Originally Posted by
fuzz2050
definitely true, but that doesn't mean you have to pack for a monsoon. If the only rain gear you have is a disposable poncho, having a full 3 person tent seems like overkill.
I might suggest a closed cell foam pad; while they can be pretty bulky, they are light and cheap. I tend to put mine into my dry bag (strapped to the rear rack) first, and expand it so it works kind of like a frame.
+1 on the closed cell foam, it's light inexpensive and worked in lots of situations, no need to blow it up either, of course it is bulky. I spent some pennies of a Neo Air at Christmas and I like it a lot, comfortable, light and packs small. Only bad thing is the feel of the material, but it wear long johns and a T shirt to bed so it'd no big deal.
Fir me a tent has to shelter me from rain AND bugs...so I'd never use a tarp without a bug net. the upshot is I like single walled "tarptents" like the Contrail. It only weighs 1.5lbs so thats good too, I'd recommend the OP get one of those to replace his old heavy tent.