View Full Version : Becoming comfortable in a small tent.
As daylight hours decrease how do you make yourself comfortable in a small tent? How do you change clothes or write in journals and do media or pass time other than sleeping, while lying down for who know how many hours? How do you cook in a vestibule that looks a bit dangerous with a pot of boiling water atop a small stove?
As daylight hours decrease how do you make yourself comfortable in a small tent? How do you change clothes or write in journals and do media or pass time other than sleeping, while lying down for who know how many hours? How do you cook in a vestibule that looks a bit dangerous with a pot of boiling water atop a small stove?
I hike to hike, not to camp, so after I set up my tent and have eaten and and text my wife where I am, I go to sleep (tired enough), then wake up in the morning eat breakfast and start hiking again. I have a BA Fly Creek 1 which most would consider a small tent (room for my sleeping pad and my pack).
Don't cook around my tent. This summer several times I ate near a shelter or other water source and then hiked on to tent on a mountain or other place.
garlic08
08-25-2019, 22:30
First, I never cook anywhere near my tent. Eating in the tent during inclement weather is a primary reason I pack stuff I can eat without using a stove.
I suppose I have a disposition suited for long hours in a tent. Tent hours have never bothered me. I may spend an hour or so working a difficult crossword puzzle or Sudoku. Journaling may take a half hour. I typically do not carry a book or any electronics.
On clear nights I'll spend as much time as I can stargazing, and often don't pitch the tent at all.
But if I'm in a tent I've most likely just had a long hard day and I'm going to rest and sleep. And sometimes I just think of how glad I am to have a tent.
Feral Bill
08-25-2019, 23:43
Long ago I used to cook in my tent in winter. That's about mid-list of the stupidest things I have done.
I use the Tarptent Rainbow. It is shaped something like a half circle, which allows me to get in and out without crawling like a dog and to sit up to read. You may like a tent like this (https://www.tarptent.com/ ) -- I picked it to help with many of the very issues you mention.
But as with others who've responded, I don't cook or eat in my tent. I carry meal bars for times when it's too rainy to cook.
I have a tarptent rainbow also. I wish it has a larger vestibule, but it is a nice compact little tent. I have an older, inflatable sleeping pad which is very comfortable for older aches and pains. A warm down bag, so no bad chills. I read in evening, have a paperback with me and use a headlamp. Sometimes audiobooks on I phone if eyes tired. Journaling old school with paper and pen. Change clothes and bathe sitting, scooting, lying down - it gets done. I sometimes heat water in the vestibule with it partly open for hot cocoa or soup if it pouring rain. (I don’t hike in grizzly country). I have a msr windboiler stove which is pretty tilt proof,( had a pot slide off a snow peak stove once, fortunately only minor splash burns, but I never went back).My only worry is the tent catching fire , I have a neck knife for easy access to create an emergency back door in a catastrophic fire event. Increased condensation is an issue. I can’t put in the big miles anymore so I do spend more time in camp then many. I enjoy the wind, the earthy smell, the critters. If it looks like a multi day heavy weather event, I usually go into town.
If if you are lucky enough to hike with a compatible partner there is always conversation, card games, word games, and romance. I settle with belly rubs and tick checks with my doggie. Her care also takes up some time every evening.
When it gets a bit glum, I remember where I am and I’m content. I suppose this is a form of meditation. Im comfortable with myself these days, I like company, but I don’t really get lonely.
I have a tarptent rainbow also. I wish it has a larger vestibule, but it is a nice compact little tent. I have an older, inflatable sleeping pad which is very comfortable for older aches and pains. A warm down bag, so no bad chills. I read in evening, have a paperback with me and use a headlamp. Sometimes audiobooks on I phone if eyes tired. Journaling old school with paper and pen. Change clothes and bathe sitting, scooting, lying down - it gets done. I sometimes heat water in the vestibule with it partly open for hot cocoa or soup if it pouring rain. (I don’t hike in grizzly country). I have a msr windboiler stove which is pretty tilt proof,( had a pot slide off a snow peak stove once, fortunately only minor splash burns, but I never went back).My only worry is the tent catching fire , I have a neck knife for easy access to create an emergency back door in a catastrophic fire event. Increased condensation is an issue. I can’t put in the big miles anymore so I do spend more time in camp then many. I enjoy the wind, the earthy smell, the critters. If it looks like a multi day heavy weather event, I usually go into town.
