Would it make more sense to carry a tarp or a bivi as an emergency shelter. A bivi being more protective but a tarp is lighter. What are the +'s and -'s of each? I think both carried at the same time would be more protection, especially given the new lightweight tarps.

Neither. A hamock with a rainfly. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

LOL

I will put a vote in for the tarp, you can wrap your self up in it like a bivi. You can stake it up as a wind wall/block or a fire reflector/windscreen also it can be draped over you so you can stay "shelterd" while on the move. Tarps are cheep(to the best of my knolage, if the poo really hits the fan you can fit two people in one tarp (preferably, one man one woman) and you can set it up above you for rain and/or sun protection.

And thats all I have to say about that.

Cold climate/environment: bivi
Rainy or hot environment: tarp

at first i was going to comment that you should be specific about the woman (hot) but i remembered a few years ago at a concert (summer sanitarium, giants stadium) i was front and center in the pit, right in front of the microphone. it gets pretty rough right there cuz everyone wants that spot. anyway, of all the people to come up behind me and crush me against the rail, the only one that was pleasant was a very soft, plump, short young lady. she got tired and just sorta leaned on my back and put her head down and i didn't mind one bit and she was cool on that hot day. way better than gettin humped by large drunk men.

prolly shouldn't have shared that one!

Thanks for sharing..

See you can alway find a postitive way of looking at it, but yes a hot woman would be desired.

Depends on the terrain and climate. Personally if I were in an area with a lot of bugs I'd go with a bivy, or one man tent. You can get one man tents at around the 2 to 2 1/2 pound mark. My Outdoor Research Advanced Bivy weighs in at 2 pounds. The nice thing about tents or bivy's when compared to a tarp is that you can have shelter above the treeline or in an area that's treeless.

A tarp on the other hand with likely weigh less, and have a lot of options in the way you can set it up. However, the tarp will depend on being in an area with trees to tie it off to. And if you're in a situation where there are a lot of bugs then you may want more protection.

Most of the time when I'm out in the wilderness by myself (hiking, huntin, etc....) I usually use my Hennessey Hammock. If the wife and dog are with me then it's a tent for us.

I've used a tarp to sleep out overnight in, it was alright half the time, and not so great the other half. In my opinion I'd weight the terrain, climate, and see what you're likely to face.

For a lightweight tarp, don’t forget Tevek. You can buy it by the foot at Lowes, or sometimes you can get some small scrap pieces for free or cheap from a home construction site. You can make it not so noisy by running it through your drier to tumble. It’s really lightweight and fairly water resistant.

I think both would be in oder at all times.You could set up the tarp, pitch your bivi to one side, make fire on the other end. How do you like the OR bivi? It looks like the Brit Cobra bivi that can't be found anymore. I've looked at the OR bivi but it seems a little small for me. I'm a big boy. Wish I could find a cobra bivi.

I really like the OR Bivy. Mine is about 12 years old and it still wear like new. I mainly use it for fast overnight hikes. I was using it when I hunted, but my Hennessey Hammock has filled that role.

The problem with a bivy is when you face the possibility of getting stuck in one for several days because of nasty weather. On the other hand it packs up small, it's light, and it's pretty comfortable if you're not spending any great length of time in it.