# Outdoors > Gear and Equipment >  small packing tent vs bivvy

## huglife

Kiaora
I'm after a shelter that packs down small as the main criteria other than cost. I'm llooking mostly in the up to $300 range.
Has anybody had any experience with the Macpac sololight? That looks similar to what I think I'm looking for, a little bit expensive but along the right tracks. 
I started off thinking bivi bag and fly was the way to go but have slowly progressed to thinking maybe just a small tent would be good.
Any recommendations for cheap, small tents?
Cheers
Tom

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## gonetropo

i had a cheap macpac a while back to sleep in. bought a $30 warehouse job just to keep the pack etc undercover and ended up sleeping in the warehouse tent as it leaked less.
just my own experience but at the end of the day what you pay for the name may reduce the quality of the actual product

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## 223nut

Got a wee Kathmandu that works well can't recall name. Depends what and where you go but I'd opt for a tent. If inspiring down you can stay in bed comfortably, bivies suck in the rain if your in it for anything other than sleep

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## tikka

Before I got the dog I was quite happy with a fly in the right conditions. A couple of trips ago we had taken the fly for a light weight trip and the weather wasn't what it was ment to be and had low cloud for 3 days going through our fly, everything was wet. A good tent is hard to beat in strong wind and rain. Not used the Macpac Sololight but I do have 3 other Macpac tents Olympus "best in strong wind and snow but heavy" Minaret "good all round tent with just enough room for me, the dog and a pack gear inside" Micolight is ok in low wind,rain solo missions without the dog.

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## chainsaw

cheap & good tend not to go together. A decent tent is a much better option in terms of weather/rain/wind etc and if you are careful in your choice it wont weigh anymore than a bivy & fly. There are some good deals that come up 2nd hand from time to time. Need to be patient. I picked a 2nd had MSR Hubahuba 2 man for $400 a couple of years back  - had been used 3 times by owners who then decided they did not like the outdoor tramping life.   :Thumbsup:   I know that's a bit above your budget but you wont regret buying quality.

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## Smiddy

I have a bivy bag and a msr Carbon reflex 1 man...... The msr gets used 90% of the time


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## Ryan_Songhurst

Lightweight (good quality) tent is going to win hands diwn over a bivvy bag or tarp everytime. Try spend 3 or 4 days caught out in some shit weather with only a tarp or a bivvy bag and you will know exactly what I mean. I run a Terra Nova Solar Competition and it comes in at under 1kg ready to go, even lighter if you left the inner and only took the tarp, but at 1kg theres no need to leave anything behind. You can cook in it (if you have too) theres just enough room to keep your pack and boots in the vestibule, you dont get wind chill, you dont have rain coming in the side when the wind changes, you can get in and out without ending up with a wet sleeping bag, the list goes on

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## gadgetman

Tents for me too. Have had them in torrential rain and always dry. Doesn't move the warm air you create around you away so fast too.

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## llewelyn

Freedom atom mate, great units and can use fly only in spring summer

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## Nick-D

if compactness is the main criteria, then absolutely nothing beats a lightweight tarp and splash/bug bivy. 

Borah gear do a combo that is a small tarp and lightweight bivy that is like $140 us. The whole setup with pegs and lines is about 5-600 grams and can be compressed to bugger all bigger than a can of beer. There isnt a tent that even comes close to that.
I have one that i use for on the fly overnighters. For that use its great, but I wouldn't want to spend much time under it in foul weather (its small), and I wouldn't use it outside the bush.

If you can only ave 1 shelter a tent is more versatile, but personally I like a big tarp in the bush for a bit of extra usable space and use the smaller borah setup for hunting bush on the fly.

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## burtonator

I bought one of these and also the 3 person one and have been quite impressed with the tent quality 
they also just sell bivvys
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/bran...2-9ece9146651a

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## Huk

I use a freedom mono enough room for you ,rifle ,pack in vestibule for overnighters if a few days out have stonycreek siltarp over top

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## Micky Duck

> i had a cheap macpac a while back to sleep in. bought a $30 warehouse job just to keep the pack etc undercover and ended up sleeping in the warehouse tent as it leaked less.
> just my own experience but at the end of the day what you pay for the name may reduce the quality of the actual product


there is wee light flys that fit over those simple warehouse pup tents...sure makes them super weatherproof.

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## huglife

cheers for the input everybody, much appreciated.
still not sold on what tent I'll buy but definitely feeling more like I will be getting a tent than a bivvy set up.. Especially after my last trip a weekend or two ago into the Ruahines on the worst weekend of the year so far. 
If it was going to be real wet I'd probably add in a cheap fly I guess for a bit of outdoor shelter.

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## Danny

I don't know if it's been covered here yet but most of the decent brands have the option of using just the fly anyway if the weather was looking ok. 
I've got an older Bubba Bubba which can be used either way but I cannot see me ever risking the fly only especially during this half of the year. 


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## Robojaz

> Before I got the dog I was quite happy with a fly in the right conditions. A couple of trips ago we had taken the fly for a light weight trip and the weather wasn't what it was ment to be and had low cloud for 3 days going through our fly, everything was wet. A good tent is hard to beat in strong wind and rain. Not used the Macpac Sololight but I do have 3 other Macpac tents Olympus "best in strong wind and snow but heavy" Minaret "good all round tent with just enough room for me, the dog and a pack gear inside" Micolight is ok in low wind,rain solo missions without the dog.


Dog farts and a closed tent can be a dangerous mix, especially  after a bone for dinner.  :Yaeh Am Not Durnk: 

On a more serious  note, I  have a MSR Hubba. Been meaning  to get the gear-shed add-on . Be good for a dog.

