Tents, Hammocks, and Tarps

The Stealth is a new ultralight tarptent from UK gear maker Trekkertent that combines a simple design with a diverse range of capabilities for lightweight adventures. I’ve been testing one of the first product models available for the past several months and …

I sold my Mountain Laurel Designs cuben fiber Duomid last week. It is a great shelter and at 12.6 ounces including guy lines, it is insanely light. But I wanted a more comfortable shelter with a bathtub floor, so I bought a …

I’ve been having  lot of fun lately discovering affordable lightweight backpacking products that won’t break the bank. Here’s another fantastic find from Australian Terra Rosa Gear, called the Wandering Tarp (8.3 ounces in Tyvek), which is priced at $50 AUD ($52 USD) …

When I first learned about the possibility of sleeping in a hammock in the back country I was in awe.  I loved my backyard hammock and fall asleep in it all the time so this seemed perfect. Being a bigger guy, sleeping …

I use a number of different ultralight guy line tightening systems for my tarps and tents already, including LineLocks, but I was interested in trying the Figure 9’s because they’re a little more robust, especially for winter use when ice is likely …

Here is my Mountain Laurel Designs Duomid Review based largely on my experiences using this shelter during the 13 day TGO Challenge, this year in Scotland. Andy Howell has also published a review of the cuben fiber version, which I also suggest …

I'm pretty psyched about my new Superlight Bivy Bag from Mountain Laurel Designs (6.8 oz) and I'm looking forward to using it in Scotland next week in combination with my Mountain Laurel Designs Duomid pyramid tarp. I got this bivy bag because …

The Tarptent Scarp 1 is a spacious double-walled tent with two doors and two vestibules. It’s a very strong tent that’s able to withstand challenging three-season and four-season weather conditions without any compromises on livability. Rain Performance The performance of a shelter …

The problem with using very lightweight titanium stakes for pitching a tent or tarp is that they are so darn easy to lose. But, why pay more for high visibility tent stakes when you can easily make your own? All you need …

I’ve tried a bunch of different bug net shelters this year, in order to find a bug net that could be used in a shelter or under an ultralight tarp to protect me from black flies and mosquito bites. One of these, …

The Hennessy Hammock Supershelter contains three components: an Undercover, an Underpad, and the Overcover. The Undercover is a waterproof, windproof, Silnylon layer that provides another layer of material under the hammock protecting your back from the cooling effects of the wind (9.0 …

Picture this. You get to camp, but it’s pouring rain and you need to get your hammock set up as soon as possible. If you own a hammock, you know that it can take about 5 minutes to get the entire Hennessy …

Introducing the TreePee! I stumbled across this today on the web. It’s a teepee that hangs from a tree. you can stake out the four corners if you want a more stable platform, but if not, you can swing it bag and …

This article is intended for backpackers who normally sleep in a tent and are interested in learning more about hammock-based shelters, and specifically Hennessy Hammocks. When I first tried a Hennessy a few years ago, I found that it was very difficult …