Emergency shelter for day hikes?

[emma_melbourne]

I am planning on going to Lake St Clair with my toddler daughter, and doing some day hikes out.

I want to keep my infant carrier pack fairly light - as she weighs quite a bit to carry.

I will be checking closely the weather forecasts, but I'd feel safer taking an emergency shelter out with us as a just-in-case. (They say you pack your fears when you hike, well I pack my fears for my toddler daughter). I'm also taking a lightweight sun/rain umbrella, wet weather gear for us both, 800 fill down jacket, an insulated Macpac onesie for her, merino layer, etc.

So for emergency "just-in-case" shelter on a day-hike in unlikely event of needing one, if I was injured and weather went against the forecast, what would you have with you?

I'm envisaging you'll be recommending me a particular type of lightweight tarp? I have a 1.8 kg lovely hiking tent but that's a bit heavy to lug on dayhike. I do also have a Mont Batwing 3 which is 0.93 kg and an option, but a little heavier than I'd like to be toting.

Best,

Emma

[GPSGuided]

I'd say a poncho from either Sea to Summit or SMD. They are good for greater rain protection or pitch it as a cosy emergency shelter.

https://www.wildearth.com.au/buy/sea-to ... PONCHO15dl
https://www.sixmoondesigns.com/products/gatewood-cape

PS. Whilst safety and emergency equipment are important, but if you are only on day walks around Lake St Clair, being selective of your walking days may be more beneficial. Carrying gears with infant carrier is tough. Been there and done that. PLB may be a better solution.

[rcaffin]

Small silnylon tarp, some string, some sticks for tent pegs.
Cheers
Roger

[emma_melbourne]

I'm planning on checking weather and taking a PLB, but wanted an emergency shelter as extra insurance just in case. (Even if using the PLB, still have to wait for someone to come).

Regards the poncho, I can't use it as a poncho as my daughter's in the backpack carrier (WE Wildchild) and presumably would need to breathe.I do have Wildchild sun and rain covers to go with it: http://www.bogong.com.au/we-wildchild-s ... overs.html which I've actually not used yet.

However I could buy the poncho and keep it in the bag for emergency shelter, and use it further years down the track as a poncho when she's not on my back.

Or, I could swallow the weight of the Batwing Tarp.

[emma_melbourne]

Is there a particular silnylon tarp (brand / source / link) that you know of and would recommend Roger? I have my Leki Corklite trekking poles I can use to support it.

[emma_melbourne]

Ah I've just found one at Tier Gear. I can see it's going to be around $170 spent to save around 500 grams off my current set-up of Mont Batwing 3 tarp. So I'll ponder the spend versus weight saving benefit.

[emma_melbourne]

Aliexpress - 3F UL Gear has this Ultralight Tarp: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3F-UL-G ... 54109.html

US $9.52 + US $3.76 postage to Australia

210 x 150 cm

195 grams

20 D sided silicone waterproof 5000

I don't know how reliable it would be at that cheap price. But given it's for emergency daytrip use only in event of injury and unforseen bad weather, I *think* I can get away with it.

[GPSGuided]

3F’s quality is fine. As for the choice for emergency needs, don’t go cheap or it’s pointless. If you are serious on self protection in an emergency, the last you want is failed gears. Either forget about it or use a solid gear.

[Moondog55]

Bothy bag
Alternatively a pyramid tarp but for what you asked a bothy bag for sure
Evan at TerraRosa makes them and they are cheap insurance
http://terrarosagear.com/bothy-shelter/

[warnabrother]

what about one of the SOL Escape bivvy bags ??
http://www.surviveoutdoorslonger.com/sh ... vvy-s.html

[Franco]

Different solutions, all valid and you should pick the one that appeals to you.
Since you already have a tarp and use trekking poles, I too would suggest a lighter tarp.
Silnylon, or similar, would give you not only a lighter but a smaller package to carry and if you don't have time to set it up you can always wrap yourself up with it , emergency bivvy style.

To add
I just noticed that Cam Honan (a very busy long distance hiker) has posted a lot of info on how he uses his poncho tarp.
Forget the poncho bit but have a look at his different tips and tricks.
https://www.thehikinglife.com/2018/02/t ... cho-tarps/
( Cam was one of the early testers of the Tarptent Pro Trail...but that is too much of a shelter for some of his walks)

[ChrisJHC]

I notice that Mitchell’s has army “hoochies” for $80. Seems expensive but would do the job.
They are heavy but bombproof!

