TARP CAMPING – The Pros and Cons (A Restrospective Guide)

We had a saying in the paras ‘Any c..t can rough it’

Another step closer to nature. Mosquitoes. Ants. Scorpions. Spiders. Snakes. Rodents. Bears. Coyotes. Raccoons. Skunks. I once set up a tent in the dark in a state park only to find out that the ground was covered by nettle shoots. There are also those times when there is no way to drive a stake into the ground and I really need a freestanding tent.

I ride a motorcycle. I carry a 2-person tent, an ultralight tarp, 2 collapsible poles, and a collapsible chair. I have a down sleeping bag and an ultralight air mattress. I am always trying new things, and these are the ones that have worked for me, though I think I may find something to replace the ultralight air mattress. This next summer, I will hit the road with about a half dozen new items. Not all of them will be there at the end of the summer. (I once tried one of those area mosquito repellents. It didn't survive the first day. I left in on the table in the campsite in case someone else wanted to try it.)

Love it. My standard shelter is a Hyperlite 8×10 and an MLD bug bivy. 1 lb. Never get wet (been through several windy downpours). No creepy crawlies. Very cozy.

Tarps all the way, they're great. One of my favourite plus points on tarps, is how easy they are to dry/air out. Not like hoping for a dry day to dry your tent out ! Definitely agree with light, fast, easy, compact, versatile, and more at one with the outdoors. But if I was planning on spending the night on a mountain, I may just be taking a tent !

Слизни не страшно, страшно поставить палатку на муравьиной тропе ночью, и утром проснуться в муравейник, из не очень довольных муравьёв. Хорошо, что я поставил палатку, а не открытый тент.

I've been tarp camping for 30 years now, mostly in Canada from the Canadian Shield, boreal forest, bald prairies, the Rockies, and the West Coast which has a similar climate to the UK (but with trees…). The thing I like most about it is the view, both watching the sun go up/down, or star gazing. maybe also because I feel safer in Canada being able to see all the way around me since we have a lot of critters and I sleep light so can quickly flash a light in a particular direction if needed. In the vid you only showed I think two ways to pitch but there are way more to choose from. Tarp camping is really a mix of site selection, weather conditions, and tarp pitch. With all those rocks you have on the moors in the video, I might have chosen a spot that didn't look like it would be a swimming pool in a rain and carried some climbing nuts to jam into a crack and run a plow point off the nut to give me a big shelter inside that's fairly tight to the rock on one side. But awesome that you're getting out and making these vids, I'm not a hand with a camera so it'd never happen.

Goretex bivvy bag + 40% abv . = 😴

I go the other end of the spectrum and only use a Exped Megamat 15LXM Duo as you finally get a good nights sleeps and can spread out and an ebike to carry everything for me so no more tiredness before I get there.

GREAT REPORT but it all depends on weather and location.😊😊😊

Choosing a shelter in a dip is not only undesirable in rain, if the dip is deep enough, the cold will sink to the lowest point: your location. That said, if you would have built an earth gully and dam around your shelter that was inside the tarp's shade as presented from the direction of the rain and had a runoff location outside, you would have stayed dry. If your gully was on a hill then an outside gully and dam uphill from the shelter to divert the water flowing down the hill would be helpful.

Also, when Nath set up his shelter in the beginning, it's more comfortable to set up your shelter with your head uphill and higher than your feet if you have to set up on a hill. Setting up perpendicular to the rise in elevation as he had it will tend to have you fighting against rolling downhill every time you move around.

if you had to – can you close or shut the front down a bit if weather turns bad?

The only problems I see with the “tarp only” option is the bathtub waterproof floor and the bug protection are missing. Major consideration depending on environment and weather conditions. Thanks for the great video!

1st set up looks like they hoped it wouldn't rain… On a sloop?

Great video have never done tarp camping. Looks fun if the weather is ok. What about mozzies in the summer though? ….

I've found there are many good and bad things about tarp camping, while I'll still use a tent from time to time, I've found building a shelter and using the tarps (even the insulated ones) to be much more enjoyable, it's all in how you build your shelter, I think it comes down to being a choice for each individual and what they like, along with how they want to camp.

Tarps have never really interested me as much as tent camping but this was a really good review of tarp camping. I kindof want to give it a go at least once 😂 just to see if it's for me

I really do enjoy your videos could you advice me with what I could get for me and my dog we are currently homeless and we are struggling I no nothing about camping things but I would need something to keep me dry as I will be living in it daily at lest then with a tent I could get a job and start to sort my life out this is just a situation after I broke up will my wife after 6years and is so hard to fine a property and ended up spending everything on a air bnb been in this situation now for 6 month hope ya can help with some advice thanks again for your videos defo helps me through the long nights in the cold 💚

Gotta love tarp camping I used mine in lakes a few months ago

I always tarp camp, but I take a smaller tarp to put inside the tarp, What I did was to make a tarp twice the size of the inside of the tarp tent, add a square of insulation then folded the tarp back so it fits nice and snugly inside the tarp tent. I also make a tarp tent with a proper door. So I have a nice floor, a door and I don't get the conduction effect so much, and I don't get hassled by insects. It it's going to rain, I peg out all the sides to prevent leakage and cold, but I try to leave some open to prevent condensation.

I use a hoochie sometimes here in Australia, love it besides the bugs it's not fun watching a large huntsman running over the sleeping bag, or once came back from a short walk up river to find a 5 foot goanna laying on my bed😂. Just ordered an Alton Goods 3mx3m tarp they're very similar to the DD.

Try hexamid setup in hard wind next time