Complete Show Transcription:

This is a machine transcription, so it’s going to have some boo-boos.  I wanted to include it in case you prefer to read rather than listen to the material in this Tent vs Tarp Pros and Cons podcast episode.  Please forgive the errors:)

Kit: (00:00)
Welcome to the active travel show podcast. I’m your host kid parks. Today we’re going to be talking about what’s best, where in particularly what’s best for you, tense tarps, and then there’s a couple other options as well. This is a topic that people have bantered about for decades as to which is the best method, the each have their pros and cons and that’s what we’ll be discussing today. So let’s get started.

Kit: (00:28)
When deciding whether a tent or a tarp is going to be the best option for you for when you go camping or backpacking. There are 10 things that you need to consider. I’m going to first name them and then we’ll dig down a little deeper. So here they are, but not in any particular order. Number two, the ease of setup and whether you expect to be doing so during daylight hours. Three, what temperature range do you expect to use it in? Hot, cold. Number four, what type of weather conditions are you likely to experience? Five. The volume. When you put this in your backpack, how much space is your sleep system going to take up?

Kit: (01:08)
Number six what kind of train you could be setting up in hilly flat. Number seven, your personal comfort level being exposed, your need for privacy and your need for feeling safe and contained in the wild. How much do you want to minimize critter invasion? How much head room and general space do you want? Are you claustrophobic? Number Eight, let’s talk about ventilation and condensation. Nine wait, biggie, Biggie, biggie. How much weight are you willing to carry and that leads us to number 10 cost because how you figure out all the things above is going to determine how much it’s going to cost. How much are you willing to pay to hit as many of your checklist items and your preferences as you can?

Kit: (01:59)
As a rule, camping tents are pretty durable and can be lightweight and easy to set up. My new tent has an Alasta sized collapsible aluminum frame that literally pops itself together with very little work on my part. You do want to try to buy a more advanced or late model to shore good ventilation technology has really improved over the last decade. In particular, my friend Jerry’s first tent may have been a quote unquote bargain and it kept the rain out, but she had a wipe down the inside of the tent with a thick rag every morning from the heavy condensation because we transpire, I think I read once like a liter of moisture every night while we’re sleeping. It was pretty gross and amend that her tent was always wet and that’s something you want to try to avoid whenever possible is squishing your tent into your backpack while it’s wet. However, attent is going to be better than a tarp and keeping you warm at night. But if it’s the summertime and you’re in a hot area and this is not a consideration because you only camp in the hot weather, then you may prefer the better ventilation of a tarp.

Kit: (03:06)
Most tens are going to give you a better feeling of privacy and a feeling safe and contained. Whether real or imagined tense not only provides you this psychological barrier, they can also be a barrier to visiting or curious mammals. It’s highly unlikely a bear or any other mammal is going to attack something. It can’t see and it has no idea what it’s up against inside that tent. I also found that true when I was tenting in Africa with all sorts of critters that do like to eat humans. We could hear them outside the tent, but they never disturbed any of us inside the tent. A tent is usually best at keeping bugs in the critters out, but with netting you can accomplish the same thing with a tarp. Sometimes these tarps are referred to as a tree tent and to me a tarp tent is easier to set up and bad weather. So what is a tarp? A tarp was a large piece of coated fabric, same kind of fabric. They make the tents out of that. Ideally you hold up the ropes to different trees, but if not, and you can use your poles as like a center beam prop up so it will form an a shape, like a tent.

Kit: (04:16)
I find a tarp is easier to set up in bad weather because let’s say it’s raining while it’s raining, I can set up my tarp tied to the trees and that I’m nice and dry sitting under the tarp while I set up the rest of my camp. I find it much easier than trying to set up a tent in the rain. I did think of my tarp set up is kind of like a floating tent, especially when I have lots of trees that can spread out the the tarp nice and wide. I’ve got gobs more space.

Speaker 2: (04:44)
Okay.

Kit: (04:46)
And like with many products there’s an abundance of choices in both tarps and tents so it’s hard to choose exactly which one is the best camping tarp for you. Everything is going to depend not just on your personal preferences but where and when you plan on using it. Another thing I like about my tarp is that it’s going to dry out quicker because there’s less nooks and crannies for water to hide them whenever it does get wet.

