Spike out camp from spike camp

[AK Troutbum]

The more I look at it, the more I think, that looks pretty darn sweet.

 

[Manosteel]

I always carry my 7oz bivy, 25 oz quilt and 15 oz pad inside a 2 oz waterproof stuff sack with me. I have a 5oz tarp/pack rain cover/bag that can keep rain off me. For A little over 3 lbs I am good to spend as much time as need be out from my main camp. I learned my Lession the hard way to never leave camp without a sleep system that can protect and keep me warm.

 

[dotman]

I've considered carrying a little cuben tarp in my survival kit. I already carry a SOL bivy in it and I always carry puffy pants and jacket. My thinking was that I could include, something like a 8'x10' tarp, stakes, and cordage (always carry cordage in my kill kit anyway) for only a 10 oz. or so wt. penalty. I think that even in the worst conditions a little ultralightweight tarp could improve your situation a lot.
My last goat hunt, last year, my buddy had shot a goat about 2 miles from our spike camp. It was in the early evening and we ended up just hauling ass back to our camp breaking down, packing up, and then hauling ass back to the kill site. We set up camp in a very heavy blow with a lot of rain and snow mix. By the time we were done and started working on cleaning the animal, it was about 11 o'clock or so at night and was early morning ( 0100 or so) by the time we climbed into our quilts. This got me thinking, had I just had a small tarp with me and some mini groundhog stakes, (I had everything else I needed) we could've just stayed right there then. We could've had the animal cleaned and then just relaxed and not had to do all that running around into the wee hours of the morning.

I always have a small tarp in my pack, most sil 5x8 tarps are 7oz or less.