Tarp or Tent?

oooooohhhh 🙂 where did you get them clamps from fudge?

I made a version of those using 4 reflector brackets and an offcut of tubing for the purposes of fitting lights above an old style bar bag.

DSC_0150[/url] by Colin Cadden[/url] – Flickr2BBcode
D5503, undefined@4.9 mm, f2.0, 1/32s, ISO200

Remember that any weight on them causes a lot of leverage so they’ll need to be exceedingly tight on your bars. Certainly not for carbon.

Lawmanmx not mine but in the link Matt posted

http://www.baryak.com/new-page/

150 dollarydoo’s :O i’ll stick with me Ebay 10 quid jobbie for now 😆

Ski jump bar ends inboard = £5 on eBay…

These are on aliexpress lawmanmx

I got these ages ago for a fiver. Not for the bar bag, to lift the light over the top.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Carbon-Fiber-MTB-Bike-Bicycle-Mount-Double-Handle-Bar-Extender-Bracket-Holder-/252684185482?var=&hash=item3ad526af8a

I suppose if mounted vertically you could just strap a bag to them and it would hold the bar off the front wheel.

As for drop bars, I just strap a dry bag straight to them. Just rest my fingers on top of the bag when climbing. Added bonus on freezing days you can tuck your fingers behind it out of the wind!

@ fudge9202

What did you search for on there?

Edit: scrub that. Just seen TINAS’s link.

Looks better than the one from aliexpress with carbon fibre

The spacers on the Revelate Harness make life a lot simpler when attached a drybag to the bars, definitely worth it if you’re going to use it often enough

Re tarp or tent, I have all (5?) options

Flat tarp – I think I have 6…!
Shaped tarp
Floorless shelter
Single skin tent/shelter
Tent (double skin)

Never used a tent when bikepacking, usually a flat tarp or a trailstar clone, or a straight bivi bag with no tarp.

Recently acquired a proper 2 skin tent for some bikepacking in the winter when I might want a bit more comfort. Plus I’ve been after a good tent for a while and the timing was right

I think the revelate harness is the one I’ll go for , does it attach also to the forks, would be concerned about rubbing on my carbon fork.

I do like the versatility of a tarp but here in Ireland you tend to get rained on a lot and for that a lightweight tent seems a better option, unless I learn how to make a bombproof shelter with a tarp( practice in back garden first!)

That’s what church porches are for.
🙂

Much less likely to stink of piss than bus shelters.

Most front harness do attach to the crown of the fork, I put a double layer of helicopter tape on my carbon forks to prevent wear.

You can get pretty bombproof tarp setups but it does need practice. If it’s genuinely wild then selecting a pitch in the shelter of trees or whatever is a good idea. There’s a few pitching ideas on the review section of the BearBones site, there’s also plenty of US sites showing different setups. Worth learning just two or three really well rather than loads so you can set things up when tired and it’s raining, etc. The one situation where tarps do struggle is with swirling or constantly changing wind direction.

A tarp isn’t more or less rain proof than a tent. It’s definitely how you pitch it

You might find yourself with more room in a tarp than in a tent, and being able to pitch it so you can see out means you might feel less claustrophobic

I don’t think there is a clear winner in all situations, most folks with both options and the ability to pitch a tarp modestly well (or better) agree that both have their strengths so you pick the best one for situation you’re likely to encounter

A tent is reliably the same, but it means it’s not flexible. A tarp and bivy give you more flexibility, but to get it reliable the same takes more practice and skill, and can be slower to pitch too.

e.g. I slept under a porch and in a cave in March in the lakes, both in a bivy. Tent wouldn’t haven’t been possible in a tent (unless it’s freestanding)

You might find yourself with more room in a tarp than in a tent, and being able to pitch it so you can see out means you might feel less claustrophobic

My main issue with tents is when you’re camping somewhere not particularly wild (S.E England), I always feel nervous that some early morning dog walker is going to stumble across my camp. So end up getting out of my tent as soon as the sun comes up and packing up (because there’s nowhere to sit and make breakfast).

