Hello fellow tourers and adventurists...

I have about $150 to spend at REI on my dividend... thinking of looking at a bivy/tarp setup, most of the bivys that I'm looking at aren't sold at REI but they do carry some decent tarps. Looking at an MSR E-wing, which utilizes hiking poles to provide lift, as well as some guylines and stakes.

https://cascadedesigns.com/msr/tents/...e-wing/product

Wont be touring with hiking poles, has anybody tried to use things like your bike (which I will have) in some fashion instead of the poles? More likely than not, I will be "car" camping or stealth camping so I think I should be able to use trees here in the northeast.

Jay

Just curious - have you considered a Hennessy hammock? I just bought one, and at present, they come with a second tarp.

I haven't had a chance to try mine out in the wild yet, but it seems like it might suit your needs. The expedition Asym is in the same price range, but I guess you can't use your REI dividend on it... Ok... nevermind...

Yeah, check out RayJardine.com, and his various tarp related articles and books. Most of the time one can raise a tarp with one tree and the bike leaning away at an angle. Just take the stay over the bike to something else that is solid. What this does is mean that while you need two proximate solid things, the height and distance of the bike side object is extremely variable. Also works well at campsites where the trees are around the site, so you can attach the tarp to an adjacent tree and then string it over the bike to something like a picnic table.

Also I prefer a simpler and longer tarp. Since there isn't a tent door inboard the tarp needs to be long enough to shelter sheeting rain etc...

In my opinion though, tarps are as in Mountain Safety Research, are for above the bug line camping. Overall tarp camping is great, but not suited to the roadside environment I am in when bike camping.

I have a Moss Heptawing from way back when. MSR had purchased Moss for their popular wing tarps. The E-wing that you're looking at is a modern progression of it. Mine still works great after all these years. It's versatile as it allows you to pitch it high if you want ventilation or pitch it low to the ground if you want to keep wind out. If you use your bike as the prop, it's more of a challenge to get a tight pitch though.

yeah, you can do it no problem.. use a little of the money and purchase a headnet as well.

an inexpensive classic conestoga hoop tent might foot the bill better if you were considering a bivy already? like the kelty hoops or the MSRs or the Sierra Designs clip flashlight- style tents.


good stuff, light weight.

Hi guys, I have a Hennessey Hammock, an ultralite but not the Asym version cause I got it on sale. I sleep on my back anyway. However, the first time a friend of mine and I pitched it (he is a dedicated hammock user) while backpacking, in the morning, the thing was almost U shaped and I wasn't terribly comfortable. Maybe the guylines stretch with the initial use but I haven't really used it since.

I am looking at the E-wing in conjunction with a Titanium Goat Ptarmigan bivy with the full mesh window. Any bivy more than a 1.5lbs, it doesn't make sense cause I can simply use my single wall tent that is about a tad under 3lbs.... I'm also considering just a basic silnylon tarp that is probably cheaper than a shaped tarp and bigger, but perhaps more weight... However, the e-wing is something that REI sells so I could use part of my divident on that.. The Ptarmigan is definitely not sold there..

Jay

When I set up the hammock, I usually string it up, stake out the tarp then sit on top of it. This takes some of the stretch out and I can retension the main line after. Also, I am sure you have heard that the Hennessy is meant for diagonal sleeping, not end to end. You get a much flatter surface that way.

I tour with a tarp/bivy setup and am quite happy with it. I've been in rain, high winds, freezing temps, etc (not in the same night though!) without serious problems. Mine's homemade out of Tyvek for $10 but I'm sure your legit version will work even better. I remove my front wheel and use that to hold up one end and use my bike for the other.

Here's a picture of a sloppy pitch in the Guadalupe Mountains in Texas from last week: