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Shelters – tent, tarp or bivvy?

When should you take a tent versus a tarp? Your choice of shelter depends on the weather and how exposed you are prepared to be. If you are likely to encounter heavy rain or insects, a tent will provide more space, comfort and protection. If it’s going to be dry, you might be happy with a lightweight tarp – a rectangle of nylon or plastic that you set up as a shelter in whatever way best suits your needs. A tarp means sleeping without any walls, groundsheet or insect netting but you will be more connected with nature, as you are essentially sleeping outdoors.

There are also tarp tents, a lightweight hybrid of the two, but as with other outdoor gear there’s a direct correlation between the cost of gear and how much it weighs. Super-lightweight tents and tarp tents that you may like to use on a fastpacking trip aren’t cheap.

Finally, a bivvy bag or even just sleeping bag without a shelter are both options if the weather is going to be good. Read Ronald Turnbull’s classic Book of the Bivvy (Cicerone Press) for advice and amusing accounts of his bivvying adventures.