Speaker 2: (05:10)
[inaudible]

Kit: (05:12)
and I liked that my tarp is easier to keep clean on the trail and also want to get home. And I cannot emphasize enough that you’re gonna need to take more time than you think you’re going to need to thoroughly clean and completely, I mean, completely dry out all of your gear before you store it. Otherwise when you pull it back out, it’s going to be rotten, moldy, and just disgusting. I know when you get home, you’re tired, everybody’s gonna be begging for your attention and you need to catch up on everything you missed while you’re gone. But poorly cleaning and storing your cabling gear is going to cause you headaches and a lot of money. If you don’t do it properly, tarps generally are going to weigh less than a tent, although if you’re willing to spend the money, you can get a pretty lightweight tent.

Speaker 2: (05:55)
Yeah,

Kit: (05:55)
tarps like tents are made from a fabric called ripstop, which is waterproof and extremely lightweight. I actually sewed my very first harp using information I found in rage. Our deans beyond backpacking book. This 2009 classic transformed how I thought about backpacking and my handmade tarp works great. 10 years ago when I went on my very first annual hiking clubs, major camping weekend, there’s hundreds of us on this big, I think it was a boy scout camp somewhere that we rented out. My little handmade tarp was a source of great curiosity. I also custom sowed a little bug tent at a mosquito netting and I made a little ripstop stop ground sheet. So I think I had the benefit of both tent and a tarp and on both my tent and tarp to this day. I also took a piece of unsold ripstop fabric and I used that as sort of a foyer out front, and I pin that down with the stakes and that helps me keep the debris out of my sleeping area. So it helps keep it a little bit cleaner. I love my tarp, but only when I can tie it to trees to keep it high off the ground. If I’m gonna be camping where there aren’t any trees and I’ve got to use my trekking poles for the height, then I find it a bit claustrophobic. Also, my high end, big Agnes tent weighs less than my tarp, and I have zero issues with the condensation like Jerry had.

Kit: (07:20)
I have a funny story about the first time I ever used that tent. I had bought it to take with me on my Nicaragua. I can adventure because I wasn’t quite sure about the tree situation. Like I said, I don’t like to use the tarp. If I can’t tie to a trees, I like to get it high above the ground, so I don’t feel claustrophobic. This turned out to be a good call for me because at most of the camp sites, I would only have been able to elevate my tarp to the height of my trekking poles. So anyhow, on the last day of our adventure, we’re at the base of San Crystal Ball. This is Nicaragua’s tallest volcano. It’s about 5,700 feet. And so after I set up my tent, I just went inside it to rest for a little bit and I could hear that I had irritated some bugs because they were buzzing underneath the floor fabric.

Kit: (08:01)
So I keep lifting up the edges of the tent to let them out from underneath and afterwards I get up after my nap and I don’t think anything about it. This is our final night in the wild and we had this great celebration to celebrate our summit of crystal ball and just the overall great adventures. One of my favorite trips was fabulous. Send the next morning when I wake up, I see all these diamond quarter size holes all along the perimeter of one edge of my very fancy and expensive new tent. Now Mind you, I’m pretty careful about cleaning any sticks and rocks from under my campsite. So I had tried to avoid any tears and holes, so I had no idea, couldn’t imagine what may have caused all these holes. And it turns out that those little buzzing things, I heard this buzzy insects. I had laid my tent down over trail that was used by leaf cutter ants.

Kit: (08:49)
A leaf cutter ant are these curious aunts who are about the size of carpenter ants. The air colony finds a source of leaf matter, usually trees or bushes, and they’re going to form this trail of just thousands of thousands of ans going back and forth to the tree wherever the new food sources where they’re going to take their large manacles and rip out a large piece of leaf about the diamond, the quarter size that I have, the holes I found in my tent, and they bring these pieces of leap back to the net. So you’ll see this marching army of ants going to the tree. And on the way back, all the ants have got a little piece of green leaf in their mouth. So the leaves decompose and the ants feed on the fungus created from the decomposition. So in a way they’re almost like mushroom farmers have decomposing leaves. Very cool.

Kit: (09:37)
So my 10 screen, and apparently since I said I’m one of these trails, some of the ants decide they’d like to save a few steps. And so they ripped out holes from my tent. So somewhere in Nicaragua at the basis on crystal ball, there’s a leaf cutter ant colony, and in it lies the permanent and decomposed remains of my tent, like the soup Nazi, no fungus for you, at least with my 10 parts. It makes a funny story, but I also want to give a big shout out this point to big Agnes, who is my tent maker as I just spent a small fortune on this tent and the aunts made it not only no longer rainproof, but now since they did on the floor of the tent, it would flood and even let the bugs and on the on the 10th floor, I sent it to them for a proper repair and I’m expecting a bill of at least a hundred dollars a more to fix it. But since the tent costs me well over three 50 I thought it’d still be worth it. I only use it this one trip and big Agnes charged me just 20 bucks and a small shipping fee. So Kudos to big Agnes for looking out for their customers. I’m going to put a picture of my holy tent on the website, which you can find at adventure travel show, podcast.com/tent you’ll also be able to download a little cheat sheet about what we’re talking about today as well.

