Touring - No tent

I've been touring a lot the last years and especially on the mountains but in the cities as well. I have a 5 years old tent but I 've only used it once, when I went touring with my sister and she didn't like the idea sleeping without a roof. I sleep on a z-lite matress with a sleeping bag and a inflatable pillow. It's so much more than just sleep when you do it like this. You have the stars above you, smells, and a very soft breeze (or a very strong wind-depends).

I've slept besides rivers, mountain peaks (lots with crazy winds and crazy cold), city ports, abandoned houses, house gardens, city squares, stables, historic forests, castles, ghost towns, ruins etc. Everywhere. I do encourage you to try it, you will remember my name!

You must camp in an area without mosquitoes.

And no rain?

Aaron :)

i get the same effect in my bivouac bag, but if it rains or the mosquitoes are out i pull the top part over my head. bottom is waterproof and top is goretex. kinda clammy in hot weather. if so, i sleep on top. if it's hot AND the mosquitoes are out, i suffer :lol:. can't have everything, and besides, suffering provides contrast.

I agree with you that the freshness is delightful. I take advantage of "no tent" when the circumstances are favorable. BUT, suffering by getting wet or tormenting by bugs is the antithesis, so I am careful.
247016

I've done it a few times, and it's nice getting a little more in touch with nature or whatever, but bugs and rain are my two biggest annoyances while camping, and a tent solves both. Plus I had a bobcat creep by my camp, even with a fire, last time I camped au naturale in southern illinois... which made me pretty wary since I still hear the horror story of how my cousin was attacked and badly injured by one several years back. If you saw his back you would think he was attacked by a bear.

i get the same effect in my bivouac bag, but if it rains or the mosquitoes are out i pull the top part over my head. bottom is waterproof and top is goretex. kinda clammy in hot weather. if so, i sleep on top. if it's hot AND the mosquitoes are out, i suffer :lol:. can't have everything, and besides, suffering provides contrast.
I went that route last trip and it was great until I got to the Gulf Coast. At that point the extra pound and a half of difference between the bivy and the tent would have been well worth it. Actually the difference is even smaller since I am likely to be carrying a little 5'x5' tarp if using the bivy.

It is great to sleep out in the open, but on any tour I have taken there was usually at least some rain and always mosquitoes at some point in the trip if not all of it.

http://nextadventure.net/images/detailed/3/marmot-mesh-bivy.jpg

I rock one of these. Also have a Golite 4+ in case I want to go in luxury or deal with rough weather, or I could bring a tarp for tours where I expect a little rain.

That looks nice! I just remembered that my army pup tent has a mosquito net that could be a life saver for anyone who just uses a tarp and/or sleeping bag. Something to look into if you like going au naturale but have a problem with bugs. It weighs maybe a pound and takes up as much room as a large burrito. I got the whole kit for like $25 at a gun show; 3 shelter halves(one to use for a tarp or floor,) 2 sleeping mats, poles, stakes, and the net. I wish I could just use the whole thing, but the stakes and canvas probably weigh in excess of 20 pounds.

http://www.amazon.com/8032-G-I-PLUS-FIELD-MOSQUITO/dp/B000I66ZBY/ref=pd_rhf_cr_p_t_1

Some years ago when I was living near our nations capitol and working inside the beltway, I used to walk the AT trail with my house on my back, usually for long weekends and the like. I NEVER carried a tent. I had a ground cloth, a poncho and a bivvy sack for the sleeping bag. Weathered some awful thunderstorms, high winds and a few nights of darn cold temps with that rig. Never saw the need for a tent with poles, or the weight of the darn thing. If the night was clear, slept in the bivvy with the poncho nearby in case of a shower. It's a choice you have to make and decide if you like it. If I get a chance to tour with my bike sometime soon, I may try that way again...all depends on how I manage with the mosquitoes. The bugs down here in Florida tend to be bad, when I was walking the AT, I did much of it in the early spring and late fall after when there weren't many bugs around.

Tractor Tom in Okeechobee, FL

Greece did turn it's ancient forests into ships , that went to the bottom of the Med,
a couple millennia ago. changed the Microclimate a bit.

For those places where you can use one, a hammock can fit the bill. Some have removable or at least partially unzippable bug nets, and the tarp is almost always an optional piece, so you can have that open sky experience when you want it, and bug/rain protection when you need it.

