Hey everyone, I'm looking to improve my bushcraft setup for when I'm out flying and need to camp in remote areas. I’ve seen a lot of different shelters and would love to hear what works best for you. Do you prefer natural shelters, tents, tarps, or something else? Any specific gear recommendations are welcome!

hilton diamond status works well

For me I’m simple, any quasi good air mattress that gets you as high as you can inflate and fit into the tent off the ground, couple hundred dollar tent that fits a thick queen sized air mattress, sometimes I’ll tie a line and drape a tarp over if it’s wet

Seems the ROI on lots of that stuff tappers off pretty quick as you start getting into the high dollar stuff, like 4x more money for 0.15x more better

For a weekend or so, not camping in the Arctic or Sahara or anything like that, seems to have always been enough

I’ve always been a tent guy. But I live in Alaska and the bugs can be life threatening. A good tent protects you from them. I have many tents depending on season. Mostly, I pack the Big Agnes Cooper Spur. I have the regular and the ultra light versions. I like them both. I have a North Face expedition tent for winter flying and a large Marmut tent that is tall enough to stand up in for Flyin event-type camping. All have bug screens.

As Squash noted, there are several issues that the folks who argue that a tarp will get it done may be missing, but a lot has to do with what part of the world.

Personally, I don't care where I am, I carry as part of my "emergency gear" a good four season tent. Mine is a North Face VE-24, and if you do a search, you'll find that's about a fifty year old tent. Good news is, NF still supports ALL those tents, so repairs, etc are free, except shipping to them. In fact, they just replaced one screen on that very old tent last year.

There is also a group of pilots who argue you can sleep in your plane. I have done that, back when I flew Beavers in coastal Alaska. No way I'm doing that in a Cessna or Cub, etc.

So, get a good tent, and figure out a good "bed" as well. Air mattresses develop leaks at seemingly the worst possible times. I've used them extensively for camping, but always carried something else. Now, I carry a high quality folding low cot, metal frame, and a self inflating foam filled mattress. Very comfortable, and good for camping, intentionally or not.

Now, a sleeping bag as appropriate for the season and locale.

MTV

I have three tents and have used them all depending on the mission. I find a Bivy bag with a Thermarest mattress works well of for one night, two at the most, when lightweight really matters. I started using that setup for motorcycle touring and it migrated to airplane adventures. My friends laugh at me when I crawl into that body bag looking thing, but I stay warm and dry and it only weighs a couple pounds.

Most times I use a one-person NorthFace tent. It’s a tight fit, but it works as long as I’m not trying to keep a bunch of gear out of the weather. Otherwise I use my three person NorthFace tent. When using the tents I use a Thermarest cot instead of an air mattress and really like them. I just checked their web site and can’t find them so maybe they quit selling them. Hard to explain if you haven’t seen one, but they aren’t like the more common folding cot, but they do keep you 2-3” off the tent floor and that makes a big difference for staying warm. Plus, you get a bit of space underneath for storage, which is what makes the one person tent workable. And they’re light. Maybe 3 lbs, and pack up smaller than my one person tent. As you can tell, space and weight are big considerations for me traveling two up in my Husky.

My sleeping bag is rated for -5C, so not super warm, but I’ve found a light liner or blanket makes a big difference. I don’t ‘winter’ camp, but am often out when temperatures are at or slightly below freezing. It all seems to work well.

I also carry a tarp, but that’s for sitting/eating area shelter.

A solar panel for keeping my phone and InReach charged is part of the kit too. That setup saved my bacon a couple times.

When I was a young teenager I used to do quite a bit of camping without any tent and make spruce bough shelters. They really are great, but take time and require the right material. I’ve never been confident enough I’d have access to the right material, or felt like I had time to set up that kind of camp when airplane camping.

I have not camped while flying, but I do a bit of hiking, and thought I´d share my experiences with different types of shelter.

First of all, hammocks are out. Nice and fun near a road or something, but when you add a bug net and a tarp in addition to the fact that you MUST have two stout trees, then it will quickly become relatively heavy and it is a lot of faff to erect.

Tarps are not bad, but you need a bug net and something to hold it up. I would imagine that it would be easy to use a wing. I have chosen tarp over tent sometimes when I either use trekking poles (rare) or know for sure I am camping below the tree line. Don´t need as stout trees as for a hammock.

Tents are the best. I love my MSR Access. It is self standing, and I can erect only the inner tent when it is warm and I need to keep bugs out, or both the inner and the outer when it rains and snow. It is sturdy enough for limited winter use, but get the newer version with the extra vent high up. I slept in a heavy snowfall once, and the ventilation along the bottom got completely covered. Woke up in the middle of the night, confused as shit and with the worst headache I have ever had and felt like I was choking. Tore up the zip to get out and get some fresh air… So I have had my sent to a specialist to put two extra vents on it. The Access is really, really light too by the way.

The ideal setup, and in my opinion also worth the weight penalty, is a decent tent that is self standing and where you can erect only the inner tent - AND a tarp. On days when the sun is really beating down, the trick is to use the tarp to cast a shadow over your tent. It will be airy enough to not get that horrible greenhouse effect where you just get baked inside, and actually stay somewhat cool. If the inner tent has good enough ventilation ofcourse.

For sleeping, it depends. If you are very careful, an inflatable sleeping pad is king. If you can sleep in a little discomfort, a closed cell pad just cant get ruined. They are light, but take up a lot of space. You need two on top of each other when it gets cold. Most people dont know you will loose more heat to the ground when camping, than to the air. And ofcourse a sleeping bag. A liner is good. I think that cotton is the most comfy, but does not add a lot of warmth. It can also hold moisture, wich is bad and kills all insulating properties. Silk is the «best». Light weight, insulated very well for its weight, and will not loose insulating properties when wet. (but always feels wet), and a synthetic fleece is the warmest, but very heavy. A pillow can be nice.

Sleeping outside is a matter of training. You can build up tolerance for sleeping on the hard ground with nothing than an inch of closed cell foam underneath you. If you sleep outside somewhat sporadic, don´t think you are cheating or being a sissy or anything like that because you get a nice pad and a cot. A good nights sleep is everything. It is important when hiking, and if you are flying the day after then you absolutely need to be well rested. The one thing I usually bring to spoil myself when hiking, is a big, fat, warm sleeping pad