A tarp and bivi let’s you see what’s coming so you can happily have a doze in the sunshine or sit in your bag whilst breakfast cooks.

And a cheery hello to passers by potentially makes a cheeky camp a little less ‘cheeky’.

I use both and decided on bivi and tarp for this weekends trip. Absolutely the right choice as it took me probably 15-20 minutes to find somewhere suitable to put it up before a decent nights sleep. A scout around in the light of the following morning didn’t reveal anywhere I could have put up a tent.

I have not used a tarp (to sleep under) but have used a bivi bag once.

If I couldn’t find flat ground I would rather sleep in a bivi bag. I can lie down most places but I can’t abide a sloping tent. Drives me nuts.

Molegrips your right there nothing worse than a sloping tent!!

It’s not just sloping that’s the problem. If the ground is too uneven then it’s impossible to get a taught pitch. That can cause sagging, flapping and insufficient ventilation leading to a build up of condensation.

Tarps and bivvy bags are definitely more flexible in those instances.

That too – my limited experience with a super light tent (Terra Nova Laser) showed me that the thing is hard enough to pitch taut as it is, never mind on uneven ground.

Chuffin eck.

Terra Nova Laser Ultra only 620g. Costs £990 though. My sleeping bag is 400g and a sleeping mat could be 350g, that’s pretty light kit.

and being able to pitch it so you can see out means you might feel less claustrophobic

On the other hand, I can sometimes feel agoraphobic trying to sleep in the open and a tent makes me feel more cosy and secure 🙂

**** hell
£990 for a tent

The standard Lasercomp weighs 900g and costs around £250 so those 280g are pretty costly.

Ultimately it doesn’t matter if your kit weighs 1Kg or 3Kg so long as you get out and enjoy yourself.

so those 280g are pretty costly

Its less than £1/g, what are you talking about?! It’s great value!

Your mental molegrips I’d rather have a heavy wallet that a super light tent lol

£1/g used to be what you’d pay to save weight on bike components – XT vs XTR, lighter seatposts etc. I’ve not played that game for a few years so I don’t know if it’s been affected by inflation.

Scotroutes I know where your coming from re parts but I couldn’t justify £900 for a tent!

Yet…..

Your maths is out!

Std Lasercomp costs £250 for 900g
Laser ultra costs £990 for 620g

Those 280g cost £740 😯

Cuben fibre is expensive though: an Alpkit Rig3.5 tarp made from silnylon weighs 300g and costs £55. The Trekkertent equivalent made from cuben fibre weighs 125g and costs £140

Ha, my Rab siltarp weighs 218 g and I got it for either £24 or £28 earlier in the year on sale… 😀

(Mind you, it is also yellow….)

Really interesting thread ta. Especially photos showing tarp setups.
Op- have a look at the dd hammocks website.
They do cracking tarps and hammocks at reasonable prices (IMO).
Btw my neighbours thought I was crackers when I tested my tarp/hammock in the garden.:-)

Lucky then I live in the middle of nowhere only people laughing at my exploits practicing will be the kids sniggering from behind the patio doors

Senor j cheers for that I’m off for a browse

metalheart – Member

Ha, my Rab siltarp weighs 218 g and I got it for either £24 or £28 earlier in the year on sale…

How much does your bivvy bag weigh?

Mine weighs 170g TJ

What do you have Scotroutes?

http://www.titaniumgoat.com/Kestrel-Bivy.html

I also have a Rab Ascent at 583g. That’s made of eVent though so perfect for when I’m unlikely to need/use a tarp

That ^^ looks perfect. I was thinking something light and partial would work fine. No problems with dew or condensation?

It’s very breathable. As always it helps if your head isn’t fully enclosed, which works best when there are no bugs. You’ll need a full-cover tarp configuration to keep rain off.