Shelter Systems
Your shelter is one of the most important items but be careful of the exorbitant prices you can spend here and the shocking weight of this item. As a benchmark for a tent, I’d recommend aiming to pay less than $200 but you may need to go up to $500 on a two-person tent that weighs around 1-2 kg.
There are several basic options for shelter from tents, tarps or my favourite cave camping. The next lightweight option is tarp camping but it’s not for everyone as you are more exposed to bugs and animals. But you will save a significant amount of weight especially if you use sticks for the poles. The most lightweight equipment is that which you don’t have to carry and is already out there.
Be sure to think about where you camp to avoid floods, animals, and falling limbs.
What you need from your shelter:
Tents
In my opinion most tents on the market in Australia are way over engineered and ridiculously expensive. Unless you are going to camp in snow please don’t lug a 4 season tent around with you as it will be a waste of money and energy. You should only need a 3-season tent for probably 99% of Australian hiking.
My first 2 person tent cost $100 and weighed 2 kg from sportsman’s warehouse. This is something to remember as you will often see numerous tents available for $400+ and weighing much more. This little tent even withstood a windstorm that snapped fellow campers tents. So be sure to look around and always shop on sale. The closet thing I can find to this tent is a Vango Blade Pro 200 2 person tent for about $240.
I got my Euston two person tent for $175 and it weights 1030g so there are some great tents out there if you are happy to look around.
The lighter the tent gets the smaller it will get so think long and hard about who you will be sharing it with (hopefully a good friend or partner). Zips and poles also get smaller with the lighter weigh, which some people worry about, but I’m pretty tough on my gear and have never had a problem. Simple designs tend to keep the weight down so try to aim for a tent with one opening, one vestibule (covered area out front for gear storage) and a simple pole structure. Be aware that some tents these days are sold without poles and you are supposed to use hiking poles or sticks to pitch them. Many lightweight tents are not free standing without being well pegged; this can sometimes be difficult on rock or wooden tent platforms. Tents can also lack airflow and have condensation problems (another reason to think about tarp camping). Overall tents provide more stability and protection than tarps
Tarps
Tarps are great as they are lightweight, tend to provide more space, provide great ventilation, they are easy to get in and out of and you can see the stars/sunrise/sunset/whales better from bed. However, they are not for everyone and things like insects and animals can be a little annoying. I’ll go back to the tent where there are lots of leeches/mosquitoes or sometimes for camping in exposed areas.
My tarp provides a massive area to camp under and is almost a third the weight (391g) of my Euston tent. I use sticks or trees to help pitch it saving weight on poles. I have had a few issues with possums harassing me in the night but this is only at high-use campsites where possums get cheeky. Mosquitoes can be annoying but a bug net can be worn over the face or repellent. I’ve only had one collapse issue when I knowingly took the risk and camped on an exposed beach. Using trees adds significant stability but be sure to lookout for limbs that could fall. Tarps can be less stable than tents in really windy areas or heavy rain, but good pitching technique can solve these problems.
I like square or rectangle tarps that can be pitched in numerous shapes based on conditions (google David Macpherson tarp pitches). I got all crazy about different pitches for a while and I recommend using a piece of paper as origami to think about alternatives. However, now I mostly just go for an A-frame or a triangle shape on a single pole or tree.
I tend to hike with a poncho so I use that as a groundsheet to protect my air mattress. I also like to throw in my tarp when cave camping or day hiking to use as an emergency shelter.
My tarp is the larger 3m by 3m Sea to Summit and weights 439g including 6 pegs and costs around $270. It sleeps 2 comfortably and could sleep up to four people. That’s 591g lighter than my tent and I’d argue is a more enjoyable camping experience. There is an inner tent component available if you want the protection from insects, it weighs 385g without pegs but its not cheap at $270.
There are also hybrids available such as floor-less tents but I like the flexibility of a tarp as you can pitch it in numerous ways. I also got into hammock camping for a while and I find it really comfortable. The only limitation to hammock camping is weight as you will probably need a tarp in case of rain and then on most nights I found I needed an insulating mattress of some kind to keep me warm from below and then I was up around the same weight as a tent. But it is a wonderful camping experience.
I take basic lightweight stakes/pegs for my tent and tarp but am exploring more with using nature for my pegs such as rocks or sand anchors.
What I use
The following is a list of shelters I have purchased with my own money and their pros and cons. I'm not encouraging you to buy these, rather use the table as a benchmark to help you compare shelters you may be interested in purchasing. My favourite tent and the one I use on almost all my adventures is the Euston. I have included the BCF tent as an example of what is available as I am constantly seeing "light weight" tents on the market that cost well over $500 and don't weigh much less.
Future thinking
I'd love to check out some of the newer ultralight tents like Zpacks Duplex Tent (539g $830), Zpacks Free Duo Tent (852g $960), Tarptent Stratospire Li (825g $800+) and Big Agnes Fly Creek HV 2 person Platinum (907g $800). But for now I cant justify the expense since my current options are working well.
Your shelter is one of the most important items but be careful of the exorbitant prices you can spend here and the shocking weight of this item. As a benchmark for a tent, I’d recommend aiming to pay less than $200 but you may need to go up to $500 on a two-person tent that weighs around 1-2 kg.
There are several basic options for shelter from tents, tarps or my favourite cave camping. The next lightweight option is tarp camping but it’s not for everyone as you are more exposed to bugs and animals. But you will save a significant amount of weight especially if you use sticks for the poles. The most lightweight equipment is that which you don’t have to carry and is already out there.
Be sure to think about where you camp to avoid floods, animals, and falling limbs.
