your absolute, bare to the bones sleep system?

[WyoBC_99]

I prefer a small tarp paired with a water-resistant bivy to a fully waterproof bivy and no tarp. The weight is comparable and the usable protected space goes way up.

 

[NW307]

I agree, I definitely like the versatility of a lightweight tarp compared to a bivy bag. One of the main reasons I use a synthetic bag instead of down, it doesn't matter if the bag gets a little damp and I've yet to use a bivy that doesn't condensate a little.

 

[rclouse79]

5x9 borah tarp, light weight borah bivy, thermarest xtherm, sierra designs wicked fast sleeping back. I think the tarp and bivy together are about a pound, and the sleeping bag is just under a pound. Granted I need a down jacket to stay warm at night if it is very cold.

 

[Kevin_t]

WM astralite quilt , torso pro lite , Dyneema Silex maybe ... or maybe a tree. , polycro ground sheer. About 2.5 lbs total good to about 30 degrees in ok comfort


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[2rocky]

Ptarmagin Bivy and Western Mountaineering Ultralite 30 degree bag. Not sure if the Zlite or the Thrmarest is more bare bones because the THR is more compact but the Zlite is lighter. Good enough for a Weekend Blacktail hunt in Mendocino.

 

[mlgc20]

Back when I lived in Oregon, and I was in to super ultralight backpacking, I would just go out with a sleeping bag. No pad or tent. I was archery hunting in Central Oregon In September. So, there wasn’t much chance of rain. I would just lean against a tree or lie on some pine needles. It was pretty miserable. But, it allowed me to go super light.

 

[mtwarden]

two day/one night hunt in the Bob Marshall this week; weather forecast low chance for precipitation

MLD eVENT bivy, MLD Apex 28 quilt and Thermarest Xtherm pad- right at three pounds

found a little ledge overlooking a drainage I was interested in, just the right size for my bivy very windy night, dropped to at least freezing as evidenced by ice my water bottles, but the eVENT cut the wind pretty well and I was pretty snug and comfy

 

[AK Troutbum]

two day/one night hunt in the Bob Marshall this week; weather forecast low chance for precipitation

MLD eVENT bivy, MLD Apex 28 quilt and Thermarest Xtherm pad- right at three pounds

found a little ledge overlooking a drainage I was interested in, just the right size for my bivy very windy night, dropped to at least freezing as evidenced by ice my water bottles, but the eVENT cut the wind pretty well and I was pretty snug and comfy

Did you have to deal with condensation much, or was it windy enough to mitigate any condensation?

 

[mtwarden]

pretty dry and windy so nothing in the way of condensation- I've been pretty impressed with the eVENT top, even in more humid conditions- snow shelters, never gets too much condensation

I wouldn't want to be camped with it with a couple straight days w/o rain, well without a tarp anyways

 

[Corvus Corax]

Thermarest Ridgerest pad, 20 degree quilt Jimmy Tarps summit bivy and Kifaru sheep tarp.

 

[PredatorX]

I love being able to just take a few steps to glass.

OR helium bivy
WM terralite or badger
Neoair xlite wrapped up in bivy

It is so nice and quick to setup and get on with some sleep. It's all light enough that it permanently rides in my pack in case I want to or need to stay out.

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[B_Reynolds_AK]

Went really minimal on my last sheep hunt this year, solo and late season. Was really happy to have such a light pack weight for the pack out. MLD Duomid, Borah Bivy, Xtherm Pad and EE Enigma 30 degree Apex Quilt. Temps dropped down to 22 at night, so I slept in my Nunatak Gear PCT jacket made of 3.5 apex as well. Didn’t bring a dedicated pole for the shelter, just two ski straps to use my trekking poles.

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[wildbill]

B how did that setup work for you extremely close to what I have in mind for my sheep hunt next August ,Thanks Billy

 

[neil.hansford]

Bare bones? If I'm going for just a night or two, and weather is good, just my sea to summit inflatable pad and Hammock Gear quilt. Maybe a small footprint to lay my pad on depending on terrain.. No need for anything else.

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[KChunter71]

Some day!

 

[PredatorX]

Bare bones? If I'm going for just a night or two, and weather is good, just my sea to summit inflatable pad and Hammock Gear quilt. Maybe a small footprint to lay my pad on depending on terrain.. No need for anything else.

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Man you trust mountain weather more than I do.

Not even a tarp?

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[oenanthe]

I don't really go bare bones anymore. In my youth, sure. A narrow short cut down foam pad was good enough, and I didn't need a tent, a coated nylon bivy sack was good enough. And who needs a warm sleeping bag when you can just wake up every hour shivering, crank out 100 situps, and go back to sleep warm?

I spent a lot of uncomfortable, cold, wet nights out there, and frankly, I'm too old for that, I can afford the gear, and the gear we can buy these days is simply amazing.

So my lightweight setup, for say an August sheep or caribou hunt, is a Cuben Duomid (15 oz.), a Nunatak 25 degree quilt (18 oz.), and a Neolite short (8 oz.). I left out the weight of the stakes and polycryo groundcloth; let's not quibble and just call it 3 pounds all up.

With this setup, I get a good night's sleep, I'm warm down to 25, the Duomid can withstand a pretty good blow, and I have enough room to cook inside should the weather be particularly shitty. Luxury!

 

[Sawtoothsteve]

I'm like oenanthe, just a z pad and light bag in my youth have been done, then added OR bivy to the mix fend of rain/snow. Now, in my age I appreciate comfort more and never go without at least a tarp, or small tipi with exterm pad.

One thing I am wondering about for those using their trekking poles for a tarp/tipi center pole, are you moving camp every day? When I find a good central location that demands more glassing/hunting and I want to move around a little, but leave camp, I prefer at least one trekking pole to compensate for a bad knee, but also don't feel like allowing tarp/tipi to lay on ground. I have played around with using poles like B_Reynolds photo above,but I then would need to rob one of those poles back for the walkabout. I suppose this would be considered more of a spike camp type hunt than a backpacking hunt where you don't camp in the same location every day. Any good solutions out there you all have found that can allow some weight cutting and use of trekking poles with maybe just one trekking pole for a tipi and not have to bring the full center pole weight?

 

[oenanthe]

I'm the same way; I like to leave the tent pitched sometimes, and always appreciate having my poles along, or at least one. Sometimes I cut a willow and use that to pitch the tent.

In my Duomid pictured above I use a single trekking pole with a short aluminum extender that came with the tent. That leaves one pole free anyway. If you do that, I recommend putting the handle at the top. In the campsite pictured above I had the trekking pole handle next to the ground, and a ground squirrel chewed the foam grip; in fact he ate about 90% of it! The little rascal gnawed a hole in my water bladder, too - I suppose eating all that foam made him thirsty.

 

[mtwarden]

I like to have my trekking poles w/ when hunting, not so much to get around (they actually are strapped to my pack except in rare instances), but if I have something on the ground and have to pack meat- I really want trekking poles (both).

If I was doing something where I was hiking out of a quasi base camp, I'd probably spring for a dedicated carbon pole for my shelter. Adds weight obviously, but having both trekking poles when hauling meat would be worth the small hit (to me anyways)