I've been looking at tarp shelters to include in my BOB, and now I'm wondering why I would want to go that route rather than an inexpensive two man tent like the REI Trail Dome ($99). Reasonably sized tarps of decent quality (not the blue tarps from hardware stores) are not cheap. Even if you go for the lower-end ones. Other than maybe 2 or so pounds of weight savings, I can't find much reason to justify a tarp setup for BOB use. A tarp would give less protection and present a more complex setup most of the time. And dealing with shifting wind patterns with a tarp could be tricky. I fully understand why someone would choose a tarp just for the weight savings aspect. But are there other reasons? I'm thinking, just buy the REI 4-1/2lb tent and be done with it.

That tent looks like a great deal.

Some reasons you might like a tarp.

Some tarps are much more compact than a tent if space is at a premium in your BOB. A tiny sil tarp can be about fist size.
It will even fit in a pocket.

2 something pounds would be a lot of
peanut butter, whiskey, or 22 ammo.

The prime reason for selecting a tarp over a tent is weight savings, which can be significant over the course of a multi day trip. They are not particularly difficult to pitch and can offer surprisingly good protection.

A worthwhile compromise is selection of a tent that can be pitched with just the fly, poles, and ground cloth - more protection than a tarp and easier to erect, but lighter than the full tent. In bug season, just carry the tent - you will be glad you did.

I look at this decision differently for BOB than for weekend backpacking. I choose tent for backpacking, poncho/tarp for BOB.

My BOB has to get me a much longer way in much less time than if I'm recreating. If I'm bugging out then comfort shifts lower on the scale. Weight, which equals speed of movement, becomes more important.

Of course if I knew ahead of time that the bugout was to destinations unknown forever then I'd make different choices.

Other advantages to the tarp vs 2-man tent for non-recreational use is the ability to set up shelter in irregular terrain. A tent needs a specific footprint of clear and fairly flat ground. A tarp will work in a boulder field, urban rubble or a forest of downed trees.
It is also pretty handy in a sudden hail storm or passing squal to just grab out of your pack, drape over you, your pack, your dog and a friend or two.
It is easier to rig your shelter to collect rain water for drinking.
However I don't think I would have survived in Denali Nat'l Park without a bug-proof tent.
leo

i simply prefer tarps because i like being outside, that why i'm camping. i enjoy viewing an open fire next to it and how it warms me. i like instantly seeing what's going on around me. they dry out faster. they cover more ground area for the same weight/packing-volume. they're safer if a stove needs to be used under one. i find tents to confining and depressing, nor are they as easy to exit should one catch fire.

but tents can be the better option in treeless terrain, extreme wind conditions, or buggy areas...

I guess part of the question would be what is the planned purpose of the BOB? Is the plan for the bag to be used when you definitely need to sleep outdoors or is it more of a low-probability event that you are planning for?

While I don't really have a BOB (so maybe take this with a grain of salt), I think this is a good way to look at it.

For example, if I'm backpacking I will choose the tent over the tarp. I prefer the comfort, weather protection and privacy it affords.

If, however, I am not planning on staying overnight when I head to the woods I would bring a tarp (or, for me, something that could be used as a tarp) as a contingency. I would not want to pack a tent for a just-in-case scenario.

So back to the BOB, if most of the events being planned for would require staying outdoors I'd lean towards including the tent if the size and weight weren't problematic. But if most of the planned events wouldn't require sleeping outside I'd likely go with a tarp or equivalent (those space blankets I linked to are a great, multi-use item that fit this bill without breaking the bank; they are about $15).

Thanks for all the replies! Denis asked a very good, probing question. "What is the planned purpose of the BOB?" To be honest, I don't anticipate sleeping outside. So my shelter needs are of the "just in case" variety. So I agree that does favor a tarp. I found an inexpensive one that might work, the larger 11'x11' size here: http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/guide-gear-11x11-tarp-green.aspx?a=954701&e=Y

I'm sure this tarp is mostly junk, but it does have more and better (sewn) tieouts than the typical cheap grommet blue tarp. It's inexpensive, and might be serviceable for my "just in case" requirements.

