Alternate Tents

[Southern Breeze]

There is an alternative to tents that not many know about- geodesic domes. I've built several and now prefer them over regular tents when staying at a campground more than 2 days.(These are not for backpacking!). Don't panic, it's easier to build them than you think. I found the following site last year,it has instructions for building them out of electrical conduit.Conduit is a lot stronger than you think by the way. It takes some effort to construct one but it's well worth it.

http://www.desertdomes.com/

http://blogger.xs4all.nl/mxa/category/8593.aspx

[furrycelt]

That is interesting. Yeah, definitely not for backpacking; but those would be great for a base-camp set-up.

I have recently been sold on Hennessy Hammocks as an alternative to tents. They are so much lighter, super easy to set up, comfortable, and versatile.

-ian

[Southern Breeze]

Speaking of hammocks, the domes I've built are made of 1" conduit and are more than strong enough to support a hammock hanging inside.

[Andrew Breecher]

I used a Hennessy hammock on my thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail. Excellent, and I'd recommend it to anyone. I slept like a baby. I'm switching to a lightweight ground tent for my Pacific Crest Trail hike, just so I don't have to camp in trees (there aren't as many wooded areas on the PCT; the AT is entirely trees).

Andrew.

[Graham]

geodesic domes....takes me back to the 70's