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Posted by JR magyver (Guest) on October 23, 2006 at 5:49:39 pm EDT
In reply to Why do I need a tent? posted by Bill S on October 21, 2006 at 11:57:26 am EDT

I love "sleeping under the stars" and I prefer it most of the time (spring-summer) but when I wake up at 3am with rain hitting my face, I feel safer having some sort of rain fly or shelter. If you have a thunderstorm that may last all night, its always good to have a back up plan. My son and I have made three different styles of tarp tents, all of which have very good ventilation and require no poles, which saves weight, and are either suspended by a tree or between two trees much like the old tube tents or hammock. We also designed them into two sections so each can carry half the weight (marine corp style). Each section, weights about 1.5 lbs and with the bungee cord, stakes and ground tarp, top out about 2 lbs for me and 1 lb for him. They may not last as long as a typical kelty or eureka solo, but they only cost about $15 to make and they sleep two, keeping my son close to me and not inside a solo of his own where he may be a bit uncomfortable, a child can get easily frightened by himself in the woods at night in his own tent, especially in bear country. Although we still sleep outside when the weather permits, we never plan a hike without some sort of shelter, though it would be nice to eliminate the weight and set up time. We have never used a hike shelter on the AT, I'm just weary of strangers when it comes to my kids safety. Too many nuts in this world, not to down any packers, but you can never be too careful.

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