Have tarps lost their popularity?

[Bearbonesnorm]

I may be wrong but I can't help thinking that generally (elsewhere perhaps rather than here), I see less and less reference to the use of tarps and generally more focus on tents - albeit often lightweight models. At one point, tarps were almost universal issue but are they disappearing and becoming the shelter choice of weirdos?

[sean_iow]

Is it that there was a group of people who 'endured' tarps for the weight saving and now that tents have closed the gap they have switched?

If it's forecast to be dry I'll even forgo the tarp and use just a bivi bag or even the hammock these days... but I'm one of the 'weirdos on here'

[gecko76]

I hope not! Got a tarp and pole combo ready to go but was all bivvy-bag-only last year. Been practising my knots and everything.

[RIP]

are they...... the shelter choice of weirdos?

Thank you . Compliment accepted .

[fatbikephil]

Well I use a tarp and I'm not a weirdo. If I was that wouldn't leave a word for some of the people I meet
I guess people perceive them as not being very weather proof and a faff. I'd still choose the Deschutes if I knew the weather was going to be horrible but I've been caught out with just the tarp and it's been alright. Plus my flat tarp / pole / pegs borah bivvy combo weighs 500'gs. Not sure of any tent that beats that.

If midges are about (or worse, mozzies) they are less useful unless you add a sea to summit mozzie net but that does add to the faff, particularly if you need to get out to the loo...

[FLV]

I switched to a tent from a tarp a while ago (just before a hiatus from bivving / camping much at all as it happened)

My reasons... and these are all purely my opinion obvs.

I found flat tarps to be a bit of a pain in the bum to set up always low to the ground (unless massive). Yes, I knew how to use it properly and did so extensively
Once set up, if or when weather / midge resistance was needed, this relied on laying down inside my bivibag or perhaps just crawling about under it.

I then got a shaped tarp / shelter, Bearpaw lair, which once coupled with said bivi bag and a pole was practically a tent with regard pack size. - Still has the midge / weather problem, albeit a bit better to sit under and hide from milder rain etc

Once I took the next logical step and got a Lunar Solo so that I would have the luxury of getting 'inside' without being in a body bag. I then found these a faff to set up right, and still breezy in proper weather.

I then got a tent, a very expensive very light tent. Which, quite frankly is great. It is much warmer than a tarp so I carry less other kit. If the weather is nice, I will happily leave the doors open and parts of the outer rolled off. It is, for me, much easier to put up.

The only disadvantage is once its wet, its harder to get dried out before the next evening.

[Lazarus]

My opinion is the UK is a bit wet so a tent is a must have and not really much weight penalty over tarp+ bivvy
Trekker stealth is 770 g but outer and a bora gets to about 600.
Tarps are more versatile but also require more skill so more likely to take if its more about csmping than travelling.

I use a helium bivvy if its not forecast to rain or i am in a rush ( set up and decamp.takes seconds ) @ my version of racing

[Bearlegged]

Of my last 15 bivvies, I've not taken a tarp for 3 of them.

For those 3 bivvies, I've been snowed on, and rained on twice. And yes, I did check (and triple-check) the forecasts. FFS.

[JimmyG]

I may be wrong but I can't help thinking that generally (elsewhere perhaps rather than here), I see less and less reference to the use of tarps and generally more focus on tents - albeit often lightweight models. At one point, tarps were almost universal issue but are they disappearing and becoming the shelter choice of weirdos?

Right, that's it! After my tented BAM last week that's me definitely using my tarp on my next bivvy... unless I decide to sleep in a shed, that is.

[RIP]

Not sure why I'm justifying my tarp fanaticism again, and each to their own obv. And hopefully Stu posted to inject a bit of friendly ribaldry/rivalry on a dull Tuesday .

Often tent users seem to want to hide from 'bad' weather. With the increase in interest in 'gentler bikepacking' from non-weirdos, the ratio of tarps to tents would seem bound to decrease. But it's a complete myth that tarps are rubbish in bad weather. Had mine in high winds, heavy rain and thunderstorms - not sure about all three at once but quite probably.

A flying diamond can be up in seconds. With a 10 x 8 the room inside is palatial and after those few seconds you can be under it, get changed, cook, whatever you like. Big enough tarp there's no need for a bivvy bag.