What you need from your shelter:
- Keep you dry
- Light
- Pack small
- Internal size (you can fit inside with/without gear)
- Easy to pitch
- Stable
- Ventilation
- Protect from bugs
Tents
In my opinion most tents on the market in Australia are way over engineered and ridiculously expensive. Unless you are going to camp in snow please don’t lug a 4 season tent around with you as it will be a waste of money and energy. You should only need a 3-season tent for probably 99% of Australian hiking.
My first 2 person tent cost $100 and weighed 2 kg from sportsman’s warehouse. This is something to remember as you will often see numerous tents available for $400+ and weighing much more. This little tent even withstood a windstorm that snapped fellow campers tents. So be sure to look around and always shop on sale. The closet thing I can find to this tent is a Vango Blade Pro 200 2 person tent for about $240.
I got my Euston two person tent for $175 and it weights 1030g so there are some great tents out there if you are happy to look around.
The lighter the tent gets the smaller it will get so think long and hard about who you will be sharing it with (hopefully a good friend or partner). Zips and poles also get smaller with the lighter weigh, which some people worry about, but I’m pretty tough on my gear and have never had a problem. Simple designs tend to keep the weight down so try to aim for a tent with one opening, one vestibule (covered area out front for gear storage) and a simple pole structure. Be aware that some tents these days are sold without poles and you are supposed to use hiking poles or sticks to pitch them. Many lightweight tents are not free standing without being well pegged; this can sometimes be difficult on rock or wooden tent platforms. Tents can also lack airflow and have condensation problems (another reason to think about tarp camping). Overall tents provide more stability and protection than tarps
Tarps
Tarps are great as they are lightweight, tend to provide more space, provide great ventilation, they are easy to get in and out of and you can see the stars/sunrise/sunset/whales better from bed. However, they are not for everyone and things like insects and animals can be a little annoying. I’ll go back to the tent where there are lots of leeches/mosquitoes or sometimes for camping in exposed areas.
My tarp provides a massive area to camp under and is almost a third the weight (391g) of my Euston tent. I use sticks or trees to help pitch it saving weight on poles. I have had a few issues with possums harassing me in the night but this is only at high-use campsites where possums get cheeky. Mosquitoes can be annoying but a bug net can be worn over the face or repellent. I’ve only had one collapse issue when I knowingly took the risk and camped on an exposed beach. Using trees adds significant stability but be sure to lookout for limbs that could fall. Tarps can be less stable than tents in really windy areas or heavy rain, but good pitching technique can solve these problems.
I like square or rectangle tarps that can be pitched in numerous shapes based on conditions (google David Macpherson tarp pitches). I got all crazy about different pitches for a while and I recommend using a piece of paper as origami to think about alternatives. However, now I mostly just go for an A-frame or a triangle shape on a single pole or tree.
I tend to hike with a poncho so I use that as a groundsheet to protect my air mattress. I also like to throw in my tarp when cave camping or day hiking to use as an emergency shelter.
My tarp is the larger 3m by 3m Sea to Summit and weights 439g including 6 pegs and costs around $270. It sleeps 2 comfortably and could sleep up to four people. That’s 591g lighter than my tent and I’d argue is a more enjoyable camping experience. There is an inner tent component available if you want the protection from insects, it weighs 385g without pegs but its not cheap at $270.
There are also hybrids available such as floor-less tents but I like the flexibility of a tarp as you can pitch it in numerous ways. I also got into hammock camping for a while and I find it really comfortable. The only limitation to hammock camping is weight as you will probably need a tarp in case of rain and then on most nights I found I needed an insulating mattress of some kind to keep me warm from below and then I was up around the same weight as a tent. But it is a wonderful camping experience.
I take basic lightweight stakes/pegs for my tent and tarp but am exploring more with using nature for my pegs such as rocks or sand anchors.
What I use
The following is a list of shelters I have purchased with my own money and their pros and cons. I'm not encouraging you to buy these, rather use the table as a benchmark to help you compare shelters you may be interested in purchasing. My favourite tent and the one I use on almost all my adventures is the Euston. I have included the BCF tent as an example of what is available as I am constantly seeing "light weight" tents on the market that cost well over $500 and don't weigh much less.
Future thinking
I'd love to check out some of the newer ultralight tents like Zpacks Duplex Tent (539g $830), Zpacks Free Duo Tent (852g $960), Tarptent Stratospire Li (825g $800+) and Big Agnes Fly Creek HV 2 person Platinum (907g $800). But for now I cant justify the expense since my current options are working well.
Shelter |
Size |
Weight |
Price |
Pros |
Cons |
Euston Kilo |
2 person |
1030g (including 5 pegs and poles) |
$175 on special |
lightweight, easy to pitch, vestibule, bug protection, good solo tent |
Sleeps 2 but very cosy |
Caribee single pole |
2 person |
2100g (including pegs and pole) |
$100 |
Cheap, easy to pitch, good weight for price |
needs to be pegged to stand up |
Sea to Summit Escapist 15D 3x3m tarp |
3m by 3m (1-4 people) |
391g (tarp only) 472g (including pegs) |
$210 (on sale) |
Lightweight, simple, beautiful camping experience |
insects and possums can be annoying |
BCF |
3 person |
2.8kg |
$35 |
Very cheap, easy to pitch, free stanging |
heavy |
Sea to Summit The Specialist Solo Shelter |
1 person |
567g (poles and pegs) 467 (pegs no poles) |
$200 Second hand $515 new |
Ultralight |
Can pitch with hiking poles, needs to be pegged to stand up, bad ventilation |