Anyone think this tent would be too big to haul cross country?

[janetanorth]

you need a fly that goes all the way to the ground.
have fun-janet

[staehpj1]

you need a fly that goes all the way to the ground.
have fun-janet

I would disagree with that one at least for most of the times and places I have toured.  I found that for us on the Trans America and other shorter trips the bigger problem we had was lack of sufficient ventilation, not lack of coverage.  Even with a tent with fairly minimal overhangs on the ends and sides that were above the ground by design we needed to use sticks to prop the sides of the fly up to allow more air to circulate under.  That was a record hot summer for much of our route that year though, so in cooler wetter weather maybe I would have felt differently, but...  While we did tough out a few storms, we spend MANY hot dry nights wishing for more movement of air.

On the TA we tended to spent a lot of nights under town park pavilion roofs so we could leave the fly off.  I miss that now that I have a single wall tent.

[johnsondasw]

you need a fly that goes all the way to the ground.
have fun-janet

And I would agree with it.  A couple of times, I've used a tent with even a small hole in it.  This has led to the sleepless nights of bug hell.

The bugs will find a way in if there are any breaks in the seal.  I deal with the hot, muggy problem with a tent with mest ceiling.

[johnsondasw]

Sprry, that's mesh or screen ceiling.

[staehpj1]

And I would agree with it.  A couple of times, I've used a tent with even a small hole in it.  This has led to the sleepless nights of bug hell.

The bugs will find a way in if there are any breaks in the seal.  I deal with the hot, muggy problem with a tent with mest ceiling.

Not sure I follow.  What does the fly have to do with bugs getting in or not?  The inner tent's job is to keep the bugs out, the fly is to keep rain out.  You can leave the fly off entirely and remain bug free, having a gap at the bottom of the fly in no way that I can see causes bugs to get in.

I have camped a lot of nights in some of the most bug infested country with the fly left off entirely with no bug problems.

[merinojersey]

You might want to check out some of Eureka's lighter tents.  http://www.eurekatent.com/filterTool.aspx?cID=7

Good luck

[Westinghouse]

Too big, too heavy, and you will get soaked in a downpour. I would not advise the Alpine hiker tent either. I used it new one night in the rain. The next morning I pulled my tent stakes and left the rest of it in the woods.

[lembeh]

Thanks a lot for you input guys.

I decided to go with a Kelty Gunnison 2.1. I was veering towards purchasing a Kelty Grand Mesa 2 but after reading about it being slightly cramped for 6'0 and over I decided to go with the longer Gunnison 2.1

[johnsondasw]

And I would agree with it.  A couple of times, I've used a tent with even a small hole in it.  This has led to the sleepless nights of bug hell.

The bugs will find a way in if there are any breaks in the seal.  I deal with the hot, muggy problem with a tent with mest ceiling.

Not sure I follow.  What does the fly have to do with bugs getting in or not?  The inner tent's job is to keep the bugs out, the fly is to keep rain out.  You can leave the fly off entirely and remain bug free, having a gap at the bottom of the fly in no way that I can see causes bugs to get in.

I have camped a lot of nights in some of the most bug infested country with the fly left off entirely with no bug problems.

Sorry, I read it too fast.  I rode with a guy once who used a floorless tent, pyramid shaped, and put a tarp on the ground.  Bugs can get in that setup.  I misread the previous posts and thought they were about a tent that did not come all the way down, like my partner's.  You're right.  The fly need not reach the ground, as the tent provides the seal.  Mea culpa.

[Westinghouse]

The day I find one of those cheap, partially-rain-flied tents that keeps the water out, I will eat that tent poles and all. I use a ten  by twelve polyethylene tarp with poles and lines. Insects can be parried easily enough. It will keep you dry in the heaviest downpours. It's light weight. Replacements are cheap and easily available. What? $10.00 -- $12.00. It's much better and easier to set up in the rain than a nylon tent. Use it as a temporary rain coat; try that with a nylon tent and it will bleed through. There are many ways to string up a tarp, but only one for your celebrated tents. I know, you don't have to dish out thousands of dollars before even getting on the road to go on a long bicycling tour. There can be little difference in functionality between an item you pay $400.00 for and a similar item you pay $10.00 for.

[staehpj1]

Sorry, I read it too fast.  I rode with a guy once who used a floorless tent, pyramid shaped, and put a tarp on the ground.  Bugs can get in that setup.  I misread the previous posts and thought they were about a tent that did not come all the way down, like my partner's.  You're right.  The fly need not reach the ground, as the tent provides the seal.  Mea culpa.

No problem...  I thought maybe you misunderstood.

[waynemyer]

The day I find one of those cheap, partially-rain-flied tents that keeps the water out, I will eat that tent poles and all. I use a ten  by twelve polyethylene tarp with poles and lines.

This speaks deeply to my inner engineer/tightwad.  Please elaborate!     What do you use as an insect barrier?  Is there a technique to get the tarp to fold up compactly (I find most tarps to be like cheap road maps: there's no way it's folding up small again!)?  I appreciate all the juicy details you can provide.

[johnsondasw]

Yes, the insect solution.  That's the crux of the issue to me, too.  I'm sensitive to the constant whining of mosquitoes, and don't like to dope up with repellant.  How you can keep the little buggers out with a tarp setup is my question, too. 

[Westinghouse]

Insect repellent spray and coils. Fold as fold may. No problem. Cold winter, mosquitoes retreat. I've tarped many many nights. Insects? Easy to defeat their purpose.

[staehpj1]

Insect repellent spray and coils. Fold as fold may. No problem. Cold winter, mosquitoes retreat. I've tarped many many nights. Insects? Easy to defeat their purpose.

Different strokes, but I don't consider sprays and coils as an adequate solution.  I tend to be a bug magnet though and also would prefer to keep the amount of DEET or other repellents on my skin at a minimum.

On the other hand we met one guy who was doing fine and was about 70% of the way toward completing the TA with no tent, no tarp, and no bivy.  He was traveling really light and said he slept in the open, under picnic pavilions, and even in doorways of public buildings.