The venue where I might change my tune is one featuring winged teeth. S2S Nanonet has helped in mildly-afflicted zones though.

[Bearlegged]

I think there's something about being open to the world that I prefer over being completely enclosed in a tent. Quite happy with a mesh panelled bivvy to keep the teeth away. I should maybe look into a bigger, more versatile tarp (a la Reg), but I've got a consistent set-up for now, that I find very little hassle to put up, far easier than my tent.

[thenorthwind]

the shelter choice of weirdos?

I use one. So probably.

I own a Lunar Solo, a 8x4' tarp, and a bivvy bag.

The bivvy bag probably gets most use, often in conjunction with the tarp. Probably more than the tent, which is usually reserved for midge-danger.

[jameso]

Is it that there was a group of people who 'endured' tarps for the weight saving and now that tents have closed the gap they have switched?

Raises hand...

....though the triangular tarp tent layout gets on my wick for low fabric at the edges and that darn pole in the middle being in the way (I have a Gatewood Cape and a Bearpaw Lair, I'm 6'). I took a 1.5 x 3m tarp on my last 2 trips and was happier. The tarp is a tad lighter and larger, sets up in a way I feel I have more useable space, but no doubt the tarp tent shape provides better weather protection.

I think there's something about being open to the world that I prefer over being completely enclosed in a tent.

This, 100%. I think the tarp with one long side open/up is a good compromise, I can move in/out under it easily.

[JimmyG]

Another penny's worth from me and it's pull up a sandbag and swing the lamp time I'm afraid. In my 23-year military career, with the exception of the Arctic, I never once used a tent in the field. With good tarp (aka basha) site selection and configuration, they were more than adequate for all other environments. Separate mozzie/midge nets were rigged up only if necessary. Needless to say, the need to be aware of what’s happening around your pitch (as opposed to being cocooned away in a tent) was/is rather important. Generally speaking, unless they're brightly coloured, they're going to be more stealthy than a tent; and the ability to be able to exit and/or pack up quickly are also valuable benefits of tarp life. These afore-mentioned features are undoubtedly desirable for those of us who might occasionally find ourselves bivvying in or near some iffy neighbourhood or otherwise less than ideal neck of the woods.

Having said all that, though - now that I’m older and a bit softer around the edges, I reserve the right to occasionally deploy a tent (my Lunar Solo or my my new BA one) just for a change. Variety's the spice of life and all that!

[whitestone]

It's probably the perceived "faff factor" and tarps don't really fit in with the hipster/gravel scene as promoted by the bike industry, plus of course being able to sell a £400 tent rather than a £50 tarp might be a factor.

Pretty much our first bikepacking trip was on a really wet and windy weekend riding the West Highland Way from Crianlarich to Ft. William. The weather was so bad that the World Cup downhill being held at Nevis Range was cancelled! We were using an Alpkit Rig3.5 between the two of us (really!) and once we got set up we were dry. Fortunately the Sunday was a little bit quieter weatherwise.

We've a Big Agnes Copper Spur 2 man tent and while it's nice to get tucked away, especially in Scotland when the winged teeth are out, it also feels a bit isolating. A few years ago we did the Capital Trail and on our first night we pitched up in a nature reserve on the edge of the Pentlands. We were both using tarps - I woke in the morning to see a couple of deer grazing maybe ten metres away at the other side of the clearing. If we'd been in the tent just opening the inner zip would have scared them away and we would never have seen them. So for me a tent loses that connectedness with your surroundings.

Weight wise there's not a lot between Gatewood tarp & bivy (c. 560g), tent (c. 750g - my half of the Big Agnes) and hammock & tarp (c. 800g). The lightest is my cuben fibre tarp which with pegs and pole and bivy bag comes in around 400g. These weights ignore quilt, pillow and mat (or underquilt) since they are common between all setups.

Site selection: all have their pros and cons.

Just my 2p...

[Bearbonesnorm]

It's probably the perceived "faff factor"

I generally consider myself too lazy to use a tent as I see them as involving faff. Not just the actual pitching / striking but packing and drying out, etc. I can have a tarp up in under a minute, down in less and then simply stuff it in my pocket

These afore-mentioned features are undoubtedly desirable for those of us who might occasionally find ourselves bivvying in or near some iffy neighbourhood or otherwise less than ideal neck of the woods

A prime example of this took place on the slightly infamous 'Mike from Bromsgrove' Winter bivvy. When the questioning began, I simply pulled my tarp pole and lay under it giggling (quietly) until the thread had passed (gone back home in his tractor), then, I just pushed it back into position and all without leaving the cosy confines of my bivvy bag.

