Canoe with a View : : Canadian Open Canoe forum

So when we head out camping what does everyone use Caravan, Big tent, Tepee, Small tent, Tarp,or just a Bivi bag.
For long stays at a base camp that I have arrived at by car I use a large Outwell tent.
For shorter stays I use an Outwell 3 person tent in pollycotton.
Canoe camping small 1.5 man "mountain" tent but I would like to try out the tarp and Bivi bag for this option.

I've "camped" in all sorts - bivvy bag, lightweight backpacking tent, frame tent and in our motorhome - guess which I prefer!

As far as bivvying goes, I've slept out at -2 C in a Buffalo sleeping bag with no shelter and snow blowing into the tiny hole that I left in the hood, I've also slept in a lightweight tent in the Western Desert in Egypt in May - bloody hot, and in January - bit cooler. Both times I've had a sleeping bag, but too warm to use.

On a couple of occasions, I've paddled along a canal and bivvied overnight using just a tarp stretched across the canoe and pegged down.

It's all good fun.

mine seems similar to retro
when with my wife these days its the outwell 4 man with standing room for long hols]
a vango eqinox hoopp 2/3 man for weekends and a wild country pack packing tent which we used on the cleveland way
ive tried hammocking once and intend to pursue that further and also intent to stealth camp with my new tarp
im also going to make a 'campfire tent' a la bill mason 2 person version for winter with a fire pit at the entrance.
i have a canvas patrol tent i am ging to hack up for this as the canvas will resist sparks better than a nylon tnet and will also retain the heat a bit better

A Tatonka Mountain Dome 2 man tent plus a Tatonka TC2 polycotton tarp. Never camped under the tarp but really want to give it a go!

Red Kite Wrote:A Tatonka Mountain Dome 2 man tent plus a Tatonka TC2 polycotton tarp. Never camped under the tarp but really want to give it a go!

Both sound interesting Tubbyfraser any pictures

Retro Wrote:I would like to try out the tarp and Bivi bag for this option.

hi
ive not been camping in years,
i was wondering about lying on the floor under a tarp,
i dont like the idea of insects, rodents etc.
but i like the idea of a minimalist camping set up...
also i was wondering about hammocks, are they comfortable, only i like to lie on my side when sleeping?
anyone used one of these or similar?

Retro Wrote:

Red Kite Wrote:A Tatonka Mountain Dome 2 man tent plus a Tatonka TC2 polycotton tarp. Never camped under the tarp but really want to give it a go!

Both sound interesting Tubbyfraser any pictures

Will do a trial pitch of tent which has only just arrived. The idea is that the tarp drapes over the front of tent much like some folks do with a canoe laid on it's side. Peg out the tarp's guy ropes at the rear of the tent then use a single pole at the front with more pegging out of guy ropes.

Tent has an 8000 hydrostatic head (10000 on the deck) and is beautifully made so would provide four season shelter. With the poly-cotton tarp out front I could use the woodgas or firebox and not worry about sparks as long as the stove/box is placed far enough from the tent. Pinch a pole from the Decathlon tarp and away we go.

Will post pictures when trial setup done.

Graeme

Generally in the Coleman exponent quartz 2, its a warm spacious single man that i've been very happy with.

Have got all the swinging kit together(that's a hammock bye the way) and hope to give that a try out soon, possibly even some sneaky camp multi day river trip's.

as im about to spend the weekend with you im glad you qualified the swinging kit

Pl@inum Wrote:Generally in the Coleman exponent quartz 2, its a warm spacious single man that i've been very happy with.

Have got all the swinging kit together(that's a hammock bye the way) and hope to give that a try out soon, possibly even some sneaky camp multi day river trip's.

With the family a 5-man Wild country, with only one of the bedrooms up so we've got a kitchen area.

On my own a Hilleberg Akto, as light as a bivi bag but spacious and strong.

Also just got a tarp and hammock, as yet untested...


Jay

andym Wrote:as im about to spend the weekend with you im glad you qualified the swinging kit

You can be sure your perfectly safe from me, i'll keep the car keys safely tucked away in the PFD

I seem to see a lot of tents in the day. Hence I don't do much camping. Too much like a busman's holiday me thinks. But I've got a great Mountain Range Goretex bivi bag. Great for sleeping at the bottom of crags and watching the stars from within. I've also got an old but barely used one-person Saunders frame tent. Just big enough for one and a sac.

TGB

TGB Wrote:I've also got an old but barely used one-person Saunders frame tent. Just big enough for one and a sac.

TGB

Sound intresting TGB, a retro tent would'nt mind seeing that.

Like most folk it's a case of what shall I take for this particular trip - the choice depending on conditions and location. I'm all for keeping things simple and light and on a couple of occassions recently have used just an Alpkit Hunka bivvy bag and an old bit of lightweight groundsheet for added protection. I also tried doing away with the inner on the tent on my old two man A frame tent on last weekends trip - this gave heaps of room and I rather liked.

Although I can appreciate the attraction of "traditional" camping and cooking I do get the feeling that open canoeist's often carry far more weight than is sensible. It seems to me it's the old adage that the gear expands to fill the size of your rucsac, or boat in this case.

It might be a good exercise for folk to forget about the boat and pack a single pack for an imaginary weekend mountain camping trip. This would make you really think about what is being taken.

For one man camping I favour the Terra Nova Voyager its a size and shape, 4 season and built to last. For more than one on for a few days on my own I use the North Face VE-25 a great versatile tent except for the bright yellow colour. Its been a while since a bivvi'd but I do like the sound of doing it again..... Gav, you listening?