Backpacking w/ tents???

Anyone with any experience have any insight into tent use while backpacking? Is it necesarry or a hassle?

 

I haven't ever taken a tent, just a sleeping bag. In most places the hostels are dead cheap, so a sleeping bag is good enough for me.

Where are you thinking of going?

 

If you're just camping then a tent can be handy, I'll recomend a simple free standing dome tent. They dont weigh all that much and are quite handy if it rains or get's too cold. Or if you get fed up with Mosquito's and so forth. The real p.i.t.a. is the cooking gear unless you stick to simple and do allot of kabobs or have one of those grilling baskets which fold over the food. Pot's & pans are annoying, especially when you're reduced to cleaning them with dew soaked grass & leaves in the morning.

 

tipsy, i am still debating where exactly. somewhere warm, i wanna avoid room and board expenses.

fritz, thanks!

 

How little can I manage to take and still have everything I need? If your concern is not so much durability and comfort as it is economy, and if you're traveling in good weather and want a quick, convenient shelter for the night carry along a tarp. Special forums>Personal forums>The Hobo Alliance.

 

True, Tarps are a great form of quick shelter and can double as a sink if you dig a hole near a water source and line the hole with the tarp to make a basin. And a quick "Pup tent" from a tarp, a clothesline and some big rocks to pin down the corners is not a bad thing if you're in a warmer area.

 

ahh, tarps. good call.

 

me and my girl thumbed it from the east coast to the west and back and we tried taking tents but everytime we got one we ended up just ditching it somewhere cuz it sucked to carry. a tarp is a good idea but if you have money to spend and your'll be by yourself check out a bivvy bag, they are small and easy to carry well worth the cost or if you know someone who was in the military theres a chance that they will still have the military issue bivvy bag which would def be your best bet

 

I am backpacking around Australia right now, I in some areas I have found a tent to be quite handy. If you plan on hitchhiking from one city to another I would recommend carrying a small 1 or 2 person tent. It definitely beats sleeping in the rain, and it keeps the bugs out. I'd say just get a cheap one that can be easily replaced.

 

try and buy a very good lightweight tent that really is waterproof and with a good insect screen.

personal choice for a tent that is enclosed not just a cover to keep dew/ rain off you

camping under trees will mean the tent will become covered in junk

go for a green colour in case you need to camp where you shouldn't

try to camp somewhere someone with a car won't run you down - yes it happens, if you know 4wds are in the vicinity look out (in that case you should have something to let someone know you are are camping there - eg maybe a camp fire?). when you are camping you should try to assess the hazards of where you intend to camp, somewhere high means it will most likely be dry but leave you exposed to rain and wind (not a problem if you have a good tent.

you should make sure that your sleeping bag is as light as possible and small as possible AND is warm if you need it to be (too many nights caught out like that - a nice summers day doesn't mean a nice summers night).

you should have a practical space between tent entrance and inner tent clearance somewhere to put you damp boots etc.

a good small tent and sleeping bag means you can carry it around with not too many weight issues.

if you are walking my feelings have wandered to the idea of webbing rather than backpacks - they distribute the weight around you more evenly, rucksacks put the weight all in one place forcing you to continually correct your balance.

oh yes heavy boots are not so good. they wear you out, unless you really have to just wear a good pair of sneakers. if you are not carrying a heap of weight you shouldn't need to wear boots, you should still be fairly agile.

IF YOU FALL OVER WHILST WALKING

in mid fall you should know that there is no way of recovery, try to roll with the fall or you'll twist your ankle. the more weight you are carrying the worse the injury. don't try to resist the fall, if you roll with it you can actually roll back into an upright position. women always seem to fall heavily because they they never learnt how to fall.

alaways take insect repellent and a hat with a wide brim that goes all the way around, it keeps rain and shine of your head

 

tarps are great, if it rains and you're lazy like me you can just throw it over you like a blanket. in the years ive been traveling tho i usually rocked a cheap walmart tent. i like the ozark trail junior dome, its small but fit me and all my gear easily. for a while it was me, the old lady, our dog, and all out gear in the junior dome - tight squeeze but it worked. whenever im in a town or city i like to search around for abandoned homes/buildings, preferably wide open ones (they're all over the place). If nothing is open you can use bolt cutters, a great tool to have in your pack as long as you're not a pussy.

 

I second the Bivy Sack very lightweight and they keep you warm and dry. Slept in a snowbank in MN at 9 degrees and was tolerable and dry.

 

i perfer a small tent. the little kids one u buy at wall mart works great. most of the other people im ussually with perfer tarps. i like to carry one of each. i carry more than most travellers tho

 

I use a small tent just big enough for myself and my gear and am very happy with it, it only weighs 3 1/2 lbs so no big deal to carry. A tarp is also a great thing to carry with you as it can be used to seal in body heat in extreme cold and is a little more versatile than a tent. Just comes down to how comfortable you want to be and how much weight you want to pack.

 

They actually Have Rip-Stop tarps that are very durable and have an emergency blanket side to them. They cost about $11 US dollars on Cabelas. I use one, and also have a waterproof 2 man tent for me and my gear that was cheap and had great seems.