View Full Version : Your lightest tent or tarp choice
If you were to go Ultralight for your shelter on the AT for 5 nights . What would b your shelter choice ?
My wife and I always hike together, we now carry the ZPacks Triplex. For a solo trip, I would probably go with the Solo+ or the Duplex.
Where on the AT on when. July in NJ would have a different answer than March in GA.
Where on the AT on when. July in NJ would have a different answer than March in GA.
How about where AND when.
How about where AND when.
How about HF in April ????
thom
How about HF in April ????
thom
I should add what is your strategy for your equipment choice ?
ScareBear
12-11-2016, 11:39
How about where AND when.
True that. And how many people?
True that. And how many people?
Ok ok ! Your by your self no kids wife brother sister enemy or friend. ;0) .
Thom
I just got the Packs Altaplex last week, one week after ordering it. I'm very frustrated that I won't be able to use it until Spring. We're getting 8" of snow tonight and I doubt I will see bare ground up here in NH for quite a while.
Feral Bill
12-11-2016, 13:39
8x10 silnylon tarp with line and 4 stakes, ground cloth (a pound or so total) maybe an 8 oz bug net. Alternately, a hammock with the above, a pound more.
I'd have to check the exact weather first. For such a short duration trip I could really dial in the shelter to maybe a bivy sack cowboy camping the entire time. Maybe spend a night in a lean to.
Making it complicated for you to get an answer but April in the mid Atlantic states is perhaps one of the most pivotal finicky weather months of the entire yr. Weather can range widely. I base my shelter choice knowing what I expect weather wise.
soumodeler
12-11-2016, 13:57
ZPacks Duplex for me. Perfect for one, usable for 2 in a pinch.
I should add what is your strategy for your equipment choice ?
It depends on how the 5 day is being approached. I don't approach every hike the same way in the same mindset. Sometimes, the approach is 10-15 m days where I might be doing something like fishing 1/3 of the on trail time maybe a 5 day being only 6o-80 miles. At other times the approach is 25+ m avg days going as fast and light as I can in thru-hiker mode from the get go with a 130-150 mile hike laid out.
When I'm in HF my mindset isn't just about hiking on a hike because hiking is not just about hiking. Hiking around and through HF means to me a journey that includes taking in the history, the views of three states, walking across a bridge, train access to Washington DC, stopping by the ATC to let many know they are appreciated and recalling friends that have passed and the potential life changing journey that the current ATers have/are experiencing, rafting or paddling, C&O canal history and where the canal path leads, watching for raptors, stopping by the outfitters, and the confluence of the Shenandoah River and Potomac Rivers where I know many a fish are just waiting. The confluence always makes me think of Shenendoah NP too.
nsherry61
12-11-2016, 16:41
Likely my silnylon poncho-tarp - 6 oz for combined shelter and rain-gear! . . . not counting stakes and guy-lines. Wouldn't use it if I was expecting horrible weather, but if the forecast was only moderate rain, I love my poncho-tarp.
MuddyWaters
12-11-2016, 16:58
None would be pretty light.
AT has shelters to sleep in, all you need is light tarp or bivy just in case if thats your plan. 5 days...good forecast....a large piece of polycro would suffice for just in case.
Sandy of PA
12-11-2016, 18:42
I carry a solplex, I don't do bugs!
trailmercury
12-12-2016, 14:29
3-season CONUS
Just me- Zpacks Altaplex
Me and a partner- Zpacks Triplex
3 adults or 2 and my dog- Tarptent Cloudburst 3
jimmyjam
12-12-2016, 14:41
MLD Patrol shelter+ borah gear bivy+polycro ground sheet.
swisscross
12-12-2016, 16:19
The lightest shelter I own is a poncho tarp but I prefer to sleep in a tent.
The last two years my trips have been with my daughter.
Lightest option that I own that will sleep both of us is our Solong 6.
T.S.Kobzol
12-12-2016, 17:54
I have never hiked on AT south of Vermont :-) so I'm going to guess what my choice would be for ultralight shelter. I'd say if I had to buy new I'd try the zPacks Duplex. If I had to use from my current quiver I'd go with one of the three choices:
1. Blackbird hammock with 20 degree quilts and a HammockGear Winter Palace tarp
2. Big Agnes Fly Creek Platinum 1 tent
3. HMG Ultamid 4 teepee.
I'm not ultralight by any means, but sorta-light. Tarptent Rainbow, about 33 oz., serves all my needs. That's all-up weight. No ground sheet required. I don't camp in winter, so this is for three-season use.
PaulWorksHard
12-12-2016, 21:32
Zpacks duplex. Great tent as long as there isn't heavy snow and your bag is warm enough.
When alone I've used the Gatewood Cape, Worked fine, even in a tornado (stake it close to the ground).
As a couple we used the basic tarptent Squall without a floor (velcroed to tyvek ground cloth). Worked well even in June/July in Maine. Very light,
colorado_rob
12-13-2016, 10:03
Yet another vote for zpacks... I carried a solo+ for about half the trail, even in colder weather. 16.0 ounces total, including ground sheet and guy lines.
In really cold weather, however, like below 20 degrees or so, I will carry a traditional double-wall tent for its additional warmth. Single wall tents, like zpacks tents, have to be mega-ventilated to minimize condensation, hence don't add any warmth to your overall sleeping kit.
Another Kevin
12-13-2016, 12:35
Really, really depends on conditions.
