Poncho tarp used as make shift bivy

[William36]

i am using a A-frame set up tarp/bug pyramid underneath set up....polycro ground cloth....

Was considering a UL bivy/bag cover for when things get blowing/raining....warm weather camping 90% of time


Got to thinking instead of carrying bivy/bag cover, couldn't I just lay poncho tarp over sleep system like another blanket, 4 corner stakes if necessary, or better yet tuck 2 sides and foot end under "creating a bivy"and climb in....

I know it is simple enough to see its logical, but anyone do it before and wnat to confirm or shoot a bunch of holes in my thinking...

[leaftye]

Condensation. A poncho tarp doesn't breathe. I'd only do it if the wind gets very bad, and in this case there may be enough drafts under the tarp to slow the rate of condensation enough to get through the night. Thing is though, when it's windy, I still want things staked down. UL gear has a way of blowing away in the wind if you're not holding it it or on it...I almost lost most of my gear that way, with a poncho tarp too.

[Slo-go'en]

If all you do is warm weather camping, then that rain storm is going to be a thunderstorm with heavy rain and wind. You should stay dry under those conditions with a poncho pulled over you for maybe 10 seconds.

Really, with what most modern tents now weigh, there is no advantage to a tarp/bivy set up and many disadvantages.

[daddytwosticks]

If all you do is warm weather camping, then that rain storm is going to be a thunderstorm with heavy rain and wind. You should stay dry under those conditions with a poncho pulled over you for maybe 10 seconds.

Really, with what most modern tents now weigh, there is no advantage to a tarp/bivy set up and many disadvantages. Most of the time, those heavy thunderstorms in warmer weather don't last too long and seldom strike at night while setting up camp. Notice I said "mostly". I love a poncho in the summertime down south here. When it pours buckets from afternoon thunderstorms, I just stop and sit on a log huddled under my poncho nice and dry. I usually shelter-hop during the summer, so my poncho only acts as an emergency shelter at these times. :)

[Slo-go'en]

I've ridden out pleanty of thunderstorms at night. Sure, a lot of them are afternoon storms, but not always. It only takes one to ruin your night!

I grew up in NJ and can remember it T-storming a lot overnight. A lot of the storms are triggered as the upper air cools after the sun sets and all that mosture which has collected in the air condenses out. A lot of the storms we get here in New England also seem to happen in the late evening hours.

Then there is the whole bug issue....

[SunnyWalker]

William36: What helped me decide this issue was this-imagine yourself under that thing or in a real bivy and it is cold and pouring down/pounding rain. Could you be comfortable? How about getting in and out in this? Or picture yourself in a bautifyl glen, say an idyllic river pasture and all of the sudden the mosquitos and etc., come out. You can't get away while you cook or eat. Now, if you can hack it and make it work and BE HAPPY there you go!
It's your decision. Sometimes it works for me other times I don't use the tarp and bivi.

[daddytwosticks]

I've ridden out pleanty of thunderstorms at night. Sure, a lot of them are afternoon storms, but not always. It only takes one to ruin your night!

I grew up in NJ and can remember it T-storming a lot overnight. A lot of the storms are triggered as the upper air cools after the sun sets and all that mosture which has collected in the air condenses out. A lot of the storms we get here in New England also seem to happen in the late evening hours.

Then there is the whole bug issue.... You are correct about the bugs! That's why I use a SMD Meteor bug bivy. Works great in the shelters. I will admit that I've never actually slept under the poncho-tarp in the rain. With my style of hiking in the summer and given the fact that shelters down south here are seldom crowded during the non-thru hiker times, my system works great for me. :)