[pct-l] Tents vrs Tarps - Numbers do not make sense

[Ron Moak]

John writes: >> The HMG is a double wall tent that suffers from zero
condensation (well, ok,
after 9 days of 100% rain the tarp began to suffer from condensation) See:
<<

John, all tents and tarps suffer from condensation. Double walls don't
eliminate condensation. Setup any tent / tarp in the right conditions,
condensation will from on the underside of the canopy. All a double wall
tent does is to provide a barrier to help you avoid the condensation that's
formed on the fly.

Inner net tents are great for ventilation; however they won't necessarily
keep the condensation off you. If a heavy layer of condensation forms on the
fly and is dislodged by the wind hitting the canopy. A fair amount of it
will penetrate your netting and on to your gear. So your sleeping bag cover
should still be highly water resistant. 

Adding a couple of ounces of overfill down to a sleeping bag is a far better
weight investment than adding a half pound or more for a second wall in a
shelter.

Finally, for the most part the PCT is a pretty benign environment. In my 4.5
month hike, I setup my shelter maybe a dozen times. The rest of the nights
were either cowboy camping or in towns. A net tent is handy for a couple of
sections of the trail through the Sierra's and in Oregon where bugs are
particularly bad. Most of the time a bug shelter is not needed.

Personally for sleeping I use a Gatewood Cape (11 ounces and doubles as rain
gear), an 18 ounce quilt and an 8 ounce down jacket. I use a 4 ounce
combined sleeping pad/ground cloth plus 3 ounces for stakes. This brings the
total to sleeping to 48 ounces or 3 pounds. Since my cape and down jacket
are dual duty, my additional clothes weight (fleece cap, wind jacket, wind
pants and inner shirt) adds an additional 12 ounces. With a light pack,
kitchen gear, and misc stuff, I'm generally in the 5.5 to 6 pound range. 

Again I'd add in an additional 7 ounce Serenity net tent for those sections
of the trail where needed. By the way this is also the setup Billy Goat uses
on his PCT hikes.

-----------------------------
Fallingwater