Another important item in your gear set is your shelter or tent. A tent mainly protects you from the weather elements: cold wind, rain, snow. There are several types of tent designs (canvas, dome, pyramid, bivy) and sizes (solo, 2, 3 person…) each offering certain advantages. A tent is either 3 season (spring, summer, autumn) which is more lightweight and breathable or 4 season (suitable also in winter) which is designed to withstand extreme weather like strong winds and heavy snowfall. A tent is either single or double wall / sheet, the latter offering more protection and comfort.
As an alpine style (solo) hiker we will usually opt for a lightweight design over a more heavy comfort design. Similar to sleeping bags, depending on the design and materials used a tent can be one of the heavier / bulkier items in your backpack. It’s therefore important for regular hikers to invest in a lightweight tent which will not drag you down. Also note that during my 2019 journey across 120 high passes in the Himalayas I used my (bivy) tent only 30% of the time, mostly sleeping beneath the open skies in my quilt. As long as you respect my rule #1 (camp outside the wind) and there is no rain or snow you can comfortably sleep in the open.
Bivy
My personal favorite as a minimalist solo fast hiker is the bivy tent. It’s a single wall solo tent (kind of a bivy sack) with a single arch to keep it up above the head allowing you to read a book or use your phone while lying down. It’s protects you from wind and rain and has usually two types of doors – breathable net for warm weather / keeps insects out and a closed sheet for cold weather / rain proof. Near the base / feet, the bivy simply lies on top of your sleeping bag. The sleeping pad / mat is kept below you inside the bivy.
Space is of course a bit more constrained inside a bivy compared to a standing tent (dome, pyramid, canvas) but has one major benefit – LIGTHWEIGHT. A bivy made with quality lightweight materials weighs in at just 500 grams compared to a 1-2kg regular tent designs using two layers and longer pole structure. That’s a significant advantage in steep terrain where every 100 grams counts to reduce your load / effort. Minor disadvantage of a single sheet (bivy) tent is more condensation on the inside.
Additional benefit is that a bivy can be folded very compact taking up very little space in your backpack. There are many brands out there offering bivy’s. I used the Outdoor Research Helium Bivy during my 2019 journey across 120 high passes in the Himalayas and loved it. Very easy and quick to put up and very effective in keep you warm even in extreme weather conditions at higher altitudes.
Bivy tent
A kind of hybrid design is my current Bluebolt solo bivy tent (blueboltgear.com). It combines the minimalist / lightweight advantage of a single-layer bivy with a more spacious pyramid design by reusing your hiking poles to create more headroom and luggage space at no additional weight. High enough to sit inside (eat, change clothes) and plenty of room for your luggage or even cook something. The luggage compartment can open up to provide more ventilation in addition to vents at rear and top of the tent.
Assignment
Acknowledge your understanding of the importance of a tent and different types of design