Depending how resourceful you are it is possible to sew up your own.

Be aware that the dome tent is not a 2 person, more like a 1.5.

Equinox has decent inexpensive tarps.

A third option is a bivy bag. About the same weight and volume as a medium sized tarp, it can provide more weather protection.

A fouth option is a Hennesy Hammock.

A fifth option is a tarp-poncho.

Each of these options are single user only whereas a tarp of similar weight can provide shelter for 2 or even 3.

If you apply the same weight consideration of tent vs. tarp (choosing the twice-as-heavy option) to the rest of the stuff in your BOB, the BOB will weigh a whole lot and will be an impediment to your bugging out, much like a boat anchor.

If weight is so slight a concern, then it is not really a man-portable BOB, it is a car camping rig.

People who don't believe that "ounces become pounds, and pounds become pain" have not put in the time under a heavy ruck.

Quite true. And that's mostly what I'm looking for. I have no illusion that I'm going to be walking off miles and miles into the wilderness to survive for years with nothing more than the BOB on my back. That might be a fun fantasy to think about, but it's not realistic. Pretty much the BOB would be to get from the house to the truck, drive a bit, then from the truck to a nearby camping spot, then back to the truck, etc. It wouldn't be for a cross-country march. If I have a 72 hour bag, well, that would just about get me the 30 miles from the north end of town to the south end (if hiking). And I'm not sure why I'd want to hike down to the south end of town in the first place.

I'm not in an area that has large scale disasters. No flooding, no hurricanes, no earthquakes, no volcanoes. The occassional small F1 tornado that might wipe out a block or two. But that's about it. I guess we could get nuked, but walking miles and miles through the radioactive fallout doesn't sound like a good idea.

So yeah, pretty much a car camping rig is what I think would be most useful. But I would want something that I could get from the house to a car, or from one car to another. So I don't want an ungainly 10 cubic foot 200lb kit (but that would be nice for a "BOB" that is permanently stored in the truck). Hence the backpack container for it all. "Portable enough" for short transfers, but not really a hiking rig.

If you are planning on using it with your truck it makes the choice much easier. Get a tarp, use the shell on your truck for normal shelter.
When you can't do that you then fall back on the tarp shelter.

Well put. In that case, I would go with a deluxe 3-man tent which means it's decently sized for 2, yet still packable. The REI-branded tents are a really good value. I recently compared the REI, Big Agnes, Nemo, and Marmot 3-man tents at the local REI store. I set up, inspected, and broke down each one.

I went with the Marmot LimeLight 3. I feel it is well designed and constructed. It includes a custom footprint which can be set up with the fly and poles alone if desired. Major material selections (floor, zippers, fly, etc) were about 1 notch heavier duty than the other brands. This made it ideal for car camping. This is not a dig on the other tents, they have to make those compromises to shave 1 or 2 pounds, which is a big deal when on foot.

I agree with looking at the purpose of the BO (Bug Out). All-in-all the tarp is the option for me. The tarp, as has been pointed out, is far more versatile.

It wouldn't be a good idea, I have to agree.

I'm expecting we'll get EMP'd rather than explosively nuked and have built my BOB strategy on that basis. The EMP scenario puts one afoot a long way from home where the supplies are. The environment is benign but without modern transport- it's a long way home. Hopefully there won't be massive riots in downtown Niwot.....

I hope not! Niwot might be one of the places I'd be bugging out to! I'm right around the corner, so to speak, in Broomfield. I don't think I could make it much farther than Niwot if I were hiking...

A 6th option is the tipi:
http://kifaru.net/tipis.html

Though you could probably do this with a big enough tarp.

A seventh option would be a nice rock shelter - no weight at all, and extremely protective. They are very common on the Colorado Plateau, especially in Four Corners country. Too bad if you are elsewhere......

My best nights outdoors have been in such shelters.

Have you been putting those rocks in other people's packs again???

