Zpacks Pocket Tarp

@gearmaker  I would like to see your bivy when you are done. Curious what the weight will be. Maybe it will be a good pairing.

My answer is that I just wouldn’t use this shelter (or any minimal tarp) if I anticipate any need for bug protection.   For the weight of tarp+bivy you can take something like an Aeon Li, or indeed the Hexamid Solo which is a Pocket Tarp with netting.

In buggy conditions, what do you do when you get to camp and want to make & eat dinner if your bug protection is a bivy?

Borah bivy can be had for 5 oz and Pocket tarp at 6 oz will be 11 oz while a Aeon Li is 17+ oz. Plus a bivy gives you the option to not pitch the tarp 90% of the time. Pitch the tarp only when it seems like it is going to rain.

I am not a fan of eating inside the tents – have never done it. Even in rain, I can eat outside with my rain clothes on. Though tons of PCT hikers eat inside their tents.

With the pocket tarp though, having a high bath tub is probably a better idea as it will protect you against rain.

I am pairing the pocket tarp with a MLD eVent soul bivy (obviously not worried about weight savings). My plan is to always use the MLD eVent sould bivy without the tarp. When I roll into camp and it is raining, then I will pitch the tarp and use the bivy inside. I can pitch the tarp a little high as I am not worried about splash as the bivy is waterproof.

For ultimate weight savings and weather protection, I would use a tarp like Altaplex tarp which provides great protection from elements and is only 7.8 oz or so (unfortunately not made anymore) and pair it with a polycryo groundsheet and maybe a 1/8th inch foam pad.

“Would using a bug bivy with the tarp make any sense in lieu of getting a bathtub floor and bug net?”

I think it does. I don’t eat or hang out in my shelter though. I also don’t live or backpack where sustained showers are common. I like the simplicity of a bivy and often sleep without a tarp if conditions are conducive to doing so.

Brad – I’m 6′ and have an original Solo plus but the size should be the same as the new pocket tarp if I remember correctly.  It was a bit cramped but I went from a 120 pole to a 130 and it made a world of difference.  I also use a bivy for bugs.  My old one is pretty ragged and I’m in the process of replacing it.  It’s marginal to actually use but I’ll be glad gift it to you if you want to try it out.

Ron

@dillonr I would be grateful. PM sent.

In addition to resisting rain and wind and bugs, doesn’t a bivy also improve the temperature rating for a bag or quilt?

I am a 6′ 1″ side sleeper.  Up until recently I had an original mint green hexamid which after a few months of using it had Zpacks add a beak.  Then I purchased a hexa-net.  I also have a Katabatic bivy but didn’t like it as well as the hexa-net.  This combination worked “okay” for me 8+ years in the mountains of Colorado, Wyoming and Montana.  It was certainly light.  If I remember correctly 13 ozs. total.  I sold this system for a MLD Grace Duo tarp because realized I was missing the open connection with my surroundings which the tarp gives; in addition to better weather protection.  I was “huddling” in the hexamid with the beak rolled down for rain and wind coverage but I couldn’t see out from under it.  That may not be a priority for some but I discovered that for me–it is.

@gearmaker my Katabatic Pinon pine added about 10F to me REI Magma quilt. It was very noticeable increase-so much that I had to kick off a decent portion of the quilt that night-which the low was 39F.  I think each bivy and it’s material would be slightly different depending on it’s breathability.