Sleeping in your yard

[Jason W]

How many times per year do you estimate that you test out gear by sleeping in your own yard?

I am probably 5-10 times per year, but  it would likely be more if I didn’t feel judged by my neighbors :-)

[Jerry Adams]

I’ve camped on my patio to test 20F temps.  Out of view of any neighbors.

[bradmacmt]

Anymore – never.

[R L]

I wish I could sleep out in the yard but fear the neighborhood cats pizzin’ on my shelter.  sigh

[Todd T]

I’ve done it once.  Like Jerry, it was to test gear in very cold temps.  I think it got down to 16F that night.

[Paul S]

too many racoons, and aggressive ones at that.

[AK Granola]

I have pitched shelters in my yard, but the lure of a nice soft comfy bed and complete quiet inside the house keeps me from sleeping out there. I don’t have neighbors looking on, but I can hear a bit of traffic, neighborhood roosters and dogs, and if anyone is outside having a party, the noise drifts by.  It is nice to wake up out there though, very early. All is quiet, except the morning birdsong! Love that!

[S Long]

Often enough that my neighbors think I’m a loon. I had one catch me testing out new ice tools and crampons on a telephone pole in my back yard.

[David Gardner]

I wanted to test an old, urea-smelling tent to see if was still usable at a time when I was living on the ground floor of a townhouse with a postage-stamp-size back yard. Rain was predicted but it was only a few feet to the back door, so I figured what the hell. It didn’t rain much, but my housemate did get a knock on the front door in the middle of the night, a visit from Security, who told her a 2nd floor resident had called saying they thought a homeless person might be trying camp out in our back yard. The tent functioned, but I decided to give it to an actual homeless person who needed it a lot more than I needed a 6th, 30 y.o., 6 lb tent to go with my collection of 4 newer tents.

[Alex H]

I think once or twice to test out bivys or a pad and bag combo but many times to watch meteor showers or eclipses.

[Jo P.]

I’ve slept in the yard a lot, but not to test gear. Just because I missed camping. Slept much better out there, too. Unfortunately I now live in an apartment.

[W I S N E R !]

Never; I’m one mile from the national forest.

And between cats, possums, raccoons, skunks, and coyotes, I think my backyard is a more unruly place than the mountains.

[R L]

Amen to that.

[Marcus]

I only did this as a total newbie, mostly because of barking dogs in the neighborhood.

I’m only 90 minutes from driveway-to-camp so try out gear there on the regular.

I’d yard camp all the time if I lived in a very quiet area with high privacy and larger lots

[Russ W]

Got a cabin near the Linville Gorge Wilderness in NC, so I use weekend overnights and day hikes as my proving ground.

[BlackHatGuy]

None. I test out gear on trips. Just wore a brand new pair of hiking shoes on my last trip, they did well.

[Paul Wagner]

If you do choose to cowboy camp in the backyard, don’t forget to turn off the sprinklers…

[R L]

I recently asked a gear vendor ~ if was sleeping out in the yard with one of your bivy’s because the ol lady locked me out again, and the 5am sprinklers came on, how long before I wet out.

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