[voodoo_simon]

Maybe there’s still the same amount of people using tarps but there’s so many people ‘bikepacking’* now, it feels everyone is using a tent/hotel etc instead


*this needs a different thread but I’ve noticed a definite shift in what I would have called a bikepacking setup from ten years ago to now

[fatbikephil]

Maybe there’s still the same amount of people using tarps but there’s so many people ‘bikepacking’* now, it feels everyone is using a tent/hotel etc instead


*this needs a different thread but I’ve noticed a definite shift in what I would have called a bikepacking setup from ten years ago to now

It's that bikepacking.com - they have re-invented cycle touring

I find a tarp better in marginal sites such as woodland - you just need enough space for your bod and the tarp can then fit over / round tussocks, tree roots, (or trees) and drainage channels. Plus an A pitch with a pole takes me about a couple of minutes plus guy adjustment time. I've also removed the pole in windy conditions....

One of my less optimal pitches...

[Dave Barter]

I’ll own up. Never got on with tarps and woken up wet so many mornings. I’m in the whack a tent/bivy up and stay dry camp. My Big Agnes is zero faff, up in seconds and like a little hotel. For me it’s the technology moving on. None of us use canvas anymore? I started out under it.

[faustus]

Dare I say this is clickbait for ye original dirtbaggers and their Masonic tarplore?

I can't comment as I get by with the worst/best of both worlds: the cursed hooped bivvy

[rudedog]

Can’t think of too many situations when I’ve been too bothered by the faff of setting up/taking down a tent - it’s not something I’ve given a lot of thought to.

Living in Scotland, the need for a safe haven from the midge has meant I’ve never really considered a tarp.

[Johnallan]

Although I enjoy the 'Joes Shop' shaped tarp, I always add a bivvy bag and usually a tyvek ground sheet. I figured a Lunar Solo may be a a simpler option but I've yet to try it.

Most of the time I'll just use a bivvy bag and if its raining, keep riding until I find a doorway or something. I doubt this will ever be a popular choice though

[PaulB2]

A tent is easy - it's heavier and less flexible but fairly idiot proof. I've tried using a flat tarp on a couple of trips and got wet both times due to pitching mistakes - I don't doubt if you use one often enough it'll become second nature but I'm only get out once or twice a year at the moment so next time I'm taking a tent.

[Pirahna]

I often carry a small tarp (RAB Silwing) in addition to a tent. If it's wet a tarp pitched high in trees makes a great place to get changed, or can be used as a porch for the tent.

[AndreR]

I've used a flat Tarp for years and no bivvie bag and did so when back packing before taking up bike packing some years ago. Love this setup for all of the reasons listed already, especially the feeling that you are in the landscape rather than isolated from it in a tent. Been out in all sorts of weather and have only got damp and never properly wet on a very few occasions. Good site selection and the right pitch and all is good in pretty much any weather! I don't bother with bug protection other than repellent but having said that don't often get to Midgie country. I have also been a 3 season camper so not had to deal with extreme cold weather outside of a hitch hiking trip around Europe with a tent in the early 1980's over Christmas and New Year, but that's another story .

I read a book 30 years ago written by an American ex forces guy (Colonel Townsend Whelen) who was a keen hunter and fisherman who spent long periods of time in the back country in winter around the 1920's and he "invented" the Whellen lean-to. https://theredtentcompany.com/tarps/whelen-lean-to He reckoned this was good down to -20 comfortably but did rely on a fire to do that so not really useful here. Another American who used a tarp exclusively while doing all of the big through hikes in the USA among other places is Ray Jardine. These are the guys that got me started down this route all those years ago.

I am keen to have a try of winter bike packing (I already ride all year round anyway) hence my first go at the winter event this year. Happily I was led astray by Mr Climber and have still not properly camped in winter while bike packing! I'm also planning on doing some longer more toury trips this year using camp sites some of the time, if only for the privacy have bought a Tarpstar to use on those. Didn't get it's first outing in the Welsh wilds as planned but will hopefully get an outing this weekend!