I went ahead and ordered that 11'x11' tarp from SportsmansGuide. At $26, it is cheap enough to try and not fret about if it turns out to be junk. I've already got tons of paracord and trekking poles for supports, so now I just need to buy some decent stakes that won't self destruct the first time I pound them into the ground. I already have an excellent tent, although heavy (8lbs total weight - that's why I was considering the REI tent - much lighter). My current tent is a 2-1/2 man Northface 3-4 season convertable. Rock solid, useable for winter mountaineering. Doesn't breath that well in the summer, even when "converted", due to the fully sleeved poles and other 4-season features. I really wouldn't want to backpack with it due to the weight and size, but I'm thinking of putting the tarp in the BOB and having the tent sitting by itself right next to the BOB. If possible, and if I'm going for vehicular travel (as I would normally expect), I can grab the tent and carry it to the truck while wearing the BOB backpack.

Tent. No question.

I'm slowly taking steps into the world of using a tarp for camping instead of a tent. I like the openess of a tarp shelter and combined with the closeness of the campfire, it's quickly becoming my favourite way to camp. I still feel like I have to stay on fire watch all night but do manage to sleep. Since I started trying tarp-style camping, I feel constricted in a tent. I like the privacy but hate having such a huge chunk of my field of vision blocked. Although as the mosquitoes continue to increase in numbers around these parts, I am quite thankful to be able to crawl inside a relatively bug-free zone. (Although a good campfire does help keep the bugs at bay.)

When we camp as a family, we've got a nice 4-man Eureka with a great rain fly. (We will probably try a tarp set-up this year to see how the other half of the troop likes it.) Our bug-out plan is to use my Jeep and, if we have enough advance warning, grab this chalet of a tent too. If something happens to the Jeep though, and we have to move on foot, none of us is going to carry this 10 pound tent.

Our family BOB has GI ponchos, a sportsman's thermal blanket (like the one linked above) and a tube tent. I do however, keep a couple of sets of cheapie 2-man tents + tarp + paracord in the Jeep. My son and I use these on our mom and son trips and we'd definitely grab them if we had to leave the Jeep behind during a bug-out.

My edc GHB has a GI poncho and a tarp, to cover shelter. This pack lives in the Jeep though, so has the same option of grabbing a solo tent if the Jeep had to be abandoned.

So, I guess, I'm completely on the fence and no help at all.

LOL @ Jac. I still say tent. You can find very light ones and the keep the creepie crawlies off you.

For me, bugs make it hard for me to get restful sleep, so when I'm camping on purpose I bring a tent. The tent also keeps the wind off me so I can sleep without having to watch a fire all night long.

Very true Chaos. Not to mention rain and dew. I'd even take my old less tahn one pound Cabellas bivy over a tarp for a BOB or ultra light camping.

I have to admit, I really like the idea of no bugs. A tent does that very well. My son and I tried using a tent like a tarp shelter a few weeks ago and it was a nice compromise, BUT it was still May and the bugs weren't bad yet.

We're currently looking for a new, smaller, lighter, more portagable 2-man or 2 X 1-man.

Hey! Maybe I'm not on the fence after all. We're going for tents! But we're keeping the tarps too so I'll have to get back to you with my vote.

I'm too old and delicate to be crawled on by bugs. I bought a two or three man dome from a department store a few years ago. It wieghs about five pounds, maybe less. I have yet to try it, it's out in a shed. I believe it was $14.99 when I bought it. Have a solo tent that's light but nine feet long. I'm a big guy but not nine feet big, and storing my pack and gear inside makes it inacessible when i'm in with it. After the Night Of The Squirells I hang my gear when i'm in the mountains now, so seven feet would be a better size for Ol' Snake.

I would like to know more about The Night Of The Squirrels!

Sounds horrible.
Probably much worse than my own "Morning of the Porcupine."

Both have there place but if traveling by truck why have two enclosed
shelters? A small bug net will cure tarp tent insect problems and weigh
next to nothing. A head net or more traditional bed size can both be handy as a multi-use items.

under a tarp i use a one-pound gortex bug-proof bivi when rain or bugs insist on hassling me. plus it can be used alone as a sleeping bag when the feather one is too warm. all together, a very flexible outfit.