Plan B could be to buy the fabric from Tier Gear and make your own.


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[emma_melbourne]

PONCHO TARP:
I've just found a poncho tarp here: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Natureh ... 46060.html

20D sil nylon, 200 grams, 230 x 140 cm, US $25 including delivery

It's similar specs to the 3F UL gear tarp I'd found: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3F-UL-G ... 54109.html

20D sil nylon, 195 grams, 210 x 150 cm, US $13.28 including delivery

I like to support local where I can but I'm a single Mum on a tight budget, and it's for emergency use rather than regular use... I prefer to spend less dosh on this buy.

Now that I've seen your messages I'm thinking it might be more versatile to get the poncho tarp - as it can still be set up as a tarp, and has press studs to make that process easier. I can get it in orange on that link - whereas others only have the green which is too blendy to nature in an emergency.

So I think I'll go with that... if anyone thinks I'm crazy then do say so - or forever hold your peace. (Wink)

[warnabrother]

If for emergency use, I'd be considering something that keeps you dry and warm.. being dry is one thing, but the cold can kill.. I'd still be going for a SOL bivvy personally.. so that you and baby can cuddle up and be warm

[Moondog55]

Just warning you that those are Asian sized ponchos and that is the as-cut size, they are smaller when sewn up [ I have one but in the winter camouflage] so while they work as a poncho they are small when used as a tarp.
Kids needing shelter were why I bought my first Megamid, speed of erection and sheltered space for the kilo carried being the main reasons, but being able to put up the tipi while the kids were sat in one spot was also a factor. Having been a solo parent myself at one stage i know how tight money can be but I had to balance my love of skiing against the kids comfort and safety. I never had to use it in an emergency but it was used many times as a rest and relax spot out of the wind to drink Milo in and eat TeddyBears at Lake Mountain.
Sun shade and shelter from the wind may mean 2 totally different styles of shelter but for shade in summer an Op-Shop bedsheet works very well. Winter with cold wind and rain is different. I also say don't skimp here, but thinking outside the LW/UL side of things a cheap pup=tent from K-Mart can be easily modified to give a cheap emergency shelter and those are about $50-
you cut out the PE flooring and they become a lot lighter
http://www.kmart.com.au/product/3-perso ... nt/1936828
Or the almost useless as a tent wedge that still offers shelter from the wind
http://www.kmart.com.au/product/2-perso ... nt/1679803
Naturally such tents need to be used with care and do need modifications such as side guy points but for emergency use I would be OK doing that, and replace the cheap steel pegs with alloy to save weight when funds allow using trekking poles in the mean time rather than the crapola that they are sold with
I'm looking at these as emergency shelters not as tents. Sometimes you find these in Op-Shops for $5 or $10-

[CasualNerd]

I have one of those 3F ultralight tarps and it's awesome. Be aware that it will take weeks to arrive, but it'll save you a hundred bucks on a name brand.

[emma_melbourne]

@warnabrother I hear your point and it's valid. I do have a Grubber Space All Weather blanket, and I imagine this would do a similar thing. (Albeit not sealed up as a SOL Bivvy is.)

[stry]

Bothy bag, or maybe something like the Hilleberg Bivanorak. A not too big adult and a toddler could probably both fit in a Bivanorak, but a Bothy would be roomier.

Nothing that needs sticks, poles, pegs or string. These things are never as quick and easy as we may wish and don't provide the weather protection, particularly from wind, of the bag.

[emma_melbourne]

Interesting... that has just led me to this - Terra Nova Brothy 2.

64 x 98 x 121 cm; pack size 22 x 11.5 cm, weighs 370 grams AND it has a clear window which I like. (There's something I found too claustrophobic about the brothy shelter. I'd want to look out for people if I was in an emergency.)

Specs & photos here: http://www.terra-nova.co.uk/tarps-bivis ... s/bothy-2/

$51 on Webtogs here: https://www.webtogs.com/en-AU/Terra-Nov ... 540wmp.htm

It's a bit of a weight penalty compared to the other options at 370 grams (versus around 200 grams) - but it does look like it'd be excellent and it is relatively cheap.

