Herald Scotland

Interesting post bukidnon. If you ever get to kip in a desert you probably won't need the Cave and certainly not a bivi bag. I've slept out in the deserts of the SW USA on dozens of nights in a down sleeping bag. I did carry a shelter - tent in the early days, tarp on later trips - but rarely used it.

The Cave is pretty stable when pitched as you describe.

Cheers, Chris.

Yes, the Cave 1 is a tough unit. This is repetition of something I mentioned in another thread, but there is nothing which can break. The pegs might pull, but that's it. It's problem though, is the flapping. It is noisy in a rough wind.

I think beaks are a good idea for Britain, otherwise tarps can behave like those suction pumps Science teachers use. You know the ones that fit on taps. The falling water draws air through a tube at right angles. The back end of my Spinnsolo behaves like that so there is almost always a draft coming in through the funnel-shaped front. If I could sew, I'd add beaks to make it look like Jay Ham's MYOG tarp. A tarp with a catenary cut to reduce flapping, beaks preventing the suction effect and spinnaker fabric's reluctance to absorb condensation could be spot on for our hills.

And a Serenity Shelter to keep out midges and prying eyes. Except, it would then be a tent, not a tarp.

Best wishes.

We'll be including a video by Chris Townsend on the subject of Tents, Tarps and Tarptents in our new TGO TV, which will be launched as part of our new website around the end of August/beginning of September