[pct-l] Tarp vs Tarp Tent

[Scott Williams]

I too cowboy camp whenever I won't be rained on or eaten up by mosquitos.
 That meant that most of CA, much of OR and some of WA was under the stars.
 Glorious!  On the PCT when I did pitch, it was with an old Wanderlust,
Nomad, which in spite of its age, never leaked a drop in WA and was a great
refuge from bugs when needed.  That was one of the early tarp/tent designs
available in the early 1990's and is now being made by Light Heart Gear,
but it was over 2 lbs for a single.

On the CDT this year I used a Zpacks, Double Hexamid, a large cuben fiber
tarp/tent with bug net sewn under and up to the sides for a fully enclosed
design.  Lots of other folks were using his single and double tarp/tents on
the CDT this year.  We've got pics of encampments where almost all of us
are in one of Joe's designs or another.  With the use of his cuban, bathtub
ground cloth, which can be raised into the door of the shelter for
protection from wind, it weathered 70 and 80 mph storms with driving rain
without getting me or my gear wet.  I never had a stake pull out either.

The downside is that like most tarps, it takes a bit of learning to really
be able to pitch it quickly and properly in adverse conditions.  The first
time I actually pitched it on trail when I needed to, (I practiced at KO
before we hit the trail) Why Not and I were cowboy camped in Sand Canyon NM
when just after dark a thunderstorm moved in with a terrific wind and the
start of rain.  We were like a couple of Keystone Cops grabbing and
muscling the lines and tent, and trying to stomp the stakes in rock hard
soil with no rocks in sight to help pound with, as the wind tore it out of
our hands.  We broke a stake or two that night using out feet to force them
in.  None-the-less, we got it up in a surprisingly short time and rather
than pitch her single in that wind, we both crawled in and had plenty of
room in my double.  Of course, just after we got all secured and settled
in, the rain stopped and never returned.  But it was great practice and
tons of fun.  We laughed for quite a while at our ineptitude.

I chose the double because the basic Hexamid single with beak weighs just
under 9oz and the double with the same options, which is quite a bit
larger, weighs just under 11 oz.  The total package with stakes and
groundcloth was around a pound.  For the 2.5 oz difference, I had a palace
all summer at a much smaller weight than any single or double set up I've
ever used before.  It's a great tarp/tent and kept me dry and bug free
anytime I decided not to cowboy camp.  There were several times when I
chose not to pitch only to be awakened by those first few drops of rain in
the face.   After that first crazy pitch, it was always much easier, and
got even more so as the summer progressed.

Joe's got some great designs.  Cuben is pricy, but great stuff.  Cuben does
have problems with abrasion resistance, but I was careful with my Hexamid,
and the fabric is still in like new condition after 5 months on trail.

Shroomer