SHELTER OPTIONS

[fileyprepper]

Morning Everyone,

I am just doing my bi annual up date / maintenance to my GHB / BOB and I have always struggled with the shelter part of the bag. in the past I had a 2 man pop up tent that folded up in to a circular bag. it was the lightest option I could find but alas the zip eventually broke. TBH it was to big anyway and my only 'shelter' is my winter waterproof clothing that is packed separately. I have been looking at these (see link) as they are small and will keep off the wind / rain however there is no internal support so have to sit upright in order for it to keep its shape.

http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/vango-storm ... 00-p196970

my question to you guys is, what would you recommend ?, what do you use ? ideally it will fit in my BOB and be light, its main purpose is to provide overnight shelter so I can sleep. any thoughts ?

[Deeps]

Have a look at these mate, plenty options and configurations, youtube is your friend.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/DD-Tarp-3m-Lig ... d+tarp+3x3

Shop around though.

[Jamesey1981]

Those storm shelters are good for their intended purpose, which is providing quick shelter from bad weather if you're walking and a storm comes in, but they're not designed for sleeping in and it would be a nightmare, it would flap around, there's very little ventilation, no protection from the ground which may be cold and wet, and they don't support themselves or peg to the ground, you'd wake up and it would be gone!

As deeps said, use a tarp, the DD is very good, I have one of those and you can either string it up between trees or you can do various ground setups, including fully enclosed tent like ones, the fact that that one is square helps a lot with the tarp origami.

Have a look on eBay as well, sometimes you get lucky, I have a very light silnylon tarp (about 250 gram!) that I bought for a tenner, didn't look like it had been used more than once or twice, you'll often find that people buy a good tarp then find that they don't like tarp camping, and you can benefit from it

Finally, you can also buy very cheap polypropylene tarps on ebay, (the kind you'd use to cover something in your garden) there's no reason why you couldn't have one of those in your kit, they're still reasonably light, although heavier than the camping tarps, and they're very hard wearing, I have two in my truck in case I need them, one has a couple of small rips, which have been repaired with gaffer tape, but it took dragging a 75 kilo roadkill fallow deer over concrete to do it!
They'll cost you about six quid if you want a camouflaged one, cheaper if you don't mind the blue ones.
You'll probably need more grommets in it, but kits can be bought easily and cheaply also on eBay, and they're easy to put on, all you need is a hammer, a flat surface and a bit of scrap wood, everything else is in the kit.

[fileyprepper]

thanks guys, I will take a look in to tarp setups and hit you tube hard tonight. thank you, greatly appreciated.

[Deeps]

I typed dd tarp into youtube and there are loads to choose. Here's one with a few ideas.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SGFUXpzPGQ

[Yorkshire Andy]

Hooped bivvy I picked up a army goretex bivvy last year for £80 ish

[Jamesey1981]

Hooped bivvy I picked up a army goretex bivvy last year for £80 ish

Hooped bivy would be good too, I personally don't like the non hooped ones, you feel the rain on your head more as the material is laying over you.

[Deeps]

Hooped bivvy I picked up a army goretex bivvy last year for £80 ish

Hooped bivy would be good too, I personally don't like the non hooped ones, you feel the rain on your head more as the material is laying over you.

I've not tried a hooped one, are they much bigger when they pack down ?

[Jamesey1981]

Mine is a little bit smaller than a 1 litre bottle, but mine is an ultralight one, the army ones are a fair bit bigger and heavier, but they're much more hardwearing and there's a bit more room in them so it's six of one and half a dozen of the other really.

This is my one: https://www.ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk ... bivy-p2803

[Deeps]

Mine is a little bit smaller than a 1 litre bottle, but mine is an ultralight one, the army ones are a fair bit bigger and heavier, but they're much more hardwearing and there's a bit more room in them so it's six of one and half a dozen of the other really.

This is my one: https://www.ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk ... bivy-p2803

That does look good, I've got a bivvy bag that folds down to teeny that I keep in my GHB but my main one is the pongo goretex one which as you say is relatively bulky but I really rate. Its big enough to get some of your kit in too if needed.