Kit: (10:54)
One thing I like best about a tarp shelter is that you can see all the things going on outside and you feel more a part of it.

Speaker 2: (11:03)
Okay.

Kit: (11:03)
Of course, if you’re a bit nervous about being out in the wild and being exposed, you probably are going to feel more protected and safe in a tent where you feel contained, like you’re in a room. I do also like tarps too because they’re going to give you the best ventilation because they are so open to the air and that air can really circulate my tent. I don’t really have circulation problems, I don’t have any condensation problems, but there’s something about getting more that fresh air that I find with a, with the tarp. So I do love my tarp. As far as weight goes. A tarps probably gonna weigh less than your tent, but always, always, always check the specs. Just to be on the safe side problem with the tarp. If you don’t use it with a bug net set up, you are inviting bugs and critters and all that into your camp site. So keep that in mind. And depending on where you’re camping, you may not feel comfortable without bringing that bug net.

Speaker 2: (11:58)
Yeah,

Kit: (11:58)
and by doing so, now you’re increasing the weight, so you get add the two parts together and compare that to your favorite 10th choice.

Speaker 2: (12:05)
Okay.

Kit: (12:06)
Another drawback to the tarp, let’s say the temperatures are dropping low, where you’re going at 10 it’s gonna be able to keep it more that heat compared to a tarp.

Speaker 2: (12:16)
Okay.

Kit: (12:17)
The thing that made the tarp good, that nice ventilation is also going to mean it’s going to get cold pretty quick. So you’ve got to consider the forecast and what the nighttime lows are of where you’re going.

Speaker 2: (12:28)
Okay.

Kit: (12:29)
And also look at what is your sleeping bag rated for? How low can that go? Jelly speaking. A tarp is only going to be good for late spring to early fall usage, depending on the weather, of course. And you can use your tent year round though.

Kit: (12:44)
I love my tarp by, I also remember one night in particular that I wish I had a tent. Jane, Jerry and I are doing that life changing two week backpacking section, hike of the Appalachian trail. We could see that some storm clouds are rolling in. So we decided to make camp early, get set up, eat and get all tucked in before the skies opened up. We found a well you site just off the trail that was nice and flat, but the ground was really compacted from all the heavy use. We set up, our camp quickly ate our dinner at four 30 in the afternoon and we’re snugging our tents and in my case, my tarp by five that afternoon as the storm comes rolling through.

Speaker 2: (13:22)
Okay,

Kit: (13:22)
perfect. Right. And we were especially grateful for being nice and dry whenever we heard these other hikers out there walking by us drowning in the downpour as they were walking by or campsite.

Kit: (13:35)
As the rain is pounding the ground, the drops of rain were bouncing off this compacted soil and bouncing underneath my tarp, getting me and my sleeping bag wet. I remember I like to have the head rooms. I had it pitched pretty high. Found out that doesn’t work so well on compacted soil in the rain, so I had to get up in the rain and in the storm and then lower my tarp lower to the ground so it would be wider rather than taller and that these ricocheting raindrops would no longer hit me and my sleeping bag. A lesson I learned for the next time I see storm clouds coming and amusing. My Tarp. One thing I do love about my tarp bug set up is this. If I’m confident of no overnight rain, I can set up just the bug tent and then I could see not only my perimeter, but also the night sky and get a complete view and all the breeze. It is pure heaven without bugs. It’s wonderful.

Speaker 2: (14:28)
[inaudible]

Kit: (14:30)
here’s another consideration. Got To think about regardless of what camping, shelter choice and that size, you’re going to see them advertise as one person or two person tents or tarps. Let’s just say that the manufacturers are a little bit generous in giving themselves the benefit of the doubt as to how many people their products can comfortably fit.

Speaker 2: (14:49)
Okay.

Kit: (14:49)
I purposefully chose two person tent even though I tent solo because I like to keep a lot of my things in my tent and a one person tent. While it may weigh less, it’s really tight to fit into. It makes me a little claustrophobic and if for some reason I had to share my two person tent with somebody else, we’d had to be really close. I mean snugging clothes the whole night. I call my tent, the quote unquote two person tent, I would call it a one and a half person tent.

