Urban and/or stealth shelter

[Brett Peugh]

Thanks Monte.  I think I am back where I started.  The net tent is just about as much weight as my TarpTent Moment so I should probably just go with that.  The other option is to use my tarp/poncho and get one of the bug bivies and spray it with Pemethrin or find a way to keep one end up.

 

Thank you.

[Monte Masterson]

The TT Moment is a fantastic tent, but it’s gray, which isn’t a bad stealth color really, especially with a granitic background such as the Sierras. However for green woodlands the Moment certainly isn’t the optimum color. And it’s a tad heavy and wide for a stealth shelter.

This is the quickest and easiest way to set up a single overhead pull for a bug net. I just take my 1.3 oz Vargo Dig Dig Tool (that I already pack along anyway) and secure a trekking pole handle to it with velcro bands, zip ties or duct tape. Takes about a minute. I leave the bottom (serrated) 4″ to stick in the ground at about a 55 degree angle. As long as I’m not in sandy loamy soil it works fine as a single overhead pull for a bug net/bug bivy (with 3/32″ shockcord). The Dig Dig Tool can also be utilized as a ground or snow stake, as well as its main role of a cat hole shovel.

Simply secure pole handle to Dig Dig Tool. Zip ties are best, but not reusable so you’d need to pack enough. They’re virtually weightless though. I cut the ties off with sharp knife when ready to pack up.

This is with velcro straps. Works okay, but not quite as solid as zip ties. Handle fits perfectly in concave Vargo Tool.

Then I shove everything into the ground at an angle. Viola, you now have a single overhead hang for a net. If the ground is too hard I shove the Vargo tool in first and then secure my trekking pole handle to it.

Another good choice, which is 1 1/2″ longer, is the MSR Blizzard snow stake (.75 oz). The longer length increases purchase power of the stake. It can also be used as a camp trowel, but the MSR Blizzard isn’t near as good for that purpose as the Vargo Dig Dig Tool. Of course the MSR can be packed along as single use item as well.

[Brett Peugh]

That is pretty cool!  So that would hold up the head point and keep the bugs away.  Just have to think about how the tarp poncho would go with that and how to do the lower half of the bug bivy to keep the bugs away. Thanks!

[Brett Peugh]

I am sorry but one thing I did forget to mention is that I am a side sleeper.

[Diane “Piper” Soini]

Maybe you want the Bivy Pack. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtp6CBQDf2k

[Brad W]

@Diane now that looks cool!

[HkNewman]

That [bivypack] looks cool

Read some discussion and reviews from 2 years ago.  It works, but many UL bivy users pointed out an ultralight frameless pack plus separate bivy can actually weigh less/cost less.   Also a wilderness user would probably want a separate tarp and carrying a BV is an absolute bear (couldn’t resist).

Still the video is interesting, especially solving the part of where did the rest of his stuff go?  Answer: use extra clothes in a stuff sack pillow.  Extra clothes may be more a traveler vs a wilderness backpacker tho at UL weights.

Speaking of which, the leather Keens illustrate that its more marketed to hostel type backpacker on planes, trains, and buses (why carry a separate shelter?) who stealths camps a bit.

[Ryan Jordan]

For stealth: brown, dark green, dark gray.

My pick for a *comfortable* stealth shelter is the Hilleberg Enan in the sand color. VERY comfortable amount of room, vestibule, and a really terrific color for blending in – some may prefer the green? Depends on the vegetation where you’re camping, I guess. We have more browns than greens in the urban lowlands of the Rockies, so I tend that direction.

[Brett Peugh]

Thank you everyone, these are very good suggestions and I can use some in a light urban or on the edge of it type of environment.  I think I can try the pole and trowel trick if I can find a good stick.  I could always wear my silnylon pants and wool socks when using a net bivy to keep the bugs off of those parts and just deal with the heat when it is hot out.  Maybe use an umbrella on one end?

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