# Can anyone recommend a good emergency tent?



## notyermomma (Feb 11, 2014)

I'm compiling a BOB for the probability of a major earthquake in the Pacific NW. Climate here is mild, going from a bone-dry mid 80s in the summer to a bone-soaking constant light spatter in the winter with temps in the mid-40s.

I want to get two of them, one for a home BOB and a second one for a GHB that I'd store at the office. I've seen the little mylar tents and I'm fine with that, but I'm concerned about models that would require two trees to tie either end to (especially for using the GHB in the city.) Is there anything else out there with poles or some other way to prop it up?


----------



## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

You can go the "cheap" route. Buy replacement tent poles and make a frame for the tube tent.


----------



## Genevieve (Sep 21, 2009)

do like grimm says. buy replacement poles that break down into a smaller size and then use a tarp also have paracord for tying it down/up. we have brown ones that also have black on the other side. I wouldn't recommend the brite blue and green ones. they stick out and could leave you vulnerable to attack.


----------



## TheLazyL (Jun 5, 2012)

GI poncho for a tarp. $50. Multi-able uses.

Collapsible hiking stick for a ridge pole. $25. Multi-able uses.

Tie paracord from a wood stake to top of hiking staff and down to another stake. Throw the poncho over the paracord. Weight down the poncho edges as need with whatever is handy. Leaves, pine needle or whatever can be found for bedding. Like the following youtube but instead of trees use stakes.






Or stake down the four corners and use the walking stick as the center pole.


----------



## Moby76065 (Jul 31, 2012)

I agree with Genevieve.
I good sized tarp (strong) and a couple of light weight but strong poles can make a variety of shelters. BUT...if you go this rout make sure you have a military 4 piece modular sleeping bag with the gortex shell. This will keep you warm and dry.


----------



## ZoomZoom (Dec 18, 2009)

Are you looking for a 1 person or larger tent?
For *1 person*, I have and like either of these:

*Alps Mountaineering Mystique 1.0 tent*
http://www.amazon.com/ALPS-Mountaineering-Mystique-1-0-Tent/dp/B00J53WGNC
4.05 pounds
*ALPS Mountaineering Zephyr 1.0*

http://www.amazon.com/ALPS-Mountaineering-Zephyr-1-Person-Tent/dp/B00B9GCRL4
3.6 pounds

*For a 2-person*
*ALPS Mountaineering Lynx AL 2 *

http://www.backcountry.com/alps-mountaineering-lynx-al-2-tent-2-person-3-season
5lb 2oz

_I put amazon and backcountry links in but if you shop around, you may find better pricing._


----------



## ZoomZoom (Dec 18, 2009)

If you need something tough, I'd also consider a Eureka Timberline 2 tent.
It's the 2-person model used by the Boy Scouts for the last 50 years. They're really tough _but at almost 6#, it's a little heavier than the other models I recommended._


----------



## TheLazyL (Jun 5, 2012)

BOB and GHB. Remember. It's not going to do you any good if your bag is too heavy to carry the distance.

That' why I prefer to travel light. Why lug a tent around IF you have a tarp? Tarp can be used for a shelter, catch rain water, collect water from dew, drag bedding material and whatever else I'm forgetting.

Why lug a tarp around IF you have a Poncho? Poncho can be used for a rain coat, warmth for mild weather, shelter, catch rain water, collect water from dew, drag bedding material and whatever else I'm forgetting. 

To travel light (not having to lug extra weight around) I try not to carry single purpose items. Understand the point I'm trying to make?


----------



## Hooch (Jul 22, 2011)

And remember a tent will weigh twice as much once wet from rain. 

If your potential hike home in a shtf situation is only a few days..id skip the tent. A poncho and then stuff a few heavy duty trash bags in your backpack n call it good. For resting periods if it were raining or potentially bad weather, id hop in my sleeping bag, probably lean up against a tree, poncho on top, contractor/trash bag for bottom. Just let the condensation escape now n then but likely in a hurried situation trying to get home quick you will only be stopping long nuff to take sleeps edge off for a few hours n get back to it soon. If it was nice out a poncho n trashbag can be a ground cloth...
The only time id use a tent was if I was working and spiked ( work n live at the work site in remote locations) for a few weeks at a time. Then a tent becomes home away from home in a fixed remote location...on the move they are a pain in the ass even easy to set up ones. And I think in a shtf times id want to be as invisible as possible..


----------



## LastOutlaw (Jun 1, 2013)

Catoma tents

http://www.catomaoutdoor.com/default.aspx?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1


----------



## oldvet (Jun 29, 2010)

TheLazyL said:


> GI poncho for a tarp. $50. Multi-able uses.
> 
> Collapsible hiking stick for a ridge pole. $25. Multi-able uses.
> 
> ...