Kit: (15:19)
Like I said, this weeks free download is going to be a comparison chart between tents and tarps to help you decide. Remember you can find it at adventure travel show, podcast.com/tent or you can get automatically with the monthly newsletter and if you haven’t signed up for it, you can use the link on the website or you can email me@kittatactortrialadventures.com and I’ll put you on the list. Remember, I’m not going to spam you. I don’t sell your information. You just get one email a month from me, usually the first week of the month and that includes any travel planners from the active travel adventures podcast plus any checklists or downloads that we covered on this adventure travel show podcast, so it’s easy and free and I’d like to believe it’s a good resource for you.

Kit: (16:03)
There are a couple other shelter options that we have not discussed. The Bibby sack and the Hammock a be a vac sack. Most people call it a bivy is a sack that you put around your sleeping bag to make it waterproof. Sometimes you’re going to use a trekking pole to elevate the head area. Other times, not they’re super lightweight, but I think they’re pretty claustrophobic and a lot of people will combine their bivy set and set up a tarp on top of it. This is about as fast as you can imagine setting up camp because it’s like just sliding on a large pillowcase. Your Bibby simply goes over your sleeping bag and you’re crawling it like you’re crawling into a cocoon. Well, it’s not for me. You may like it because of its ease of use. It’s lightweight and so it should be a consideration depending on what kind of adventure you’re going on. However, there’s one thing about Bibi’s that also makes it a no, no. For me.

Speaker 2: (17:00)
Yeah.

Kit: (17:01)
It’s just like a tarp. If you’re not using a bug net, which means that things can crawl over you at night. This includes snakes, Scorpions in any other critter.

Kit: (17:11)
Another option is a hammock and where the tarp allows you to use your hiking poles when no trees are available at Hammock does not. You have to have some sturdy trees to put the thing up. I have a Hammock and to me the bug net was an important consideration. I had to make sure mine could come with the the, with the bug net option, I tend to camp during the buggy seasons, so a camping hammock with the mosquito netting was a must. I bought my portable hammock mainly for car camping more than as a backpacking hammock and frankly the one that got weighs more than my tent or my tarp. So it’s super important to always check specs, especially the wait before you buy anything. I’ve also heard people complain that they think hammocks are too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter. But I do like with the camping Hammock, you do have all that air circulation completely around you. So I think that’s kind of cool.

Kit: (18:07)
One really key benefit of a hammock is the now you can sleep on uneven terrain. Sometimes finding a flat place to pitch your tent or tarp can be difficult. But with a hammock all you need is two sturdy trees. For me, I am. It does take some getting used to and since I like to sleep on my side, it’s not my favorite for nighttime sleep, but for a nap. I love it. Sleeping at night for me, not so much. Nonetheless, I often keep my travel hammock in the trunk of my car to use as a napping hammock in case I take a day out into a local park, especially unexpectedly. Here’s the bottom line. Here’s the thing. Every person and each environment really dictate which method is best for you. Some of the considerations will be dictated by your personal preferences. Do you like an open feel or do you prefer feeling more snug and protected?

Kit: (19:00)
Do you want the method that’s easiest to clean and maintain or the lightest weight? All these factors can dominate your decision. However, the weather you’re anticipating can give you a reason to switch methods. Variable situations mean you need to consider some other things. What’s the weather going to be like? Rain, snow, cold, hot. That certainly should be a consideration for which method is best for this upcoming trip that you’re going on. If it’s going to be cold, you’re probably gonna want to use a tent. If it’s going to be hot, indoor, rainy, a tarp might be a better choice. Provided you have trees, of course. Are you going to have to carry it? If you’re car camping, you can get really elaborate and bring all sorts of things, but if you’re trudging along way up, a mountain weight is critical and if you’d like to hike until late into the day, into dusk, into dark, you’re probably going to choose something that’s easy to set up, particularly if you tend to make camp while after dark.

Speaker 2: (20:01)
Okay.

Kit: (20:02)
If you do a combination of different kinds of adventures, you may want to choose something that’s versatile. Is the camping unit you’re considering modular, does it allow you to add and subtract components? Say like a bug net so you can tailor your tent or your tarp to the conditions you expect it encounter.

Speaker 2: (20:20)
Yeah.