I have a 13 oz (including cordage and stakes) silnylon tarp that I sometimes sleep under. But it's pretty poor at bug protection, and the wind gets under the edges. So more often I bring my 28 oz (also including cordage and stakes) TarpTent Notch. I have the model with the half-solid side panels, which is much warmer than the all-mesh one.
So the spectrum might be;
Desert in the dry season - No shelter, 0 oz.
Shoulder season in the autumn, after the bugs have died back but before it gets TOO cold - tarp and a piece of Tyvek under me - maybe 18 oz total.
East Coast most of the year - TarpTent Notch, 28 oz. I'll probably still have the Tvvek along in case I want to sleep in a shelter, so call it 32 oz total.
I also have an REI Half Dome that I'll take if, for instance, I have a kid along who's not yet able to carry his own shelter or doesn't yet have one. It also doesn't work out too badly if a party is sharing gear; I'll just let whoever isn't carrying a tent carry more of the food.
I'm not personally 'light and fast', so I'm not much into a 'light and fast' gear style. This bulldog ain't never gonna be a greyhound.
I'm always questioning things. What a surprise hey. One can go light/UL and not go fast too. They don't have to always associated so agree with you. :) :) :)
ggreaves
12-13-2016, 18:06
HammockGear cuben tarp with doors - 6.5 oz plus 1.75 mm zing-it guy lines. <8oz total.
Six Moon Design Lunar Solo. 24 ounces and it looks like it's on sale right now for $172.
I thru-hiked with this tent in 2011 and still use if for section hikes and weekend camping.
I bought a Six Moon Designs Lunar Solo for my last AT hike in 2005 and it was perfect. There was occasional condensation on the inside which I blotted up with a piece of Pak Towl but that's the only "trouble" I had with it. I don't get out much anymore but I still have it.
saltysack
12-18-2016, 00:13
LHG Solong6 has been my go to for several years but recently ordered a MLD cuben duomid as I've always liked the mids as I tend to hike during colder non buggy weather where I could get by without mesh.....will be keeping the solong6 for paddle trips or buggy weather.....Judy and Ron are great to deal with......2 top notch companies....
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Z-pack Hexamid Solo Plus Tarp - 7 oz
ScareBear
12-18-2016, 07:53
Theoretically?
If there was no rain in the forecast, I'd carry a ZPacks Duplex. But, I don't own one...http://zpacks.com/shelter/duplex.shtml
If there was rain in the forecast, I'd carry The One by Gossamer Gear...http://gossamergear.com/the-one-shelter.html
I really just don't do shelters unless there is a reason. I can't think of one, except an emergency....
Theoretically?
If there was no rain in the forecast, I'd carry a ZPacks Duplex. But, I don't own one...http://zpacks.com/shelter/duplex.shtml
If there was rain in the forecast, I'd carry The One by Gossamer Gear...http://gossamergear.com/the-one-shelter.html
I really just don't do shelters unless there is a reason. I can't think of one, except an emergency....
the zpacks bad in the rain ?
thom
Sandy of PA
12-18-2016, 09:40
Z-packs work great in the rain, in 2013 I was 6 miles north of hot springs headed south and storms were brewing. Found a spot, put it up, jumped in as the rain began. Walked in to Hot Springs the next morning to find a bunch of hikers camped along the river ended up with water mixed with sand forcing them to move in the middle of the night. The storm dumped six inches of rain that night, and I stayed dry in my solo hexamid. The newer versions are even better, the bathtub is higher.
How about HF in April ????
thom
April has few bugs, could be cold so my UL choice would be a mid-style tarp ( think solomid) and a bivy. I use a quilt which pairs well with a bivy. If you have a full on sleeping bag then I would probably skip the bivy.
Z-packs work great in the rain, in 2013 I was 6 miles north of hot springs headed south and storms were brewing. Found a spot, put it up, jumped in as the rain began. Walked in to Hot Springs the next morning to find a bunch of hikers camped along the river ended up with water mixed with sand forcing them to move in the middle of the night. The storm dumped six inches of rain that night, and I stayed dry in my solo hexamid. The newer versions are even better, the bathtub is higher.
is Cuban much more noisy in the rain?
colorado_rob
12-18-2016, 10:49
It is a bit noisy, given a good tight tent pitch. Doesn't bother me personally, but it does bother some. In all tents I've ever slept in no matter the material, it sounds like it's raining much harder than it really is, in my zpacks solo-plus cuben, this gets amplified even more. No biggie to me.
ScareBear
12-18-2016, 16:18
It is a bit noisy, given a good tight tent pitch. Doesn't bother me personally, but it does bother some. In all tents I've ever slept in no matter the material, it sounds like it's raining much harder than it really is, in my zpacks solo-plus cuben, this gets amplified even more. No biggie to me.
Everyone is different about the rain noise of Cuben tents. Personally, I always have a taut pitch, especially in the rain/wind. With a taut pitch, to me, a Cuben tent in the rain is like being inside of a drum. I've been in one in a solid rain and for me it was a bit much without ear plugs. Also, the Cuben tents are single wall and rely upon air movement to prevent condensation build up. That's a bit difficult when the humidity is 100 percent...
poolskaterx
01-12-2017, 21:37
I would love 5 days on the AT:)
If I were to do that it would be my Zpacks Hexamid solo-plus with bathtub groundsheet.