--Brief Intro--

Hi, my name is Carter and I'm addicted to hiking. I just started learning about UL backpacking last year, after some experience with traditional backpacking and a lot of miles clocked day-hiking. I do most of my hiking in the southern Indiana area where I live, mostly weekend trips, though I'm planning my first 4 and 5 day solo trips for this year. Other than that, I'm 21 years old and finishing up a degreee in art history and just started working as a pharmacy tech.

--End Intro--

I have a good two person tent, but I've been looking at a good solo system for a couple upcoming hikes. I decided on a poncho/tarp with bivy system, and, being an artist, I would really like to create them myself. I apologize for the lack of illustrations, but my scanner isn't working at the moment.

Since I haven't done this before, I thought I'd ask for a couple questions. Thanks for any help. I was going to use 1.3 oz silnylon for the floor with epic for the top. The lower half will be a mummy shape simply sewn around the edges and turned inside out. For the hood, I was thinking a \__/ pattern that would allow it to curve upwards when sewn with a nylon grosgrain tie-out at the top. I would also have grosgrain tie-outs at each of the four corners to help keep me from rolling around too much.

I wasn't sure about the fabric choices (the epic/silnylon combo is used on the lightsaber bivy I was looking at in a local store). I also wasn't sure if I need vents on it and how I should place the noseeum netting to keep bugs out. Also, I was considering using bathtub floors, but I wasn't sure about the benefits compared to the added complexity.

Sorry if these seem like a lot of questions, and thanks for any help.

-Carter

Check over at Six Moon designs- their meteor Bivy might be a good place to start looking at DIY Stuff. HTH, Betsy