Going floorless for the first time - should I bring a bug bivy?

[MuleyFever]

How much weight do you really save with a floorless when you’re also using a bivy or floor cloth?

For me it was more about getting more room at the same or slightly less weight. I have a 2 person tent that is about 42oz. I can go to a DCF tipi for 15-19oz and add a 9 oz innernet and maybe 6 oz for stakes and pole and be a little lighter with more room.

 

[atenjones]

Same here. It's a bedroll as much as bug protection.

That's what I was thinking about. So you just keep everything together, roll it up and put it in one stuff-sack? That seems really convenient and quick.

 

[larryschwartz]

I've wanted to either go hammock or floorless but won't go hammock because I cannot get over that something might bump me walking through at night. Not sure how a tent is any different though...purely mental. And I could never go floorless because of snakes. I HATE snakes...no thank you haha

If you pitch a tarp over your hammock, whatever is walking through at night will bump into the tarp first and not you.

 

[mwebs]

I have been running a floor-less tipi for a few years, we brought a tarp for the floor the first year with a section cut out under the stove. It snowed all archery season that year and the tarp actually made things worse, plus we brought one big enough to cover the entire floor area so it was huge.. When the stove is going, with no tarp that ground dries quickly. Now I bring a small personal tarp to keep my pad off the rocks, sticks and dirt, haven't had an issue with bugs or other critters, but were usually running the stove and choose a nice clean tipi pad. Type of pad is something to consider.

 

[flinginairos]

I use a small 8oz bug bivy in my SO LBO but it’s mainly for keeping my sleep system together. Bugs have never been an issue for me so I rarely use the bug net. I think people tend to worry about that stuff a little too much. Snakes may possibly be an issue but I don’t worry about that either. I love the floorless myself.


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[rhusby28]

Can you use a standard rectangular sleeping pad in those?

Yes you can. You can also customize it however you want to. Send them an email. They are great to work with.

 

[bitbckt]

That's what I was thinking about. So you just keep everything together, roll it up and put it in one stuff-sack? That seems really convenient and quick.

Yup. That's the idea. Deflate, roll, stuff, unstuff, unroll, inflate, repeat.

 

[Flatland Newbie]

Following

 

[AK Troutbum]

I pretty much always use a UL bivy, regardless of the possibility for bugs or not. It’s nice for just keeping everything clean and contained, and if bugs do become a problem, just zip it up. 4-6 oz. is a pretty cheap wt. penalty to pay IMO.


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[chindits]

No floor and no bivy for years. No problem.

The only issue I would be concerned about is this time of year. Tick season is always worse on big snow years. I miss the drought.

 

[Jimss]

I use the 4 season fly off my Hilliberg Nallo tent plus painters plastic that you can buy from Home Depot for around $2.00 for a floor all the time in Colo and Wyo from 5,000' elevation up to 14,000'. Once September rolls around most mosquitos and bugs are pretty scarce at higher elevation in Colo. Never a worry about rattlers....especially at 8,500'+ in Colo! Never had a problem with mosquitos, bugs, spiders, mice, or rattlers either. Not to elevate your blood pressure but I would be a lot more concerned about a rogue black bear trying to rob your food or tear up your camp when you are gone than bugs.

Obviously if camped near a bog or water there may be mosquitos? If you do some research you'll likely find that rattlesnakes crawl into their holes most evenings before dark because it's way too cold for them to be out! Take your cloths off at 8,500-9,000' elevation in Colo in Sept and you'll see exactly what I'm talking about! The only problem I see is if a rattler crawled into your tent before night at lower elevation?

To ease your mind a little.....I did a search on Rocky Mountain National Park and couldn't find anything in regard to rattlesnakes or a death from a bite there. I've never heard of a rattler in RNMP? Someone died from a rattlesnake bite on the small mesa above Golden but that is a lot lower elevation than RMNP. There may be exceptions but I have never seen a rattler at over 8,500' in Colorado....and I spend a lot of time in rattlesnake country every day at work.

 

[Wrench]

Some people sound like you might want a travel trailer. I'm not sure where you hunt, maybe Katmai would have me freaking out about night noise....but when I'm hunting, a jet could crash in my camp and I'd sleep through it.

I've had mice on my face. It's not a cool way to wake up, but after once....you know what it is and wait for them to climb on the bag..... then launch them into orbit.

I use a bivy in my tipi because I love my western mountaineering bag too much to let it see dirt.