Of course you need trees. BigAura's picture does not show a promising hammock situation.

Personally I find the view from my hammock to be a little distracting, sometimes unnerving even with the net and tarp. I like the idea of sleeping under the stars, but the reality is that that tiny piece of fabric that blocks my view, also creates an imagined sense of my own space and greater security. The first few times I opened my eyes to a full view of the woods, it was a little weird. It gets cooler the more I do it, but it's still a much more exposed feeling than what I'm used to.

I don't mind sleeping in the open when I can,but that doesn't happen enough for me to leave some kind of protection at home.

I ride in the desert alot,shine a blacklight at night in the desert sometime,you'll know why I use a tent.There are 1000's of scorpions.....

shine a blacklight at night in the desert sometime,you'll know why I use a tent.There are 1000's of scorpions.....

Nature is full of things that might harm you but usually don't. A good practice is: don't look under rocks, use night vision goggles, blacklights, or take microbiology.

http://nextadventure.net/images/detailed/3/marmot-mesh-bivy.jpg

I rock one of these. Also have a Golite 4+ in case I want to go in luxury or deal with rough weather, or I could bring a tarp for tours where I expect a little rain.

i love those kind of tents. and marmot is quality stuff. i wish i still had that nice marmot down bag SOMEBODY stole from me at the Big Sur campground in Dec of '95.

I use a similar tent design, it carried well on my rig,
although mine wasn't free standing like the one I use now
plenty of room with small vestibule

And no rain?

Aaron :)

Truth! This would have been one (much more) sorry night without a tent

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r181/cyccommute/Twisting%20down%20the%20alley/IMGP1552.jpg

As it was I spent a couple of hours in the bathroom. When the crash precedes the flash of lightning, I go looking for a harder structure.

Truth! This would have been one (much more) sorry night without a tent

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r181/cyccommute/Twisting%20down%20the%20alley/IMGP1552.jpg

As it was I spent a couple of hours in the bathroom. When the crash precedes the flash of lightning, I go looking for a harder structure.

I have spent more than one night sleeping on picnic tables under hard shelters during storms. My single biggest concern is thunderstorms. I got caught hiking one weekend using my large piece of poly as my only shelter. Had a monster set of storms roll through late at night, had to get off the ridge I was on, not an experience that I want to repeat. The other was camping in a pine forest during an ice storm.

Aaron :)

I've slept outside with nothing more than a foil blanket on randonnees, but I like to be a bit more sheltered on a tour.

And speaking of rain, in the week or so before the 2007 PBP, and during the PBP, there was a lot of rain in the St. Quentin area, and further afield. The campground where many of the riders were staying turned into a muddy bog. Our tent was pitched on an ever-so-slightly higher bit of ground so it wasn't quite as boggy as some of the surrounding areas, and we discovered that our tent does quite well in the rain.

Very, very glad we had that tent then!


But I seem to attract rain when I travel. It is the rare tour where it hasn't rained at least once. And most places I've camped have had mosquitoes.

There are times when a bivy sack will work;
http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy112/Doug64_photos/Skiing/PICT1902-1.jpg

and then there are times when a tent is nice.
http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy112/Doug64_photos/Skiing/Tentcopy-1-1.jpg

Sounds nice, but I don't think I'd want to do without my tent here in the Pacific Northwest.

Ray Jardine has been writting about tarp camping for a long time, and it sounds delightful, but then even he got Lyme disease, and immediately added a bug tent to his offerings...

Ray Jardine has been writting about tarp camping for a long time, and it sounds delightful, but then even he got Lyme disease, and immediately added a bug tent to his offerings...

Rain and mosquitoes don't worry me in the least, but Lyme disease doesn't sound nice...I haven't thought of ticks to tell you the truth :cry:

And bytheway I've no idea about this guy, very interesting character!

That looks nice! I just remembered that my army pup tent has a mosquito net that could be a life saver for anyone who just uses a tarp and/or sleeping bag. .............. snip....... I wish I could just use the whole thing, but the stakes and canvas probably weigh in excess of 20 pounds....

I used a Hennessy Hammock on my last two long tours in Australia. Great protection and shelter, light, dry and bug-proof. Packs easily BUT needs 2 supports - steel posts or trees. BUt, it can be used on the ground if you can find a couple of sticks to keep the fly and screen off your face and body..

That bivy sack solution is very interesting...

