Emergency shelter for mid/late season

[stretch866]

Hi folks. Im solo hunting late October and trying to be more prepared/safe this year should I spend an unexpected night on the mountain. Would a tarp or bivy to just keep in the pack at all times be a good bet. Have a tarp, do not have a bivy. Do have a Big Agnes 2 person but thats just over 3 lbs which is substantial. Just thinking of trying to keep warm enough to make it thru the night should I need to. Have puffy and rain gear and all my other layers, and emergency fire, in reach etc. Trying to see if a tarp would be enough it snow/rain and high winds would rip through. Id have some work to do figuring out how to best set up a tarp to accommodate that.

Thanks

 

[tater]

A 10x10 sil tarp is ALWAYS in my pack with some cord and pegs. Learn three or four different pitches to match the terrain.
A good tarp set up with a puffy and rain gear can get you through a lot. I actually used an EMR2 bag emptied out as a half bivy once...

 

[Johnny Tyndall]

Sil nylon tarp is good in case things hit the fan. You can pitch it if you are just waiting out some weather but if things really go sideways you can burrito yourself (hypothermia wrap).

Also depends on how confident you are with your backcountry navigation. If walking out at night, in a snowstorm, by yourself sounds ok you can travel pretty light. If not, a couple extra pounds for a tent might be good insurance.

 

[RockAndSage]

Don't underestimate the utility of an emergency/mylar survival poncho. Light, compact, and used as layering within the other items you've mentioned can get you through a pretty bad spot overnight.

 

[Seth]

I always have a lightweight SOL bivy in my pack. Too small and light to not carry it.

 

[7mm-08]

I always have a lightweight SOL bivy in my pack. Too small and light to not carry it.

I REALLY like this answer.

 

[GunsAreFun]

I keep my Warbonnet Ground Tarp in my pack at all times. We use it several times a year, and it has bailed us out from some nasty hail and thunderstorms.

G

Thread 'Review: Warbonnet Ground Tarp (SPOILER: It’s awesome)'

Mar 25, 2024

There isn’t much info out about these tarps, even less on hunting forums. I recommend it constantly in posts but usually seem to get lost in the main hunting brands. I’m here to tell you this is THE best lightweight tarp out there.

It is more or less a flat tarp with doors. …doesn’t sound interesting?…. Well what that means is that you can do most of the pitches you would want to do with a flat tarp, while also having the ability to close off the sides to keep wind and rain out. Yes, you can pitch flat tarps in ways that accomplish this, but you sacrifice a ton of space. For 17oz, you...

• GunsAreFun
• Replies: 24
• Forum: Sleep Systems

• 

 

[stretch866]

Sil nylon tarp is good in case things hit the fan. You can pitch it if you are just waiting out some weather but if things really go sideways you can burrito yourself (hypothermia wrap).

Also depends on how confident you are with your backcountry navigation. If walking out at night, in a snowstorm, by yourself sounds ok you can travel pretty light. If not, a couple extra pounds for a tent might be good insurance.

I mean I have good nav skills good nav equipment but just going all the way to worst case I’m solo disabled enough I can’t get out and help is going to take some time to get to me. My last trip got snow dumped on night one and it was just a good reminder how fast things turn up there

 

[Yaremkiv]

No matter what I'm doing, I have a tarp in the pack. The Hilleberg Tarp 10 is what I bring the most but picked up one of the Seek Outside offerings last year for the weight/size savings.

 

[TrueAt1stLight]

I keep my Warbonnet Ground Tarp in my pack at all times. We use it several times a year, and it has bailed us out from some nasty hail and thunderstorms.

G

Thread 'Review: Warbonnet Ground Tarp (SPOILER: It’s awesome)'

Mar 25, 2024

There isn’t much info out about these tarps, even less on hunting forums. I recommend it constantly in posts but usually seem to get lost in the main hunting brands. I’m here to tell you this is THE best lightweight tarp out there.

It is more or less a flat tarp with doors. …doesn’t sound interesting?…. Well what that means is that you can do most of the pitches you would want to do with a flat tarp, while also having the ability to close off the sides to keep wind and rain out. Yes, you can pitch flat tarps in ways that accomplish this, but you sacrifice a ton of space. For 17oz, you...

• GunsAreFun
• Replies: 24
• Forum: Sleep Systems

• 

Thanks for the post on that tarp: it looks like a hell of a setup! I’m going to contact them tomorrow and see if the price is still the same as in your post about custom ordering one.

 

[mtnbound]

Hi folks. Im solo hunting late October and trying to be more prepared/safe this year should I spend an unexpected night on the mountain. Would a tarp or bivy to just keep in the pack at all times be a good bet. Have a tarp, do not have a bivy. Do have a Big Agnes 2 person but thats just over 3 lbs which is substantial. Just thinking of trying to keep warm enough to make it thru the night should I need to. Have puffy and rain gear and all my other layers, and emergency fire, in reach etc. Trying to see if a tarp would be enough it snow/rain and high winds would rip through. Id have some work to do figuring out how to best set up a tarp to accommodate that.