[GPSGuided]

Poncho tarp makes good sense from a utility point of view. For the price on Aliexpress, it's almost a no brainer. If you don't trust the quality, then do look into the two links I suggested at the top of the thread. They are very good quality and will definitely work for the purpose. The Gatewood Cape really is very nice and both have various Youtube videos showing you their pitched formation. I have a Sea to Summit model and was also bought for emergencies as for your consideration. Fortunately I have not had to pitch it to date.

[Neo]

Small silnylon tarp, some string, some sticks for tent pegs.
Cheers
Roger

Yup easy shelter. Any kind of waterproof sheet and some string. Painters drop sheet even!

The STS escapist tarps are <~400g and can be your main shelter too. Can prob stitch your own or even a bothy bag from materials sourced from Tiergear etc.

The SOL gear is convenient off-the-shelf but really can be improvised oneself.

[slparker]

A tarp can be used as a shelter in rain and sun for every day walk if you want to (good for lunch stops). It can be used as for the OP's intended purpose as an emergency shelter in terrible weather. With practice a tarp can be erected in bad weather but if the weather is too windy for the OP to erect it can still be used as a bivvy bag if you wrap yourself in it.

If you break your leg you can wrap yourself in a tarp. Ever tried getting someone in a bivvy bag with a fractured leg?

A bothy or SOL bivvy bag is probably a single use item for the OP that'll sit in the bottom of the pack never to be used.

[Moondog55]

A tarp can be used as a shelter in rain and sun for every day walk if you want to (good for lunch stops). It can be used as for the OP's intended purpose as an emergency shelter in terrible weather. With practice a tarp can be erected in bad weather but if the weather is too windy for the OP to erect it can still be used as a bivvy bag if you wrap yourself in it.

If you break your leg you can wrap yourself in a tarp. Ever tried getting someone in a bivvy bag with a fractured leg?

A bothy or SOL bivvy bag is probably a single use item for the OP that'll sit in the bottom of the pack never to be used.

In practice yes, difficult but not impossible but I don't think the OP has that scenario in mind

[lily2217]

I had one of those tents from https://novaprosports.com.au that can work as emergency shelter or so they mentioned!

Forgive me but i didnt know / think what i'd use it for before as i took the whole package for overnight hiking. Maybe its what you're looking for?

poncho wise i shiver at the sound of it for now! i wasnt wise enough when i purchased my first poncho. oh it was terrible for me ;p the size and weight and clumsy. i bought one of those army / military looking ones ones from ebay for me and my husband and i dont think i'll ever use it again =.= but then i wanted something cheap before :p I didnt now they had lightweight ponchos ! wish i found this forum earlier *smack head* -> it was a mount kota kinabalu climb and i need the poncho but it wasnt fun =( it was heavy, hot, and i wish i had a disposable poncho that time instead!

[emma_melbourne]

Thank you everyone so much for all your advice.

In the end I went with 3 items so I can mix-and-match given we do such varied trips - tropics, desert, Tassie, etc. So I don't plan to take all 3 together of course - I can scale up or down with items depending on where we are.

- 3F UL tarp (210 x 150 cm, 195g)
- SOL Emergency bivvy (108g)
- Bothy 4 with window (600g)

Shopping around, the 3 items came in just over $100 together all up.

And I would never have known about a bothy had it not been mentioned. The 2 person bothy I'd had my eye on sold out, but I found a 4 person on sale overseas by Terra Nova which is a bit heavier but will also be nice if we're going out with a friend hiking, and I can use it for coffee breaks and lunches etc if the weather was a bit miserable. I watched a Youtube clip of a guy who was kayaking in cold weather and would use it to warm up and eat, out of the wind lash. As the one I've got has a window, it's also a lot less claustrophobic to have a toddler in. And if I ever did break a leg (touch wood - hoping never), setting off the PLB and then into a bothy as needed with such quick deploy is going to be a great option. I come from NZ where it gets really cold in the South Island - and that's exactly the kind of thing you'd want on a daytrip if you ended up stuck out overnight.

So much appreciative for all the comments on here. Cheers!

[ribuck]

Those Bothys are incredible. When I saw the advertising blurb saying they "create their own microclimate", I dismissed it as hype. But a few years ago I was in a party that used one in the mountains on a miserable day. Six of us had morning tea in a Bothy 8, and for those 15 minutes we were warm as toast. Shame about the rest of the day.

But you do need to keep the volume small. For a parent and toddler in a Bothy 4, it's a bit big. You will need to draw it in to minimise empty space.