Tarp tent triumph!!

Before I set off DanFlan told me there is this new thing called 'bike packing'. Apparently it where you pack as little as possible and set of horizonwards with your dinky pack and your super lightweight kit. Loosely translated this means you do not take a tent but a tarpaulin 'tarp' which you erect by imaginative use of walking pole, pegs and string. 

Being a bird with a sense of adventure I thought I'd try it...so invested in the following from Alpkit: 

Unsure as to how to erect me 'tarp' I did what everyone does today and had a look on YouTube.

Silva Wolf has a bit on 'How to set up your tarp like a tent.' So I watched it.

'Ok', I thought, 'got that'. Contemplated having a practice but decided against it... hey, what is life without a bit of living on the edge? ;)

Arrived the first night and gave it a go. 

It wasn't bad. 

Inside. You need to rest your bag and mattress on a bivvy.

Demps thinks it's ridiculous, 'It looks ridiculous.'

The similarity to a witch's hat will not be lost on some of you. You can keep your jokes to yourself, thanks. 

The pros are:

-light

-adventurous

-no hassle

-warm, dry, cosy

Cons:

-it looks different every day!

-no door (hasn't bothered me at all)

-small space inside, I am small so no probs

-if we had some really bad weather I'm not sure how it'd fare.

I think it's fun but for the next long trip I will consider a tent.