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  1. #1
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    Question 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?

  2. #2

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    Quote Originally Posted by PGH1NC View Post
    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.
    The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
    Richard Ewell, CSA General


  3. #3
    Garlic
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    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.

  4. #4
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    Long ago I used to cook in my tent in winter. That's about mid-list of the stupidest things I have done.
    "It's fun to have fun, but you have to know how." ---Dr. Seuss

  5. #5
    Registered User John B's Avatar
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    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.

  6. #6
    Registered User kestral's Avatar
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    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.

  7. #7
    Registered User JNI64's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by kestral View Post
    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.

  8. #8
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    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?

  9. #9
    Garlic
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    Quote Originally Posted by kestral View Post
    ...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.

  10. #10
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    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.

  11. #11
    Some days, it's not worth chewing through the restraints.
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    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.

  12. #12

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    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!

  13. #13
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    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

  14. #14
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    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.

  15. #15

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    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.
    Follow slogoen on Instagram.

  16. #16

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    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.
    "Sleepy alligator in the noonday sun
    Sleepin by the river just like he usually done
    Call for his whisky
    He can call for his tea
    Call all he wanta but he can't call me..."
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  17. #17
    Registered User scope's Avatar
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    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.
    "I wonder if anyone else has an ear so tuned and sharpened as I have, to detect the music, not of the spheres, but of earth, subtleties of major and minor chord that the wind strikes upon the tree branches. Have you ever heard the earth breathe... ?"
    - Kate Chopin

  18. #18
    Leonidas
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    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.
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  19. #19
    GSMNP 900 Miler
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    Quote Originally Posted by JC13 View Post
    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).

  20. #20
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    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.
    It's all good in the woods.

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