pillow......
If you hike solo, a 2 person UL tent is typically the perfect size for one person and their pack. Usually they only weigh a few ounces more than their 1 person equivalents.
It's all good in the woods.
It's funny how really limiting things work for some people. I roll over way too much in my sleep to stand having my legs stuck in a bag, or even laying up on top of a bag while using a short pad. I carry more weight for greater comfort with no regrets.Originally Posted by Brewerbob
Our backpacks go in the vestibule, or in the case of a tent with no vestibule, in the tent with us.
That was the standard M.O. I couldn't get the wife or kids interested in backpacking. They were barely ok with throwing stuff out of a trunk and setting up. Actually only my son was ok with that. Wife tolerated it once in very rare while, the daughter even less so.
I didn't foresee having a gf that enjoys hiking when I bought the tent many years ago.
In a rectangular bag I'm fine. I switched from the 20" wide pad to the 25" wide pad. A short pad? Yeah, that's not happening either.
With the backpacks in the tent, I have to sleep in a fetal position as I throw them at the foot of the tent. That usually isn't a problem as I tend to sleep that way any how. It's when I cramp up or try to stretch and I'm kicking them that I remember they are there. A 2 man tent with a decent vestibule would do. The 3 man tents seem to really jump in weight.
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Hopeful 2018 Thru-Hiker
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We did the same...tried short pads, then 20" pads with a short one for our son, and then switched to two 25" rectangular pads with a rectangular bag (Feathered Friends Condor) used as a quilt. Very comfortable now.
Check out the Big Agnes Scout UL2 for a good vestibule-less tent option, it's got more than enough room to stretch out straight and have the packs down below your feet. It will also fit a 50"x77" rectangular sleeping system (rare for a 2P tent) and is under 2 pounds. Single wall, though...With the backpacks in the tent, I have to sleep in a fetal position as I throw them at the foot of the tent. That usually isn't a problem as I tend to sleep that way any how. It's when I cramp up or try to stretch and I'm kicking them that I remember they are there. A 2 man tent with a decent vestibule would do. The 3 man tents seem to really jump in weight.
I also am not a thru hiker. I have an external frame pack and a Eureka Spitfire. I stand the pack up against the outside of the tent wall next to the door. The rain fly covers all but the bottom couple of inches of the pack and that part is just the metal frame anyway so it doesn't matter if it gets wet. There is not room in the tent for the backpack since I am 7 feet tall and have only a couple of inches of space at either end between my head or feet and the tent wall. I could put it beside me but then I would have to sleep in a curve and I don't think that would be ideal.
Zach
I left mine in the vestibule with all contents in 2 large ziplocks inside the tent with the exception of food which was hanging in a tree or on a wire or in a bear box. I also left my boots in the vestibule and in heavy rains I would set the pack on top of my boots.
I use a ZPacks Hexamid Solo+. Since my pack is virtually empty when at camp, I just hang it from the handle of the trekking pole I'm using to support the Solo+. Keeps it protected, handy and off the ground.
^^^
Note hanging shadow
14110049639340.jpg
Double post
Last edited by MuddyWaters; 02-18-2016 at 14:14.
Anyone who tried to parse that first sentence, my apologies. The pack stayed outside. Of course.
I read fluent typo.Anyone who tried to parse that first sentence, my apologies. The pack stayed outside. Of course.
My tent interior is +/- 3x8 (Eureka Zeus 2). Plenty of room to have my pack (Mountainsmith Auspex) inside at bottom left (I sleep on right side to be closer to where door unzips). My food bag and my tent are strapped to outside of pack while I hike, and the food bag gets hung from a tree when in camp after dinner.
This setup means food odors inside the pack are minimized, so not as much of a bear magnet inside tent. It means if raining in the AM, I can pretty much pack while inside the tent. Then exit the tent, put pack cover loosely over pack and lean against a tree while taking down and putting wet tent in its stuff sack, and attach via built-in bungee cord-type retainers to outside of pack. So wet tent doesn't cause everything else inside pack to get wet. Retrieve food bag from tree, grab something quick to eat and then attach food bag outside pack the same way as the tent. Put rain cover on more securely and start hiking.
Not a thruhiker - is it OK if I answer this question?
My pack goes in the vestibule of my Mountain Hardwear Sprinte 1 tent.
What tent do you have??
I generally put mine face down behind my head in the tent. I like to have my head elevated a little so I use it as a "pillow stop/headboard." I still keep all the zippers open in the event that some kind of mouse somehow gets into my tent. Lastly, I never keep any food in it at night. Maybe this is over kill, but I don't want to find out if a bear comes looking for some grub.
Whether you think you can, or think you can't--you're right--Henry Ford; The Journey Is The Destination
I either put mine on the ground right under the hammock, sitting on its rain cover, Or clip it to the hammock suspension line near my feet.
Please don't read my blog at theosus1.Wordpress.com
"I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference. Thank God for Search and Rescue" - Robert Frost (first edit).
I know there aren't any growly bears back east, but even with black bears I strongly recommend food and toiletries not be left in the tent. The photo is from a food storage citation that I issued several years ago in WY's Teton WildernessAllenNOVF3952753.JPGAllenNOVF3952753f.JPGAllenNOVF3952753i.JPG when griz decided to investigate the intriguing odor inside the tent. Started by squishing the tent flat. The odor, you ask, a bar of soap.
Oh, it turned out to be a $500 bar of soap. May sound expensive, but when you consider the consequences of not storing properly bear attractants: Griz has now learned to check out tents for food = dead bear (Threatened and Endangered Species); Griz has learned check out tents for food = dead camper. How would you like to be in the next tent Griz checks out?
By the time I set up my shelter and unpack what I need at night and hang food, there is very little left in the pack so it is easy to take into the shelter with me. I will often hang it from my entryway trekking pole so that the outside pockets can be used to put things into for quick access.
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