Tube Tents

We've talked a lot about tents here lately, individual, to family size. But I am going to talk about one more. In one of my earlier posts, I talked about always taking a waterproof cover for my backpack, etc. Well, what if I told you that there was a waterproof cover available that would also double as an emergency shelter? Dual purpose use if you will. I use them to cover my pack as I hike in the rain. (Remember, growing up in the Pacific Northwest, you learn to prepare for any weather). 

The reason I bring this up today, is that I am going to move forward in my backpacking series and I wanted to include a little story about this tent/waterproof shelter. There are many of these out there on the market, but if you read the specs, you will find that they are made from pretty thin materials. So thin in fact, that they are prone to tearing easily. Now, I have also used these tents/waterproof shelter's as ground cover when sleeping in the open and they work great, but I will get more into that later.

Tube tent from Nitro-Pak

Today I want to talk about a very specific type of tent: Tube Tents. 

Yep, that's their official name. Tube tents make an 'A' frame shelter. The one I am going to talk about today, is made by a very successful company in Heber, Utah. That's right, another good old USA company: Nitro-Pak.

Although the company is known for it's lines of survival foods and emergency products, I ran across their shelter's one day while ordering some food for a pack trip I was taking. The shelter, is a full 8' x 3',  and is made from waterproof polyethylene. Do you remember I said that many of these type shelters on the market are thin and tear easily? Well, that's because they are made out of 1.0-2.0 mm thickness of polyethylene. These tents I am taking about today, are made from a full,  2.5 mm thick polyethylene, making it much heavier quality and ultimately, more durable. You will find that even though it is considered an emergency shelter, it can be used multiple times. 

Now, since it is called a "Tube tent," that means it does not require you to carry any poles. Simply locate the shelter in between two trees approximately 12-15' apart, then use the nylon cord (provided) through the center of the tent and you have a ready shelter. Both ends are open, so I suggest you take along some clips or clothes line pins, to clip something over the end openings in case it rains.

The shelter fits one person and their gear quite easily, or two medium sized adults very snugly. I only point out that it can shelter two people, to allude also to it's use as an emergency shelter. It is a low cost (under $6.00! ) and lightweight alternative if you are packing a bit heavy and need to lighten your load. This is an inexpensive alternative. You see, it weighs in at 15 oz.,  it's made in the bright orange international color and as I said at the beginning? It works as a waterproof cover for my pack during the day and/or a  ground cover that night. 
That's it for today, thanks for reading and I'll see you on the trail.