If if you are lucky enough to hike with a compatible partner there is always conversation, card games, word games, and romance. I settle with belly rubs and tick checks with my doggie. Her care also takes up some time every evening.
When it gets a bit glum, I remember where I am and I’m content. I suppose this is a form of meditation. Im comfortable with myself these days, I like company, but I don’t really get lonely.
Sounds a lot like me these days, but I'm sporting the quarter dome and jetboil stove. I like camping as much as I like hiking, bad weather yeah I'll carefully boil water in the vestibule. But can be challenging to stay dry sometimes, the rain fly touches the tent your quilt touches the tent walls and not good ! Especially in winter.
Journaling, games, puzzles and reading seem to be popular pastimes. Has anyone devised a way to use a backpack or sleeping pad/mattress as a back rest of sorts?
garlic08
08-26-2019, 08:39
...When it gets a bit glum, I remember where I am and I’m content. I suppose this is a form of meditation. Im comfortable with myself these days, I like company, but I don’t really get lonely.
Now that was nicely said.
Starchild
08-26-2019, 08:42
On a thru one is so tired that sleep comes fast and sweet. On a backpack where one's path is set it can run into that situation mentioned by the OP, what to do. That's where shelters come in, but if there is no shelter and it's raining and not much to do, well that sometimes sucks, but it's part of the deal. Just try to get by till morning. The tent I have will allow me to sit up in the center of the tent, which is helpful, but most things are done lying down.
I sleep in the tent (TarpTent Rainbow)- all the rest of the stuff I do outside unless it's raining so hard I'm forced inside. That tent is plenty roomy if I'm stuck.
If I'm hammocking - which is most of the time, all those activities can be done under the tarp with lots of room to spare, rain or shine, which is one of the big pros for hammock camping.
Like Astro already said, I hike to hike, camping is just necessary to sleep until I can hike tomorrow.
Guess everybody's different. I use a Tarptent Notch, which has very little extra space when used with an innernet, and have never had to do anything to make myself comfortable. I'm actually happy with a hooped bivy, aside from getting in and out in bad weather, and not being able to sit up to change clothes, which the Notch takes care of. I use my shelter as a place to sleep. On those rare occasions the bottom falls out, and I have to wait out a storm, well, I usually go back to sleep for awhile!
Has anyone devised a way to use a backpack or sleeping pad/mattress as a back rest of sorts?
thermarest has made a sleeve type thing that makes a pad into a chair.....
https://www.thermarest.com/trekker-chair-kit
Kittyslayer
08-26-2019, 09:46
Consider carrying a small, light tarp that you can string up outside your tent for cooking, sitting under, etc.
I rarely change clothes inside my tent other than underwear. I simply get out of the tent and change clothes while standing up. I am not too shy and can usually preserve some modesty by having my tent or a tree between me and anyone else who might see me changing clothes.
When bike racing I have a kilt and can change clothes in the middle of a busy parking lot. When camping I carry a poncho which if I was concerned about prying eyes would allow me to change anywhere I choose.
Slo-go'en
08-26-2019, 09:54
If your tent is too small to change your clothes in, it's not a tent, it's a bivy sack :) Of course, the real trick is not to touch the walls of the tent with your elbows if the walls are wet. That's one thing I like about my SMD Trekker tent, I can sit up in it and it has enough elbow room as to not rub against the sides.
As the days get shorter and the evenings colder, camping in a place where campfires are allowed is nice as it gives you something to do. If I have to retreat to the sleeping bag, it's generally too cold to keep the bag unzipped and the hands holding something like a book or phone. Having an audio book to listen to for a while is nice. Otherwise, I have no problem with sleeping, or at least laying down, for 12 hours.
