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Portable Hammock Stands for Camping by Derek Hansen

No trees for that hammock? No problem. This is irony: I’m a hammock camping fanatic, surrounded by the largest contiguous Ponderosa Pine forest in North America, yet I moved into a neighborhood devoid of trees. My entire 2-acre lot is barren, and while I’ve planted a few trees, it will be years before I’ll be able to [...]

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Golite Shangri-La 2 Tarptent

How do you sleep comfortably under a tarp?

These are all great questions. First off, I think the Golite Shangri-La 1 and Shangri-La 2 are great shelters to start down the road toward learning the art of tarp camping because they have a removable inner tent. A lot of tarp campers use an inner tent like this during bug season or in wet [...]

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Zephyros 1 Tent

Wild Country Zephyros 1 Person Tent

There’s a critical design flaw in most of the double walled tents sold in the US. If it’s pouring rain and you go to set up your inner tent first, it’s likely to be soaked before you can cover it up with the rain fly. I’ve seen this happen to people who don’t get much [...]

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Velocity 1 Inner Tent and Exoskeleton Pole

EMS Velocity 1 Tent

Eastern Mountain Sports came out with a new single person tent this year called the Velocity 1 which is super lightweight, freestanding and affordable ($259 MSRP).  I’ve been testing one for the past few weeks and think it’s an exceptional value, particularly if you plan on doing any backpacking where you need to camp on [...]

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Outdoor Equipment Supplier Straight Cut 10' x 10' Silnylon Tarp

Outdoor Equipment Supplier Straight Cut 10′ x 10′ Silnylon Tarp

If you like tarp camping or want to get a substantially lighter weight shelter without paying through the nose, I recommend you consider getting a straight cut square or rectangular silnylon tarp. They’re far less expensive than you might realize and provide you with a lot more versatility than so-called shaped tarps that can only [...]

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Square Holden Pitch

Brooks Range Mountaineering Ultralite Guide+Tarp: First Look

I like square flat tarps because they give me the opportunity to select or create different pitches depending on my environmental needs or aesthetic desires for the night. It’s like shelter origami ( see Square Tarp Pitches.) Contrary to what you might expect, there’s a lot of variation in square tarp design, size, materials and weight/function [...]

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MSR Nook 2-Person Tent

MSR Nook 2 Person Tent

The MSR Nook 2-person, double-walled tent is spacious and quite lightweight, weighing 3 pounds, 3.7 ounces. With a built-in vestibule, it is suitable for 3+ season camping and backpacking with a built-in front vestibule to store gear, ample tie-downs to improve stability in high winds, and well-sized side vents to improve airflow and reduce internal condensation. [...]

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Mountain Laurel Designs Trailstar Tarp Shelter

Mountain Laurel Designs Trailstar – Long Term Review by Dave Lintern

Recently on walkabout in the southern highlands of Scotland, I idly pondered how many nights I have spent under the Mountain Laurel Designs Trailstar. I am not affiliated with Mountain Laurel Designs and am rarely given gear to test or review. I don’t feel that comfortable doing equipment reviews because by the time I feel [...]

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