpacks, SMD, Yama, etc.

You do not want a bivy, in the humid east. ESPECIALLY not in cold weather.

Read that again.

there is a good reason no one uses them in the east. In the dry western states, not so much an issue.

+1 with MB. No way would I ever take a bivy on the AT. Humidity on a low day is about 90% and spending that time in a bivy sounds like pure torture. I think I've only seen one bivy on the AT in the last several years. You want low weight, rain protection, and a little bit of elbow room since you might spend several nights in your shelter. For me, that means a good size tarp and inner net, but many folks also take Tarptent style shelters.

So, my vote would be sell it all, buy a 9'x9' silnylon tarp, and top it off with an inner net. Would land you in the 27-28oz range and less than $200. Your Bilgy tent may work, I'm not familiar with them though.

Ryan

Having done miles of section hikes on the AT, I will offer this advice- you need to know beforehand whether you are likely to spend most nights in a shelter, or if that will be an only occasional thing for you.

If you plan to mostly use the shelters, I would take your tarp and a bug bivy, or better yet a ZPacks Hexamid Solplex….something like 10 oz, which means if you only use it once a week you won't care.

If you plan to avoid shelters, the GoLite is a good shelter to start with, since you'll be starting a little earlier than most, and it WILL be cold. Once you start to hit springtime (possibly in Virginia) you can switch out your shelter and sleeping bag, and again I would favor a Solplex or something similar.

Humidity on the AT is a beech, bugs are everywhere, snakes too, so I would want as much mesh protection during the warm months as I could get.

Well my current bivy, tarp set up is about 11 ounces, but the humidity is a big problem from what I have seen. And at 27-28 ounces, I would rather take my Golite bivy, given that it is 27.7 ounces.

In a different subject, bilgy tents are awesome! It is the same weight as an Echo I cuben fiber, but it has a few other more interesting things that I like. The only thing I don't like is having to get on my knees to get in it, it gets annoying. But I highly recommend it.

a separate tarp that you can pitch when decide to break and eat lunch in the cold 45 F rain will be mucho appreciated.

And as said, you will want the buggy protection, and micey protection, unless you like the furry little buggers crawling on you.

I used a hexamid for about 500 miles on the AT, and like it. But, Id rather have the tarp/inner combo if the weight was close. I also need a reasonable durable floor material , cuben, to protect my xlite, no problems yet.

"Well my current bivy, tarp set up is about 11 ounces, but the humidity is a big problem from what I have seen. And at 27-28 ounces, I would rather take my Golite bivy, given that it is 27.7 ounces. "

You could cut that 27-28oz in half if you are willing to go with cuben instead of silnylon. Double the price but half the weight. Either way, your experience in a 27oz bivy will be vastly different than with a 27oz tarp/inner setup. For me, comfort would also be a consideration on a trip of this length.

Regarding the shelters – most people like them due to "gathering place" aspect. Plus they are a great place to get out of the weather. The mice suck though.

Ryan

All it takes is riding out one storm under that little 9oz tarp to make you really appreciate the GoLite. Surprise storms happen all the time at high elevations and they can dump 1/2" of rain, and 1/2" of hail in 30 minutes. I've ridden out storms under a tarp, but a tarp with closed ends like the Shangri-la is a whole lot nicer. Just make sure you consider where the water is going to flow when you pitch.

There are bugs on the AT: mosquitoes, black flies, ticks, etc. Depending on when you're going they can be awful or non-existent. For New England, May to Sept., I'd prefer an enclosed bug shelter, i.e. tent with bug protection or tent/tarp with a bug shelter inside it
(i.e., http://www.rei.com/product/849594/sea-to-summit-nano-mosquito-pyramid-insect-shield-net-shelter).
This would be primarily for mosquitoes and black flies. Mosquitoes can be all summer, black flies are more of a problem May and June. When they're bad they are awful! By September in New England the bugs are mostly gone.

It looks like the tarp and the Golite Shangri La don't have insect protection (a bivy would be claustrophobic to me for hanging out in the evening). It looks like the Bilgy has bug protection, so that would be my choice.

Ticks crawl; treat your ground cloth or outer edge of your tent floor with permethrin.

I appreciate the input, the nice thing is that I can alternate during summer if I want a lighter tarp, but I believe I will change my bivy for a bug netting to not fry during the summer days.