oh wrong forum :lol:you never know when they come you know 😈 be prepared

A basha can be pitched with just one walking pole if required, and its easy to rig something up from the top of a handlebar of wheel from an inverted bike.

Granted the space provided is small, but its perfectly possible to get adequate weather protection from a basha if planned.

There are plenty of configurations, but they require more thought and planning over a tent, where its already been done for you by the designer – A tent provides all you need everytime you pitch it.

Bivvying is just fun, a different way of staying out.
Can be robust too- on a week canoe trip on Harris/Lewis we got hit by an unexpected force 8, our good quality tent was flattened and we spent the next three nights in lightweight bivi bags under a tarp. Comfy, dry and some of the nicest nights out ive had in a long time.

would you really have plenty of warning of a river rise?

I like to bivi, but for the WRT I'm taking a lightweight force ten tent I won, just to test it out. works out the same weight as my normal bivi kit (basically because I use an ex army basha as a tarp and it's way heavier than these expensive lightweight tarps). No need for poles, find a fence or dry stone wall for support and shelter.

That looks like a lovely and perfectly sensible camping spot TJ. I wish I lived nearer topography and remoteness like that.

ADH – some classic riding apparently there ( I was walking) – Come north I'll show you One of my favourite spots.

Supersessions – yes – the head waters are only a mile or two away either side of the mountain so you would see and hear the rainstorm and the ground is peat and was very dry – so the river would only rise slowly anyway. Its not like in some places where the rainstorm could be 50 miles away and you never notice it.

heres a test pitch on my lawn trying the no poles method, just 8 pegs and a bike to make a tarp tent.

flatfish that's not bad – improvise, adapt and overcome i like it :)although concerned that plain black will stand out a bit 😉

it's actually green so blends in quite nicely.

green…!! your grass is green 😕

alright then, DARK GREEN!!

our good quality tent was flattened

A good quality tent should sniff at a force 8. You either pitched it wrong or it wasn't good quality 🙂 I've been out in worse.

On the subejct of TJ's campsite – I seriously doubt that would flash flood, or even flood. He's pretty high up so the available catchment area wouldn't be big enough to channel enough water down into the channel to cause a problem. Flash floods happen lower down mountains when sudden heavy rain over a large area gets funnelled into one narrow spot. They usually happen in hot countries (or in summertime elsewhere) because only heavy sharp storms dump rain fast enough to generate *flash* floods.

And he may well have checked the weather forecast 🙂

Nice picture, flatfish, it gives me some ideas.
I take you use the front wheel as a "pole" at the other end ?
Is that guy ropes from the seat ?

To be fair it was good quality but with over 6 feet headroom not entirely suitable for high winds.

two small guy ropes, one to each saddle rail and the front wheel is stood up at the other end, wedged under the tarp

Who wants to sleep in a bus shelter or a barn FFS

who wants to spend £330 on a tent?

who wants to spend £330 on a tent?

…when a luxury hotel room for two with shower, comfort, evening meal and drinks can be had for £100 🙂

who wants to spend £330 on a tent?

…when a luxury hotel room for two with shower, comfort, evening meal and drinks can be had for £100

Hey you know you may be able to squeeze an article out of that 😀

I take my tent which is 1400g but packs very small but do not pitch it if the weather is good and sleep outside. If it looks like rain I pitch it and climb inside when it rains. If I get caught out pitching my tent takes a couple of minutes so no bother. Best of both worlds 🙂

I have an old MacPac waterproof sleeping bag. In summer, I'll happily sleep out in that, as long as the temperature isn't forecast to go below about 5 degrees. It weighs 440g. I try to sleep somewhere a bit soft or grab some stuff to put underneath me. If it is slightly colder, I'd take a sleeping mat.

There is no way I'd get that light with a tent – there's basically no penalty over just sleeping rough in a sleeping bag, and you stay nice and dry if it rains.

The riding is so much nicer when all your sleeping kit weighs <500g, whereas I bet no-one with a tent can get it much under 2kg.

Joe

The riding is even nicer when you have no bivvy or tent on you, just a credit card and the knowledge you are heading for a shower and good meal afterwards 😉

BUY ISSUE 56 FOR MORE DETAILS!

🙂

I did a bit of bivvying in India recently:

Zanskar River in Ladakh

This and the following two pics demonstate kayak bivvying