So, this is the last piece of "the big three" gear components. You need some kind of shelter. On the Ouachita Trail, it is now possible to utilize trail shelters almost through the whole trip. The only real gap is between Nancy Mountain Shelter, near Lake Sylvia and Pinnacle Mountain, which is the eastern terminus for the trail. Even there, you could do it, but you would have to do a 33.5 mile day. Even for hard core thru hikers, 30+ miles is a lot. Most of that terrain is relatively flat (by comparison to the rest of the trail), but it's still distance.
Carrying a shelter gives you more flexibility with regard to where and when you stop on your trip. The shelters may not be spaced apart conveniently for the mileage you want to do for your trip. The other big issue with shelters is water access. When you are spending the night, you will need water for hygiene, for cooking, for cleanup after cooking, and also, obviously, water to drink while you are there.
Trail shelters are often built high on mountain ridges and saddles between peaks because that keeps them away from flood waters. They offer the convenience of not having to pitch a tent and possibly keeping you more protection from the elements, but not having water can be a problem.
Trail shelters are often occupied by other hikers and campers. For some, this may be positive, but for others, they may not want the company. Even if you don't mind sharing a shelter with people in general, there might be some people who you find irritating, off-putting, creepy, or even worrisome while you are on the trail. Sharing a night with a stranger who is irritating or causes you concern for any reason is another good reason for having a backup shelter option.
While hammock systems have become popular, I am not ready to make that change yet. A tent offers some flexibility that appeals to me. They each have pros and cons, but as I indicated in the article on combined shelter/sleep systems, I have opted to go the tent route.
Size and space
I have had a 3 person tent from REI, called the Quarter Dome T3. Being a 3 person tent means it has more space inside than I need for just me on a solo trip, which also means it weighs more than I want. For 2 or 3 people, it is not a bad tent, though I don't think REI sells it anymore. With 2 people, you can divide up the tent body from the poles and tent fly so each person carries part of the weight. The total weight is around 5.5 lbs. Divided between 2 or 3 people, that is manageable. For one person, that is too much tent and too much weight.
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| REI Quarter Dome T3 |
I like a little more room inside a tent than just space for my sleeping pad. If weather is bad, I want to be able to spread out a little. Having that space helps to organize my gear, which makes it easier to find what I'm looking for and also to pack more efficiently. I can group things that go together on the floor of the tent while I get ready to load them into my pack. So most 1 person tents are too small for my liking. I am willing to carry a little more weight for the convenience of that additional space. Also, if I don't mind sharing close quarters with a second person, a 2 person tent allows me that option as well.
I also like the ability to sit up comfortably. Again, if the weather is bad and I am restricted to hold out in the tent for a longer period of time, I don't want to be limited to lying down. I want to be able to sit up to read, maybe to eat, or to do anything.
Basically, for 2 people, I like a 3 person tent and for just me, I like a 2 person tent.
Weight
As with just about all gear choices, a lighter load makes for an easier trip. Light weight and durable can be expensive. I opted to pay a bit more than I probably should have for a tent that is very light.
There are a few ways tent designs are used to cut weight. One way is by eliminating the need for poles. Many ultralight tents utilize your trekking poles as the support structure for the tent instead of bringing extra poles and added weight. We haven't talked much about trekking poles yet, but I hike with them. I would be carrying them whether or not I had a trekking pole tent (for reasons I will get into in another article), so it just makes sense to double up on their use while eliminating the weight of tent poles. This is a brilliant design element in my opinion.
Another way tent makers cut weight is by using light weight material. I am not an expert on these materials, but silpoly is one popular option and dyneema is another.
Yet another facet of tent construction that is utilized to reduce weight is through design. Traditional tents consist of two components, a tent body and a fly cover. The tent body is often made in part of breathable mesh and the fly is made of either waterproof or treated material. The air inside your tent is moist because of your perspiration and breath. As temperatures cool outside, condensation will form on the inside surface of your tent or tent fly. Having separation between the fly and interior walls can allow air to flow which reduces that condensation. Having that moisture in your tent can make your gear wet. This is not ideal, especially if you have clothing or bedding that loses its insulating properties when it gets wet.