Just got a catalog in the mail from Sportsman guide and they are selling issue ponchos plus a color matched boonie hat for under $30.00. You have a choice of black, olive, woodland, digital woodland, and I believe desert digital.

I completely agree on the poncho as a shelter. If nothing else (especially in cold weather) you can add the poncho liner and wear it while sitting on the ground with the hood covering your head and your legs tucked in to stay dry and warm. It (as was said) can make a good small shelter or "pup" type tent.


----------



## Balls004 (Feb 28, 2015)

Bunch of good advice here. Shelter is shelter, and if it can do double duty, it's one less thing you have to carry. Remember, you're not staying in a Holiday Inn Express, you're surviving the elements. If your shelter allows you to be mobile too, then that's the way to go.

Improvise, adapt, and overcome....


----------



## HardCider (Dec 13, 2013)

I love our Hennessy Hammocks. Great all around setup if you are below treeline. Adaptable, shelters from the bugs,rain and sun. Lightweight and gets you off the ground. Easy to hide. Doesn't require an open. debris free, level area. The perfect bear burrito.


----------



## mosquitomountainman (Jan 25, 2010)

I've used ponchos and tarps and emergency "space" blankets and IMO they are all miserable compared to a cheap WalMart tent. If money is available get a better tent but I've had enough of sleeping in water or snow while huddled under an open ended tarp trying to keep from getting soaked in a downpour when the rain seems to be coming from all directions at once. You live where it rains, and rains and rains even more. In those conditions tarps suck. If you live in mosquito or fly country a tarp is even worse. 

So, at the risk of being different from everyone else, my advice is to get the best back packing tent that you can afford. We've camped for years in cheap tents and did okay with them. In the last couple of years though we've bought two very high quality tents. One is a four-season tent designed for expedition use. It's an internal frame with front and rear vestibules. It cost us $800.00 for a four person size. It's worth every penny. It's the very first tent we ever owned that didn't have condensation all over the roof the morning after I used it. It's rated for 100 mph winds and the owner of the place we bought it from (a local mountaineering supply store) has been using his for 20 years and has set it up in 80 mph winds near the top of a mountain. We camp in the desert and we were tired of the wind shredding our tents. It took some saving up to get it but it is worth every penny.

Our second quality tent was purchased a few months ago. It's a three season tent with aluminum poles. The top 2/3 rds is mostly screen and it has a good rain fly. We inadvertently set it up in a low spot one night in Nebraska. A big thunderstorm moved in and deluged us with rain. Susan got up in the middle of the night and stepped out of the tent into three inches of water. The tent was literally sitting in a puddle of water yet we were bone dry and comfy inside in our sleeping bags. I would have never believed a tent could keep the water out like that if I hadn't have been one of those sleeping in it.

I'm sold on good quality tents. If you cannot afford the best then get what you can afford but I can tell you from experience that tarps are great when conditions are good but if it comes down to being ready for anything I'll take a tent (or a good hammock system) any day or night.

That's just my opinion and it's worth every penny you paid for it.

:beercheer:


----------



## notyermomma (Feb 11, 2014)

mosquitomountainman said:


> That's just my opinion and it's worth every penny you paid for it.


Sold!!

I love to camp and "rough it," but in an emergency situation where I'm already freaked out I want to stick with what I know, which is sleeping in a tent. Plus I'd need privacy at night, and safety as a woman. Gawds forbid we have a major quake in December when it's raining buckets and 35 degrees. I'll pack with that in mind.

Thank you for helping me clarify that in my head.


----------



## Genevieve (Sep 21, 2009)

I would rather be able to see or hear trouble coming than be inside a tent that blocks total sight.
sometimes you have to give up some things for safety. especially being a woman

but if we really get into it my butt would be UP so I had the best advantage. people do not think to look up unless they've had military training


----------



## LastOutlaw (Jun 1, 2013)

Genevieve, I tried to view your blog in the link in your sig but the popups there took over. I could not access it because popups continued to overwhelm the blog.


----------



## Genevieve (Sep 21, 2009)

LastOutlaw said:


> Genevieve, I tried to view your blog in the link in your sig but the popups there took over. I could not access it because popups continued to overwhelm the blog.


I have no idea how to fix that hun. maybe thats google for ya? do you have pop-ups blocked on you machine ( whatever it may be lol)?

I'd like to migrate to somewhere else NOT affiliated with the monster G machine. just haven't found anywhere yet. and I don't think thats possible since "it" is everywhere ya know.

I cleared the blog out years ago. now it just has a short vignette I wrote but it's here on PS in the fiction section.
Its called Cover of a Book


----------



## readytogo (Apr 6, 2013)

*Build your own shelter*

I don`t know how skill you are but on this here site you can build your own tent frame from scratch and with a sun reflective tarp or canvas you can have a tent.
https://goodwinds.com/
or
http://tentpoletechnologies.com/


----------

