Mike B,

"Mainly because I'm trying to get some of my friends out there and they told me they don't like the idea of sleeping under a tarp. My sister is scared of animals climbing under the tarp(that is very silly)."

It has happened before.

Muahaha. ;)

A couple summers ago I went to Whitewater state park in SE MN. I went down there in search of the elusive trout. The first night I was just sitting by the fire and looking into the flames. I saw some movement on the other side of the fire but didn't pay too much attention to it. After a minute I suddenly realized a raccoon was staring at me. He was very interested in the cooler I was sitting on so I played the role of big scary human and chased him off.

Later that night at around 3am I heard rustling next to my rainfly. I started moving around and my movement was answered by a growling creature outside my tent. I have a cat like curiosity so I had to go see what was outside my tent. The process of unzipping my tent and climbing out took too long. The creature was long gone by the time I got out and stood up.

I have heard quite a few creatures running around my various campsites since I started camping. I really want to see the animals that wake me up. That way I don't have to play detective in the morning(I don't have to, I just want to.) A tarp will help me see the creatures I think.

Jim said "When I was a younger man I had one tent,pack, bag, cookpot, etc and several girlfriends. Now one wife and several packs,bags, tarps,tents, cookpots. Needs vs wants whatever.
I will go sit in the corner now until she says I can buy something else."

Love it. That made my day. Glad someone else is in the same boat as me.
There is nothing wrong with having more than one tent\tarp. If you have the money to buy, please purchase something. Lets get this world turning agian.(Money make the world go round.) Buy something from an american cottage company like GG or tim marshal.

I like the look of the GG trekking poles. I also like the TiGoat poles and the ptarmigan bivy.

"I like the look of the GG trekking poles. I also like the TiGoat poles and the ptarmigan bivy."

Someone was selling a Ptarmigan on gear swap recently. Don't know if it was sold.

Let me add some "weight" to this thread. :-) :-)

My first tent was a $14.00 K-Mart special rip stop nylon pup tent style that I treated with 4 or 5 cans of silicone waterproofing spray from Wal-Mart. This tent after the silicone spray treatment weighed in at 4 pounds and change. I don't use it anymore but I have a sentimental attachment to it because my son and I camped out in it when he was quite young in of all places our back yard. :-) :-)

These days I am a hanger. I use a Henessy Expedition Asym Hammock. It weighs in at 2 pounds 12 ounces without the "snakeskins" as shipped from Hennessy. I have substituted lighter weight shockcord, removed some of the plastic hardware and replaced their guylines with Kelty Triptease. These changes I believe pretty much offset the weight of the snakeskins which are silnylon.

I have tried the ground and prefer just "hanging around".

Party On ! 2010

Newton

Edited by Newton on 01/06/2010 22:34:22 MST.

Even though I sleep much better in the recliner chair style position afforded me in my hammock the urge to go lighter has me looking into tarp style tents. I am in no hurry to get back to the ground but the Bilgy Light Weight Tarp Shelter kit at Quest Outfitters has piqued my interest. A one person style tips the scales at 1 pound 9 ounces including an allowance for 2 ounces of stakes. It sports a bathtub floor and no-seeum mesh walls in a tarp style tent.

The cost seems reasonable at @$100.00 and it will give me a way to scratch my MYOG itch. :-) :-)

Party On ! 2010

Newton

Edited by Newton on 01/06/2010 22:57:48 MST.

My sister is scared of animals climbing under the tarp(that is very silly).

I went to take my dog out to pee the other night, right on the front porch, in the suburbs, old boy got sprayed by a skunk. Right there not two feet from my front door. He is a 210 lb Mastiff too, know what it takes to clean skunk stink out of a 210 pound dog? It sucks

I have a question for tarp users. If you were positive that it wouldn't rain (I can take you somewhere in the Sierras in summer and guarantee that) would you even bother with the tarp? What benefit does it provide if you are POSITIVE it will not rain?