Kit: (20:22)
Would you prefer an ultra light backpacking? Tendra tarp, lightweight tents and tarps don’t come cheap. I’ve heard it said that it costs about a hundred dollars a pound for any weight you want to drop from your gear. I actually think it’s probably a little bit more than that now, but the quality of the materials makes a huge difference in both the weight and the durability. There’s a relatively new fabric called DCF for Dyneema composite fiber. It’s been nicknamed Cuban fiber. This fiber is the strongest in the world. It’s about 15 times the strength of steel when you compare it ounce for ounce, but it about doubles the cost of your tender tarp. However, it cuts the weight significantly to about a half an ounce to three quarters of announced per square yard. Huge difference. Cuban fiber does have some drawbacks. It’s pretty stiff, so you can’t squish it like we talked about earlier. This means you have to fold it, which is gonna add, wear and tear and reduce its life. Folds are big. No, no. And performance gear because folding can create weaknesses and the fiber breakage by repeatedly folding the fabric in the same way. So repeat after me. Do not fold your things in your pack and less like the Cuban fiber, you have no choice. Squishing your gear is always best, whether it’s your rain jacket, your thermal jacket, sleeping bag, or your tent.

Kit: (21:47)
Here’s another way to reduce weight. You could reduce the typical coated polyester or nylon fabric that we’re using from about 30 ounces to about 15 ounce weight. It’s gonna cost you more, so you’re going to have less durability and strength, but it’s going to save your back a little bit because of the lighter weight. Again, everything’s a trade off as you’re shopping the best waterproof or a silicone. So you’re going to find a lot of fabrics are silicone coated. However, a problem is silicone tape is the silicone coating. You can’t do seam tapes to silicone coating, so sometimes you’re going to find the outside of your tent or your tarp has got the silicone coating, but on the inside they’re gonna use like a polyurethane or polyethylene. And this coding allows the manufacturers to make seams. So it’s going to be one way on the top and the other way on the inside.

Kit: (22:40)
And if I’m not mistaken, I don’t think the silicone coding is allowed in California. Maybe for fire. I don’t think it passes their fire tests. I might be wrong on that, but, but if I’m right, then I don’t think you can get the silicone coating in California. A huge market. Of course, regardless, I think it’s a pretty good idea to use tent waterproof spray periodically. This is going to add some life to your unit. Ditto for the tent seam sealer. Nothing is more unpleasant than a failing waterproof coating and obviously having a waterproof Tinder tarp is a must. And another thing, I have found it worthwhile to upgrade my tent and tarp steaks to titanium. Yes, they’re more expensive, but they’re also super strong and they are so much lighter and to make sure I don’t actually leave all these little expensive jewels behind, I tie some lightweight and neon colored surveyors tape to each one so that they’re easy to see when I break camp. Plus also they tell everybody there’s a rope they need to watch out for it, so it prevents falls as well.

Speaker 2: (23:43)
Okay.

Kit: (23:43)
I’m blessed to be able to afford multiple camp shelter options. But if you can only choose one method, think about the environment you expect to be using in the most and then go with the one that best fits your situation. Maybe you can rent or borrow the kind you didn’t choose when that would be a better choice for any particular adventure. In fact, maybe it would be a good idea to rent or borrow different types of products before you even buy. So you’re really comfortable in your choice. Gear can be expensive and don’t forget you can rent gear. Don’t forget that. Check with your favorite outfitter and see what they have available. If you plan on buying online, please also consider using the links on my website and in my travel planners. Some of them are affiliate links and at no additional cost to you, you’re helping support this podcast and helping to keep it at free. Thanks.

Speaker 2: (24:36)
Yeah,

Kit: (24:36)
so I guess it all boils down to the fact there’s no one perfect camping shelter product. Each has its own pros and cons. However, for you in particular, there’s gotta be one product that’s likely to be the most suitable one that’s going to best fit your personality and your preferences and the particular kinds of adventures that you’d like to take.

Kit: (24:59)
If you found this episode helpful, please share it with your friends no matter what method you’re listening to this with. There’s going to be one of those little share boxes with an arrow. I’d be honored if you’d help use it to spread the word about the show. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I’ll be back in two weeks this time. We’ll be talking about solo travel. Subscribe now to this podcast so you don’t miss it and next week on the active travel adventures podcast, the companion podcast to this show that comes out on alternate Thursdays where cycling Thailand from Bangkok north almost to the Burmese border. It’s a great episode. I can’t wait for you to hear it. Thanks for listening. It really means a lot to me that you take your precious time to listen to the show. It means a lot to me really. Until next time. This is kit parks adventure on!