Alligator
08-26-2019, 10:59
I like to make sure I have enough room to sit up in when using a small tent. Then I will just sit in my T-rest chair and read. I also make sure to have enough clothes to sit outside if I want to. A small ground cloth is helpful if you want to sit outside in your sleeping bag. I also always pack full rain gear to be able to cook outside no problem but I may cook in a vestibule with the right stove. Secure the door open and then have the stove at the base opening. Rarely necessary though.
Most times just using a tarp though.
Sounds like you're trying to move through an understanding of the compromises of a small tent, just like I did some years ago, right before I chose a hammock instead. A hammock has its own compromises, but its clearly the most comfortable solo shelter out there. In terms of doing stuff, journal writing, enjoying media and basic passing of time its SO much more enjoyable while laying in a hammock. Cooking and changing clothes under a tarp is dependent on the size and configuration of the tarp, but is potentially better than a large tent, and at least as good as a solo tent. Takes some mental ability to get around not having walls, so I like to explain it like this...
...when I get up in the morning after its rained overnight and I'm packing up, I become aware there is this light-colored hex shape on the ground. This is my "tent" space. The square or rectangle shape of a tent is very much the same thing, the dry ground underneath your shelter. Except that under a tarp, all of that space is not hindered by the shape of the tent walls. There is the potential for windblown rain, but keep in mind that when you're in the trees, you're just not as susceptible to that type of condition. And when you are, you have the ability to buckle down, pitch low and steeply, with still plenty of room for changing, cooking, etc. Well, you're not going to get cooking going in the wind anyway, but the fact is that it would be more doable, especially as you sit in your hammock instead of kneeling on the ground.
That's how I do it anyway. HYOH.
The gymnastics required to change in a one-person single wall tent is what drove me back to a two-person UL tent. I don't cook on trail, so no worries there. As for shorter daylight hours, I just end up walking 4-6 hours in the dark. I prefer to find a spot, eat, setup my shelter, stash my bear can and then go to bed. Wake up just before daylight and do it all again.
HooKooDooKu
08-26-2019, 13:55
The gymnastics required to change in a one-person single wall tent is what drove me back to a two-person UL tent.
Have loved my BA Copper Spur UL2 as a one-person tent. Given that I use a large NeoAir for a sleeping pad, the UL2 is too small to use as a 2 man tent (would require both occupants to use "regular" side sleeping pads).
LittleRock
08-26-2019, 15:08
My BA Fly Creek 2 is big enough to hold all my gear and change clothes easily (YMMV - keep in mind I'm only 5'7", 150 lbs). Also I can pack up inside which is very nice in bad weather.
In the evening I call my family, study the next day's hike, then read a book until I fall asleep, which usually does not take long.
I try not to cook near my tent, however if the weather is very bad I will open up the vestibule just enough to get my stove out in open air and cook that way.
Have loved my BA Copper Spur UL2 as a one-person tent. Given that I use a large NeoAir for a sleeping pad, the UL2 is too small to use as a 2 man tent (would require both occupants to use "regular" side sleeping pads).
I think this will be my next 2person tent. Been using the half dome 2+ for years nice but heavy, bulky. What's the difference between the copper spur and the tiger wall?
It takes time to become acquainted with sleeping in a one person tent if you are used to 2+ people tents. I have two kits, light weight using a Notch Li, and a medium weight for winter/ bad weather trips. In the Notch, I basically have enough room to switch positions on my pad and sit up. there's no sideways room. It took me about 10 or so trips using the notch for the smaller space not to bother me. I do not hang out in it, unless it's pouring, using it only for sleep. I do not cook in or near the tent, that's just asking for trouble at some point.
One Half
08-26-2019, 20:53
Long ago I used to cook in my tent in winter. That's about mid-list of the stupidest things I have done.