For this reason, single wall tents have had a somewhat negative reputation. It is difficult to balance ventilation/condensation prevention with protection from rain and wind. Hybrid tents have a single wall for some portions of the tent shelter, but double wall for other portions of the tent body, in order to balance the weight benefits of a single wall tent with the better ventilation and reduce condensation issues like a double wall tent. This makes sense to me.
Other Design Elements I Look For
There are tents where you enter from one end and other tents where you enter from the side. I like side entry tents. Front entry tents involve more crawling than I want to do. From what I can tell, side entry tents also have larger vestibules. I will talk more about vestibules in a minute, but one last advantage to a side entry tent if you have 2 or more people in your tent is that you have more exits. If I ever camp with my wife in a 2 person tent, I prefer not to have to climb or crawl past her to get to the door if I have to leave in the night to use the bathroom or chase a bear away from camp (haha). One of the things I really like about the REI Quarter Dome tent is that it has 2 doors and 2 vestibules. I always thought that was a smart design.
So, what is a vestibule? A vestibule is a space outside of the inner tent walls, that is still covered partially or in full. It can provide some additional space for gear that can get wet (because there is no tent floor, so the ground beneath it might be wet), but it still offers some protection from rain and sun. In essence, it's a porch for your tent. Some people use it for cooking, though this is not typically advised. It is only slightly safer than cooking inside your tent. Cooking inside your tent is a very bad idea. Don't ever cook inside your tent. If your stove tips over, or if anything catches on fire, you could be badly burned without a usable shelter in bad weather. Cooking in the vestibule, while slightly better still has a high risk of fire, and if you spill food right outside your tent, you are potentially inviting wildlife into your campsite with the scent of food.
But a vestibule can open up some additional space to you. It can give you a covered area where you can take off or put on your shoes/boots without getting dirt and debris in your tent, and it just opens up the tent space a bit.
Finally, easy of setup is a factor to consider. If it takes 15 minutes to pitch your tent and it's raining hard, that is a long time. If a tent requires a bunch of stakes and guy lines (I will explain guy lines in a bit), it's going to take more time and headaches than a simple tent with fewer stakes and a simpler pitch.
A Tent that Ticks All My Boxes
If you have read my article on backpacks, you would have heard of the brand "Durston Gear". They are a small Canadian company that has quickly gained a reputation for well designed, durable, lightweight gear at competitive prices. I am now the proud owner of a Durston X-Mid Pro 2 tent.
The X-Mid Pro 2 tent is a 2 person, side entry tent with ample vestibules. It is a single wall/double wall hybrid that uses trekking poles and it can quick pitch in just a couple of minutes with a minimum of 4 stakes. It weighs under 20 oz. The tent roof is made of Dyneema composite material. The floor of the tent is made of silpoly, which is a bit more stretchy than Dyneema and is supposedly more puncture resistant. These tents are expensive, but I will be carrying this tent for a long distance, I hope to be using it quite a bit on that trip, and I will have to option to use it before and after.
The shipping seemed to take forever for this tent. There was some issue with the Canadian Postal Service, but I don't know exactly what happened. When it finally arrived, the timing was unfortunate because it arrived on the afternoon of the day I took my 22 mile hike and overnight camping trip a couple of weeks ago. I have pitched the X-Mid in my yard a couple of times. I really like it and I cannot wait to try it out. The other delay in testing it on the trail is the fact that my preferred pack is not here yet and my default pack is in the shop. It is good that I have given myself plenty of lead time before the actual thru hike trip because I want to have all my gear tuned by that time, so I am happy with everything, comfortable with using it, and I can concentrate on the experience.
While I am not planning to film my trip, I have seen at least one person's thru hike plan that started out with epic music and a positive attitude quickly descend into fatigue and defeat after section 1. I don't want to be that guy. I believe having the practice, preparation, and proper equipment will help make my trip a success.
As always, thanks for stopping by.
If you have questions or comments, feel free to shoot me an email or drop a comment below.
Gavagai
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