Thanks

I always have a tarp and have spent many nights under one in nice and horrible weather. Find one with good, solid guy out points. Seek Outside DST and Argarli Talus are both good choices, but there are a lot of good ones out there.
The most important thing is to practice setting it up so you are comfortable with it. Also, carry some good stakes.
A fire that provides supportive warmth can be tricky with a tarp. Again, practice setting up your tarp and building a fire to see whether it will be beneficial or just burn holes in it. A fire is more of a mental thing; protecting yourself from getting wetter and being exposed to the wind is your priority.
You're not camping; you are waiting out a storm or waiting until daylight to start moving. You're gonna be uncomfortable; just expect that.

 

[wowzers]

I always have a lightweight SOL bivy in my pack. Too small and light to not carry it.

Same.

 

[fngTony]

Below tree line = tarp + puffy top & bottom + an sol bivy to cut the wind that might get under the tarp. You don’t always have every pitch option for a tarp that’s why I say to have the sol bivy.

Above tree line = a real bivy if possible but an emergency one is better than nothing. Puffy layers again. Tarps are almost a waist here.

 

[ianpadron]

Tarp and practice your firemaking skills. You'd have to be in one helluva pickle to not be able to ride an unexpected night out with that combo

 

[stretch866]

Below tree line = tarp + puffy top & bottom + an sol bivy to cut the wind that might get under the tarp. You don’t always have every pitch option for a tarp that’s why I say to have the sol bivy.

Above tree line = a real bivy if possible but an emergency one is better than nothing. Puffy layers again. Tarps are almost a waist here.

Makes sense, I was thinking before this thread of just getting an OR Alpine XT bivy, but might be overkill as Im not generally above treeline. And benefits of having a tarp + Sol for lighter weight.

Do you have any opinions on the Sol escape vs the emergency bivy? Trying to figure out if keeping condensation down or keeping the weather out would be more important in really bad temps/weather.

 

[JoeK]

Makes sense, I was thinking before this thread of just getting an OR Alpine XT bivy, but might be overkill as Im not generally above treeline. And benefits of having a tarp + Sol for lighter weight.

Do you have any opinions on the Sol escape vs the emergency bivy? Trying to figure out if keeping condensation down or keeping the weather out would be more important in really bad temps/weather.

Keeping the weather out is by far your priority in emergency use…practice pitching a tarp in bad weather whenever you get a chance. A layer of mylar can make a significant difference in true emergency and the weight penalty is tiny. I haven’t tried any of the shnazzy bivy shaped ones but I’ve consided picking up the milsurp casualty blankets when they’re on sale at sportsmans guide for 35$. If it’s too heavy for my pack it would be good in the truck.

I’ve jogged home 3-4 miles down the road through blowing snow about 30* overnight 2-5am in a cotton hoodie and sweatpants when my truck broke down. I only had a thin blanket and could have shivered through the night til local traffic came online but decided to just get home instead. It was a long time ago when I lived in CO. I’ve got enough gear to spend the night warm in a brokedown vehicle now…

 

[fngTony]

Makes sense, I was thinking before this thread of just getting an OR Alpine XT bivy, but might be overkill as Im not generally above treeline. And benefits of having a tarp + Sol for lighter weight.

Do you have any opinions on the Sol escape vs the emergency bivy? Trying to figure out if keeping condensation down or keeping the weather out would be more important in really bad temps/weather.

The escape bivy does breathe a little better and it’s more of a Tyvek material which will still tear easily, but it’s not gonna rip in a high wind like the mylar material. But the standard SOL bivy is a little bit stronger than the disposable mylar blankets.

If you’re gonna have a tarp to cover 99% of the weather, then you could cut a small slit at the foot of the Bivy to allow some airflow. Also, don’t wrap it around your head and breathe inside of it as you sleep.

 

[Matt5266]

A couple mylar blankets and firestarter. Carrying so much "possibles" crap is when your pack starts to weight 50 plus pounds for a day hunt

 

[isleofGough]

I second the sol Bivy, but it can get sweaty. I carry an alpine Bivy for SAR (event material).

 

[fngTony]

I second the sol Bivy, but it can get sweaty. I carry an alpine Bivy for SAR (event material).

I can be quite a weight weenie, but carrying a pound and a half or so for an actual Alpine bivy can make things so easy and simple. Other areas of the country can be different but in Colorado we have so many trees that are gonna blow down and kill you in the middle of the night or aren’t suitable to tie off to for a hammock or tarp set up. And there could be an awful lot of rocky soil that’s a royal pain trying to get a stake into.

Before anybody wants to hang me for not preaching woodsman ship skills I’m not trying to say those are important but trying to get a fire going trying to maintain a fire and pitch a tarp or build some sort of a shelter can be much more difficult, time-consuming, and less reliable, along with burning more calories and risking injury or worsening an injury. Throwing on a pair of puffy pants & jacket and rolling out a bivy is almost a cheat code. For those not used to the mountain West environment, I would strongly suggest going with my preference versus the woodsmanship aspect because you can’t practice survival in Colorado living in Georgia for example. You’re just gonna go in there be naïve about making a fire and underestimating how windy it can get. Full transparency I would probably die in Georgia because I am not used to the Climate nor do I really have any practice surviving in it.