LOL. I like that one
Traffic Jam
08-26-2019, 21:11
I cook in my tent in bad weather! Half my body is in the tent, the other half is hanging out. It works!
HooKooDooKu
08-27-2019, 01:03
I think this will be my next 2person tent. Been using the half dome 2+ for years nice but heavy, bulky. What's the difference between the copper spur and the tiger wall?
The primary design difference is that the Copper Spur is 100% free standing with the poles shaped like a pair of 'Y's attached at the legs.
The Tiger Wall requires the corners (at the feet) to be staked out because the pole design is a single "Y" with a stretched leg.
Otherwise, if you look at the specs, the Copper Spur is slightly larger in square footage (both inside and the vestibules).
Naturally, the Tiger wall packs a little smaller and lighter.
HooKooDooKu
08-27-2019, 01:21
My BA Fly Creek 2 is big enough to hold all my gear ...
When I did the JMT with my BS Copper Spur UL2, I was able to bring EVERYTHING (except the bear canister) into the tent at night.
I had read reports that occasionally people would have their boot laces, hiking pole hand grips, of other gear attacked by critters, so I didn't want to leave anything outside. So I had my back pack, hiking poles, and all my gear in the tent. I used a sitting pad that I would turn "dirty" side up and sit the hiking boots on it.
The primary design difference is that the Copper Spur is 100% free standing with the poles shaped like a pair of 'Y's attached at the legs.
The Tiger Wall requires the corners (at the feet) to be staked out because the pole design is a single "Y" with a stretched leg.
Otherwise, if you look at the specs, the Copper Spur is slightly larger in square footage (both inside and the vestibules).
Naturally, the Tiger wall packs a little smaller and lighter.
Thank you, I really like the free standing so its a clear choice for me. I'll probably wait until tax time in the spring no hurry the old rei tents are holding up fine.
I'm a pryamid tent convert and into extreme multitasking. Gatewood Cape, Serenity NetTent, 1.5mil Polycryo Footprint, 6 Ti stakes all pack easily into a S2S XS 2.5L stuff stack and weighs 25oz - that's about 60% the bulk and weight of my equiv. BA FC UL2 for ~same total floor area.
Mids are modular, so while I like sleeping inside the bathtub floored inner tent (creepy crawly fears while obliviously asleep), I usually collapse it into a corner (3clips, 20sec) while awake for more interior room, not having to zip though doors, and able to leave my shoes on 'inside'. If it's not too windy, I can also raise the pitch height to create more interior room. The fly alone is amazingly effective against flying bugs playing against their own instincts (to avoid enclosed entrapments, and to seek escape out the large 'skylight' when they feel trapped).
With the inner solo tent collapsed, I can fold the footprint to size to create a giant floorless vestibule to cook in, use my camp chair (Litesmith Qwikback), and have a 2 person sized interior to move around, change clothes, fiddle with gear. In nasty weather, I pre-dig a indoor latrine in the unused corner opposite the door (pee while lying on side, then layer dirt on top) which also works for those middle of the night pees (drop inner tent with 1 peak clip), and in the morning if it's still pouring, I can make breakfast, pack everything up, and even take my morning #2 dump** in another cathole, all while inside under the protection of the fly. ** note: last step before moving on, and wild camping only - not at an establish campsites.
FWIW, I can even use the fly as sit-down shower stall in chilly weather (to block windchill and in direct sunlight, to add 'greenhouse' warmth). It's also a rain poncho and, for me, a critical winter daytrip EDC as a: full/3qtr 'bothy bag', Palmer furnace, and emergency puffy mid-layer.
So if necessary, I can do everything I need from inside my tent. As far as killing time while stuck inside a tent (due to rain/cold/wind/bugs/long nights/stealth camping) - it's basically sitting cross-legged on a pad to do things with my hands (cook, fiddle w/gear, play mini card/dice games), or sit in chair/lie on pad to relax and play with my smartphone (listen to music, watch a movie, read ebooks, surf assuming reception, etc).