I use a similar tent design, it carried well on my rig,
although mine wasn't free standing like the one I use now
plenty of room with small vestibule

I've bicycle toured ireland and done four hitchhiking oddysseys on three continents using that Eureka Solitaire. One of the fiberglass poles eventually went and I haven't found a replacement.

I use a similar tent design, it carried well on my rig,
although mine wasn't free standing like the one I use now
plenty of room with small vestibule

That looks interesting. Can you provide more details about it? Also interested to know if you could get dressed in it? Just thinking about those nights spent in caravan parks or the like where I guess one needs to more considerate of others :)

Thanks
Andrew

I used a Hennessy Hammock on my last two long tours in Australia. Great protection and shelter, light, dry and bug-proof. Packs easily BUT needs 2 supports - steel posts or trees. BUt, it can be used on the ground if you can find a couple of sticks to keep the fly and screen off your face and body..

http://hennessyhammock.com/images/uploads/astent5462.jpg (http://hennessyhammock.com/images/uploads/astent5462.jpg)

Man, I live in Florida and I'd never consider sleeping under the stars; the bugs would eat you alive. Well...
maybe on the beach or something if the wind is up.

thermacell for the bugs and a tarp incase of rain. the thermacell stuff is available at any Walmart.

thermacell for the bugs and a tarp incase of rain. the thermacell stuff is available at any Walmart.
Interesting.

Anyone actually use this device on tour? If so where?
How well did it work?
How bulky are the refills and what do they weigh?
Do they actually last for the claimed amount of time?
Does a light breeze render them less useful? If so how much of a problem is this?
How does it compare to citronella candles or mosquito coils in effectiveness, weight, and cost?

There was one summer where every time I went out camping, it rained at least once. As in, ridiculous downpour rain.

And as others have noted, lyme disease is a major issue on the East Coast of the US. It's pretty nasty.

"No tent" can work fine in some places, not so well in others.

And as others have noted, lyme disease is a major issue on the East Coast of the US. It's pretty nasty.

As someone who has had Lyme Disease twice and had considerable health impact from it, LD does concern me. That said it really does not seem that the time I am in my sleeping bag is when I am likely to pick up hitch hikers in the form of ticks. So I have never really considered that to be a factor in whether I went with a tent or not.

That looks interesting. Can you provide more details about it? Also interested to know if you could get dressed in it? Just thinking about those nights spent in caravan parks or the like where I guess one needs to more considerate of others :)

Thanks
Andrew
I also use a Eureka Solitaire tent for bike touring and backpacking. Yes, I am able to get dressed in it, but that's the aspect of it that I like least. Headroom is minimal, so getting dressed involves a few contortions and pushing against the inner mesh tent with elbows and knees.

I also use a Eureka Solitaire tent for bike touring and backpacking. Yes, I am able to get dressed in it, but that's the aspect of it that I like least. Headroom is minimal, so getting dressed involves a few contortions and pushing against the inner mesh tent with elbows and knees.
Personal preference entirely, but to me the Solitaire is almost a great tent, but misses the mark. The size is fine, the price great, and it packs pretty small.

I think it misses the mark on the following:

It is kind of heavy for the size it is. The Spitfire 1 has a lot more room for the extra 3 ounces they claim it weighs in at. That said I suspect that the Solitaire weighs more than they claim and the Spitfire is pretty close to claimed weight.
It requires way too many stakes to pitch. Twelve stakes if I remember correctly, way to many for what is essentially a bivy. This is extra weight and a hassle in hard or rocky ground.
The poles fail too frequently, are heavier than necessary, and are not as easy to replace as they might be because they are very small OD and have to bend in a pretty tight radius.

I have often toyed with modifying one to use less stakes and a different set of poles. I wonder how it would pitch if using better poles with pre-made bends to square up the arch and eliminate the tight bend. The poles could be lighter higher quality ones. It might be worth it if I could get total weight down to 2 pounds or so. The poles would likely cost more than I paid for the tent.

thermacell has worked great camping and hunting. I'm in NC so i know about misquotos. Any breeze that does not remove the bugs does not make the thermacell ineffective. the problem is cost $5 for 8-10 solid hours. weight is not a big deal. REI also carries detergent you can wash your clothes in that repels bugs. Ticks? I've camped under a tarp many a night and ticks have never been an issue, not anymore than sitting in the grass taking a break.