How To Camp Without A Tent

So, you’re considering camping without a tent. Good for you. Perhaps you’re looking to experience a minimalist camping experience. Maybe you are merely trying to get as connected to nature as possible. Either way, you’re opening your mind to the possibilities of a world without conventional means of shelter. In this article, we’ll discuss why people choose to camp without a tent and how to camp without a tent successfully.

Why do people camp without a tent?

There are several reasons that a person might elect to camp without a tent. Everyone has there own motivating factors behind their decision to ditch the pop-up house. Most commonly, it’s a matter of practicality. The truth of the matter is that tents come with a certain amount of weight and that weight has to be carried around. This might not be a big problem if you can pull up your vehicle right up to your campground and unload your gear directly onto your campsite. If that was always the case then there would be no need to forgo the tent. However, the problem arises when you have to travel long distances on foot. Maybe, you are walking several miles through terrain where automobiles can’t travel. Maybe you are hiking to the top of some steep hill to camp overlooking a ravine or gorge. Or, perhaps you will be scaling a mountain in order to camp at the summit. If you plan to exert a lot of physical energy during your camping trip, it might be in your best interest to leave the tent at home.

Additionally, once you have traveled some great distance to your campsite of choice, you may find that the campsite simply cannot accommodate a tent or conventional means of camping shelter. You might find yourself in a heavily wooded area that lacks sufficient room to accommodate a tent. Sometimes the terrain isn’t level and, therefore, isn’t conducive to tent dwelling. This can be especially true if you are climbing the side of a mountain or camping in the hills. In these scenarios, you might want to consider camping without a tent in order to safely get a good night’s sleep. We’ll touch on how to do this in the sections to come.

Although some tents can be stored in a relatively tight package, the fact of the matter is that they are usually extremely bulky. A human camper can only carrier so much gear and when you are traveling with a bulky object like a tent, it limits your capacity to carry other essential camping products. Consider this, you are hiking through the woods or walking through the desert or even climbing up the side of a mountain. You have to choose between packing a bulky tent or loading up some extra water. You won’t be able to manage both so you’ll have to choose. Which would you pick? There really isn’t a correct answer here. It will really depend on what you hope to get out of your camping trip. Of course, you might be more comfortable if you pack your tent. Although, you will survive longer with the extra water on board. All we are saying is that you have to be strategic when planning your camping trip and the fact that you can camp without a tent actually frees up options that will allow you to optimize your personal camping experience.

What are the different ways to camp without a tent?

Most of these suggestions will depend a lot on the weather you will be exposed to during your camping trip. So you’ll need to consider your climate when electing an alternative means of shelter when camping.

One thing to remember is that a simple tarp can be your best friend when sleeping outdoors. Sometimes all you need is something to get the moisture off. If a little rain comes your way, you can simply secure a tarp between some trees to create a makeshift roof. If trees are scarce then you can always secure the tarp between a couple of poles staked into the ground. Let’s be honest though. At this point, you’re just making a simpler version of a tent. However, the benefit of this method is that tarps are extremely lightweight, easy to fold into compact packaging and very versatile. A tarp can function as a roof or a floor. This means that you can put the tarp on the ground to protect your self from animals and insects that crawl around at night. Additionally, you can wrap a tarp around you to make a quick substitute for a coat or sleeping bag. The main point of taking a tarp camping is its versatility. You get all these benefits in one lightweight item.

Another means of camping without a tent is a good old-fashioned hammock. Who needs a tent when you have the feeling of sleeping while suspended in mid-air? The only catch here is that you’ll need a couple of trees or some sturdy posts to support your body weight. For the desert dwellers or the mountain climbers, a pair of juxtaposed trees might be hard to come by. But for the woodland campers, a hammock could be a viable option. They are another lightweight option and they don’t take up a lot of room in your camping pack. Just connect each end to the trees and you’ll be up out of the dirt and sleeping on air. However, there are some cons when relying solely on a hammock. For one thing, they do little to shelter you from the elements. This means that rain, snow, and heat might have an impact on your overnight camping experience. Like any camping trip, just be sure to plan accordingly.

If you’re looking for a challenge, you can seek out your shelter in nature itself. This can be one of the more dangerous forms of shelter though. The reason being, for one thing, you’re hoping that your environment has sufficient means to shelter you from the elements. If you haven’t had proper survival training, it can be more difficult than you think to fashion a shelter out of branches and leaves. However, it isn’t impossible. Especially if you are only camping for a short period of time, it can be just a matter of covering yourself with some leafy branches and shrubbery to make it through your camping expedition.

Another technique to camp without a tent is the reclaim method. This really should only be done under the most extreme circumstances or situations where there are no other options. Basically, you can use a cave or a den that has been abandoned by an animal occupant. The problem with this is that it can be difficult to determine if a cave or den is truly abandoned or if the occupant is merely off searching for a meal. The last thing you want to do is to bed down in the den of a bear or predacious animal. If you can avoid doing this technique, you should.

Perhaps one of the best alternatives to a tent is a bivouac shelter, sometimes known as a bivy sack. These are frequently used by mountain climbers and soldiers. These are simply single person waterproof shelters that are extremely lightweight. They have grown in popularity among minimalist campers in recent years for their portability and their ability to protect campers from the wind and rain. Once you’ve climbed into the bivy sack you can zip it up and completely shelter yourself from the elements. Bivy sacks usually made of a durable material on the floor of the sack to prevent tearing while the rest of the shell is constructed of a breathable, waterproof fabric. In terms of overall benefits, weight, portability and all-around shelter, the bivouac shelter (aka the bivi sack) is the best way to go.

So there you have it. Camping without a tent can be beneficial and in some cases ideal for your optimal camping experience. With careful planning, you can have a successful camping trip without the conventional means of shelter.