For those who sleep without a tent...

Michael · 09-07-2011, 10:15 AM

I just tried my first night out in the woods without a tent, and I have some questions.

I used a plastic sheet on the ground to keep moisture from soaking through. Then my pad went on top of that, then me and my blanket. I had strung up a tarp to a tree and my walking stick, pegging the sides down so the thing was A-shaped if you looked at it from the head or foot.

The good: A tarp and a plastic sheet is lighter than my tent and takes up much less space.

The bad: Bugs. I got et.

So, to you folks that like to sleep under a tarp, some questions:

Do you use a ground sheet of some sort, and if so what? I'm not terribly fond of sleeping directly on the detritus of the forest floor, even if it is mostly soft.

How do you keep the bugs off you? My legs were a mess of bug bites in the morning, and a half mosquito/ half demon spent a good portion of the night buzzing by my left ear each time I started to fall asleep; it never bit me, but just woke me up again and again.

oldsarge · 09-07-2011, 11:23 AM

I used an Army issue mosquito bar. You can pick these up all day long on Ebay. I like them, they are very large and have ties sewn at various points to accomidate most any configuration.

Military Mosquito Net Bar (Mosquito nets, netting and repellents / Insect Netting BedNets)

Amazon.com: Mosquito Bar -- Mil-Spec: Sports & Outdoors

Mosquito Insect Bar "military issue" | eBay

Michael · 09-07-2011, 11:52 AM

Cool.

It looks from the pictures that there isn't a bottom, just a skirt around the bottom edge. So do you put some sort of ground sheet to keep moisture and such out? If so, what do you use? Or do you just get away with tucking the bottom edge under your sleeping pad?

IndianaHiker · 09-07-2011, 01:58 PM

Deet is my friend. Here is my typical set up for summer. Typically there is a ground sheet under the Big Agnes. Not for moisture but to protect the inflatable pad.

oldsarge · 09-07-2011, 02:26 PM

I used two ponchos, one to lay on and another to string up as a shelter. Either a lean to or "A" frame type over head as IndianaHiker posted. The net hung down and tucked under the ground poncho. I try to keep the net away from the pad. If you sleep up against the net, skeeters can still get to you, plus you risk the chance of pulling it down. I'm sure there are many variables to beating the bug issue. This just happens to be mine. Yes there is extra weight in carrying the mosquito bar, but you really need to experiment with ideas and go with what works best for you. I don't get out no where near as much as some of the folks on this site, so I'm sure there are other ways to do this. I've also used this net over a hammock and tucked it in under a sleeping pad I was laying on. There are eyelets to pass the hammock cord through. I don't have any recent pictures but I may be able to dig some up from the old Panama days in the jungle. As IndianaHiker said, deet is his friend. In Panama I would sleep out in the open during the dry season. All I would wear (besides my uniform) was a mosquito head net and a pair of black leather gloves (issued item), then I would spray myself with the issue bug juice, extra heavy around the belt line, wrists and ankles. I recently bough one of those one person tents shaped like a sleeping bag, similair to the one pictured in the link below. I've yet to try it out.

Solitaire 1-Person Tent - product summary - Bing Shopping

Newanderthal · 09-11-2011, 03:01 PM

I use the MSR Bivy Sack to keep dry. It provides more protection than the ground cloth since it can also keep mist and dew off of me, and even rain if a storm blows through.

As for bugs, Repel 100. It's pure DEET. Nothing bites me. Not even the OFF-eating mosquitoes of South Louisiana that completely ignore citronella.

Michael · 09-11-2011, 05:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Newanderthal

As for bugs, Repel 100. It's pure DEET. Nothing bites me. Not even the OFF-eating mosquitoes of South Louisiana that completely ignore citronella.

I slathered myself in 98.25% Deet. It was a reapplication from earlier, and I wasn't shy about putting on enough. The bugs still started eating me after a few hours. I'm apparently delicious.

oldsarge · 09-11-2011, 06:18 PM

Back in the old Army days in Panama, we would use a issue bottle of bug juice, 99% Deet, right after getting out of the shower. Rub down really good..all over...except maybe the sensitive ares you know where. I mean we would go heavy with this stuff, then when you start to sweat it all comes out through you clothing. Yeah...it burns a bit at first, but you get used to it fast. I did this for years with no ill effects effffefckfjfdfmfknfsdkcksdnnkadnfidhien nmsjh bdc

well maybe a little diminished motor skills!

Lorax · 09-24-2011, 07:09 AM

I'll pick and choose the weather conditions to tarp in. usually spring and fall when the bugs aren't so bad. The winter is when I use my tents and the summer is when I use my hammocks.

Michael · 09-24-2011, 08:04 AM

There have been fewer bugs around here lately. It hasn't quite gotten down to freezing yet, but it's gotten to the mid 40s F (maybe 7C). So fewer bugs.

If I can get someone to agree to go camping again before it starts to get really cold at night, I want to try again with a tarp. My sleeping bag is stupid-warm for something that packs up smaller than a soccer ball.