talus
Trail Wise!
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Post by talus on Sept 30, 2015 10:18:54 GMT -8
I'm going for my first solo backpack next week, and I'm wondering if I need a ground cloth or not. For folks who use a bivy and a tarp: do you use a ground cloth as well as a bivy, and if you don't, how do you keep your bag and sleeping pad dry (assuming the ground is wet) as you get your bag inside your bivy. The forecast calls for showers most of my trip, so I'm sure the ground is going to be at least damp if not soaking.
Thanks
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Post by High Sierra Fan on Sept 30, 2015 11:23:55 GMT -8
If the ground is wet or not I just pull out my sleeping bag and stick it in the bivy, without ever dropping it on the ground (avoiding sticks, dirt etc.) . Then I fluff etc. with the pair assembled. The pad goes in the bivy so it never touches the ground either. OTOH with all the ground wet every time you or anything touches the ground you're going to get muddy and that will track on everything. A 2 oz.. polycro sheet might be worth it.My floorless shelters are mids (A BD MegaMid and a MLD SoloMid) but the same basic principle applies (though I only add a bivy for winter snow routes). One example: www.mountainlaureldesigns.com/shop/product_info.php?products_id=144 |
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talus
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Post by talus on Sept 30, 2015 12:32:57 GMT -8
That will be difficult to do under a small tarp if it is raining. I have a Rab Silwing |
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Post by High Sierra Fan on Sept 30, 2015 13:07:22 GMT -8
So maybe that's the wrong shelter for that trip?
OTOH: Set up tarp: polycro inside the tarp, bivy on polycro, sleeping bag directly unloaded directly into bivy (out of stuff sack?): shake, stick pad (Zline or something similar?) directly into bivy. Not enough moisture to matter. Doubtful my Solomid is much larger, works for me.
ETA: At 56 sq ft yours is much larger than my SoloMid as it turns out. Perhaps you need to set yours up and practice at home. Never a bad idea even when the weather isn't looking iffy.
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talus
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Post by talus on Sept 30, 2015 14:47:47 GMT -8
I have a Tarptent Squall 2 that I could take instead. The bivy groundsheet and tarp probably weigh the same as the Squall. I just wanted to get some real world practice using the tarp. The problem with the tarp isn't area, it's headroom. If you pitch it fairly windproof, then headroom is pretty minimal. I could pitch it higher then tighten it up once I'm squared away. Anyway it looks like I'll bring a groundsheet for sure. If the forecast continues to get worse I might just take the tarptent.
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zeke
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Peekaboo slot 2023
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Post by zeke on Sept 30, 2015 14:52:42 GMT -8
This is one of my real world likes for using a hammock. Set up tarp, then string hammock. Nothing gets wet, muddy, or dirty.
As for how you would do this, I would say with a polycro ground sheet.
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toejam
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Hiking to raise awareness
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Post by toejam on Oct 1, 2015 4:22:09 GMT -8
I always used a ground cloth with a tarp, but never used a bivy. My down bag survived a couple of good showers that way. If there's a good chance of showers I go with a tent.
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tigger
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Post by tigger on Oct 2, 2015 15:09:30 GMT -8
I would assume it depends on the bivy. My bivy is enough alone for dealing with wetness as it is fully waterproof. I've done a small tarp on occasion, just for over my head. Of all the bivy users I've met, I've not known any that have used a ground tarp.
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Post by High Sierra Fan on Oct 3, 2015 12:28:05 GMT -8
I would assume it depends on the bivy. My bivy is enough alone for dealing with wetness as it is fully waterproof. I've done a small tarp on occasion, just for over my head. Of all the bivy users I've met, I've not known any that have used a ground tarp. i do on snow, keeps me from losing stuff. That's the only time I'll pair a bivy with a mid also, to keep spindrift and frost drop off the bag. Rain I've never found an issue but my mids don't have any sort of opening like cantenary tarps do. Thinking on it the person whose testimony would be helpful is whichever forum member has the MLD Trailstar which looks similar to the OP's rab. Don't remember who. Big load??? |
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swmtnbackpacker
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Post by swmtnbackpacker on Oct 7, 2015 7:20:06 GMT -8
With some of the new sleeping bag/quilts fabrics, thinking a bivy may be a little redundant and too hot. For 3-season, I have MLD net type inner with a slight bathtub for an enclosed bug-free environment where I can change. Try to have them interchangeable with Zpacks 0.51 cuben tarps (lighter and little more stealthier color) and, of course, MLDs 0.75 tarps which they were designed for. Put away for winter obviously.
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Post by ndeewoods on Oct 21, 2015 22:02:13 GMT -8
I haven't bivied for a a couple of years, but I did bivy for many years and my favorite was an old fashioned cheapie plastic tube tent! Tarp and ground cloth all in one! I would just slip my bag and bivy inside. If it got nasty we would put a clothespin on the ends to keep the squalls out...  |
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