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## Dublin

> there is wee light flys that fit over those simple warehouse pup tents...sure makes them super weatherproof.


My mates all use the $17 warehouse tents and then do just that with a tarp over top. Been out in them in bucketing rain and not had any issues with leaking etc... They all swear by them.

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## johnd

I use one of these.

Luxe Mini Peak II






Can be used with or without inner mesh, Roomy for one ok for two, but need a fly for gear with two.
There are some good vids of these in stormy weather.

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## huglife

Well, I'm revisiting this thread again after the most unsuccessful "hunting" outing I have had yet yesterday.

I went out yesterday afternoon up Opawe road. Still snow all over the show which was exciting. Anyway, I decided to just go a little bit into the bush and then turn left (North). My goal was to reach the ridge before the Opawe stream and stay the night to hunt some slips and shit. This turned out to be a big case of ambitious map dreams however as I spent the day getting myself, and then my pack tangled in supplejack. We (my pack and I) are pretty big and bulky the both of us, and as my first pure bush bashing mission I made the mistake of having tent poles stick up out of it too which did not help my situation. After a few hours of tolerating it, I realised I wouldn't reach my target destination and so had a look around for somewhere to pitch my tent. No places were found. At this time I decided to walk down the ridge to the farm border and try walk along the fence line and find somewhere on the next ridge along, a bit closer to my original goal. 

By this point I was pretty broken, and the site of pretty steep shit down into the next stream and up out of it along the fence line was enough to send me home defeated; walking out along the fence line like a little bitch. To be fair to myself I've been pretty sick this week with a bit of a dodgy pie earlier in the week giving me a stomach bug then into a pretty hectic man flu which has had me feeling dizzy for the last few days so I shouldn't have gone but oh well. When I got back to my car it was straight to Ashurst for a 1.5L chug of sweet sweet coca cola and then off to pizza hut for some Pepperoni. I'm normally a pretty keen man and generally pretty hard to break but that day I had had a fucken gutsful. If myrtle rust can get rid of all the supplejack I will be well impressed.

Morales of my story:

- I need to harden up, and probably leave earlier in the day so there's time to get where I'm going as bush bashing is pretty slow.
- I'm probably going to try just getting a bivvy bag and tarp so I can camp anywhere. I will probably get a proper sleeping bag that doesn't take up literally half of the space in my pack too.
- Whittakers berry and biscuit chocolate goes good.
- Bush is way less open, way more cunty, and contains way more supplejack, when wearing a large pack.

If you have read till here, I have a question for those of you that sleep/have slept in bivvy bags. Can you get away with a less warm sleeping bag if sleeping in a bivvy sack? I'm looking at just getting a standard big waterproof sack army style bivvy bag sort of thing, and possibly a sleeping bag like this Pathfinder Water Repellent Mummy Down Sleeping Bag v2 - Orange/Grey. I'm a pohara uni student so want something that can be used year round.

Cheers
Tom

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## tiroatedson

Takes a big/good person to admit when you've might of bitten of more than you can chew. Add it to the experience list. I've walked out following a fence line before...not ashamed to admit it. 


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## WillB

A bivvy bag does give you a few degrees of extra warmth but not as much as a tent I don't think. And those army bags are great. There's a place I go where there is nowhere to pitch a tent even a small one but a bivvy bag you can always find a space to lie down

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## 223nut

As will has said, a tent will give you more warmth than a bivy bag,though both give more than a hammock

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## huglife

Chur chur, I think I'll give an army bivvy bag tarp combo a go. Don't mind if it's not the most comfortable because if I'm going to be staying out for longer periods than a night (which I rarely get the opportunity to) itll be either in decent weather or at huts or at road ends etc where I know I can pitch my big hua tent.
Cheers

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## 223nut

@ROKTOY has a nice set up using a 3x3m tarp, one pole (pole optional if you can use a tree branch) and a few bits of string. I'm sure there is a you tube clip somewhere

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## ROKTOY

> @ROKTOY has a nice set up using a 3x3m tarp, one pole (pole optional if you can use a tree branch) and a few bits of string. I'm sure there is a you tube clip somewhere


I can't find the video I first saw that showed how to build but these two give a pretty good idea of the principles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwnXcW_MMkM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRBtof2pAqI&t=390s

I also use this setup if the ground is dry or too uneven to pitch a tarp with a floor. this is good over snow grass etc. as it provides your mattress. Use your pack to block the doorway once you are in for the night.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMAtpWQdVbY

Not sure the tarp classes as lightweight though?

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## Robojaz

> Chur chur, I think I'll give an army bivvy bag tarp combo a go. Don't mind if it's not the most comfortable because if I'm going to be staying out for longer periods than a night (which I rarely get the opportunity to) itll be either in decent weather or at huts or at road ends etc where I know I can pitch my big hua tent.
> Cheers


Depending on the area and conditions, I will use either a small tent, or a bivvi bag and tent fly set up. A couple of years ago i did a bit of an assessment of my sleeping gear and tried out a light weight  sleeping bag bivvi bag combo. Worked very well and was far less bulky. To give me the option of more warmth i now use a Sea to Summit Reactor sleeping bag liner with the light weight sleeping bag.

https://www.bivouac.co.nz/sea-to-sum...eme-liner.html

  Have done a few trips on the tops chasing tahr and have been snug and warm. I  still take the tent with me in the car just in case weather gets crappy. Easy enough  to stuff it in your pack if required.

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