...or even those who sleep in the vehicle...
Interesting question, which got me thinking.
We rarely go anywhere we can't reach in the vehicle, and when we've done so (Roraima, for example) we've been able to rent tents locally. So, we don't carry a tent. We do carry sleeping bags, day packs, and a variety of kit which would make it possible to go and camp somewhere easily enough if we did carry a tent with us in the vehicle. Part of me says that it would be good idea to have a light tent for occasional use. The other part of me doesn;t want to take up any space or add any weight for something which we will rarely use.
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Interesting. You're in Colombia, too, right?
I don't know that, in all my travels, I've ever run across a place in the places I like to go in No America, that rents tents for the night or longer, though I've never really looked or been in the market. I'm usually far enough off the beaten path that when I want/need a tent for the night or longer that I'm not going to go looking for one to borrow or rent. If I don't have it on hand, I make do with my tarps or my
Thermashield Field Blankets.
I'm also not usually back through the way I've just been to return a rental, but am moving on elsewhere on some longer adventure.
Even a 3 person backpacker tent like the
Big Agnes Blacktail Hotel 3 (which I'm seriously thinking of getting for canoe and bike trips--because it packs
so small--so I can keep more gear under cover, even if solo-camping)
is only 22" x 7"/ 56 x 18cm packed size and 6lb 14oz /3.12kg packed weight.
22" x 7"/56 x 18cm and 6lb 14oz /3.12kg is a SMALL package for such a large footprint tent. The tiny
North Face Stormbreak 1 I have now has literally a solo sleeping bag-sized interior with very limited outdoor space under the fly and is almost the same size packed as the Big Agnes Blacktails.
Counterpoint - I have never had a ground tent that was "good" in monsoon season.
I used to carry, and still have, a wonderful
Eureka Grand Manan 9 ( I think now maybe discontinued), which was very comfortable for 3-4 people and impervious to big storm weather (whether night after night of heavy rain and thunderstorms or not) though was too big of a package (though
way less that an OzTent or Gazelle) to carry regularly for spontaneous use.
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To the OP and thread in general, if I can carry a roomy "3 person" backpacker style tent that packs as small as 22"x7" at less than 7lbs that stands up to weather, you can bet it's coming along on all my adventures for side trips in my canoe or by bike or on foot, as well as be able to set up for occasional visitors.
After just having done a five-day/four night canoe-camping trip along the Canadian border--where established solo campsites were miles apart on either side of the border--I am still dreaming of more canoe-camping adventures:
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I've been meaning to add a hammock to my gear for a while now. Just keep finding other more pressing purchases
Every night on this canoe-camping trip I kept looking around at our camp spots along the tree and root-bound river shores, thinking "Jeez, this is perfect for sleeping hammocks!"
Much lighter and smaller to pack and far more quickly set up, no matter the terrain, as long as you have trees.
I've set up hammocks before for canoe camps and withstood torrential rains and been comfortable
and dry (and bug-free) under my cover and netting when most ground tents would be swamped.
There are some AWESOME and comfortable sleeping hammocks available these days that have diagonally arranged 'pockets' for head and feet that allow you to sleep flat, not bowed, which is what turns most folks off to multiple nights sleeping in hammocks.
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For those of you who get out on the water when adventuring, whether experienced or new to paddling, you may be interested in the
Paddler's Safety & Cold Survival (OB post) info from
NFCT, as well as another past thread here on OB entitled
Wisdom From the River, started by
@Plisken, about things used on river trips that can be used for land adventures.
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Roaddude - Traveling Photographer/Writer/Artist On the Road In North America. Gear, reviews, people, places, and culture.
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