Solo Shelter Option

[Okanagan]

Huge personal preference factors in choosing a backpacking shelter.  I've slept on the ground well over three years of my life in total and way prefer a simple flat tarp.  It is infinitely adaptable to fit any space and option, does not require a certain footprint space or shape nor certain tree spacing etc.    I made my own 8' x10' from super light material from Seattle Fabrics and it is very light weight and compact.  I'd make it bigger next time even for one person though two of us have slept under it on backpack hunts a time or two.   

I rarely camp above timberline with my flat tarp.  If you plan to camp above timberline, get a tent.

If it is bug season, and most Fall hunting is after the bugs where I hunt, then take a separate mosquito net as several have suggested.  I use the regular net from REI made to cover a full size bed, and tie up one end over my head enough to let me sit up under it while the remainder drapes down to the ground and slopes down to drape around my sleeping bag at about my hips.  I could trim off at least half of the net.  Rig it sideways and up to three people can sleep side by side with heads and shoulders under the bug free space.

I own three backpack tents, a pre-shaped silnylon tarp tent and a 6 man tipi.  I use them for compact car camping but have never backpacked any of them except for the tarptent and it did not work well at one of the places I carried it. My wife way prefers the privacy and sense of protection from a tent.  YMMV.  My next really cold winter backpack hunt I will take the tipi if others go with me.  Solo, I flat tarp it.

[Bushcraft]

As others have already mentioned, it all depends on the situation.  Generally speaking, the weight increases with anticipated weather & exposure and to a certain degree how long I anticipate being in a particular area.

For summer scouting trips where bugs are really bad, I'm on the move and I don't want to bother with finding level ground to sleep, I use my Hennessey Hammock assuming I'll have access to good sized trees. 

http://hennessyhammock.com/products/explorer-ultralite-asym-zip

If I want to go bare bones in awesome weather where I can find a flat spot and bugs aren't an issue, my Hilleberg Bivanorak gets the nod.  If bugs might be an issue, I'll bring a little net that I can tuck my head and shoulders into over my bag.  Works great.

If the weather looks like the dew might be heavy or if there is a very small chance of precipitation, in addition to the Bivanorak I'll bring the small silnylon tarp from my Hennessey Hammock, particularly if I know I can get down in the sub-alpine and out of most of the wind.

If there's a bigger chance of rain and maybe a little more wind, I'll use a bigger tarp, usually my Exped Helium.

If there is a good chance of a high wind variability (gusting and multi-directional), with minimal rain or humidity, and I know I can use pegs, I'm jumping up to using my Kifaru MegaTarp & Annex with the Bivanorak.  Assuming you can get good purchase with pegs, the MegaTarp and Annex is bombproof and is palatial.  It will easily accommodate two guys and their gear.  Three in a pinch.

If conditions are the same as above, but temps are going to consistently be freezing AND there is access to decent wood, I'll bring a little wood stove to take the edge off in the mornings and night.  This setup works really well for longer trips where hauling additional fuel canisters is offset by a wood stove that not only boils water, but also heats the shelter and dries out wet clothing.

If the same as above, but there will be consistent humidity, precipitation and wind, I'll add a liner to the above Bivanorak, MegaTarp, annex and wood stove combo.  If you don't add the liner, you might as well be sleeping outside when once the stove dies from all the condensation that forms on the inside of the single wall shelter.   

https://store.kifaru.net/megatarp-p85.aspx

Note that the constant with the combinations above is the use of the Hilleberg Bivanorak.  I like to have it in the pack if I need to emergency spike out from my main base camp.  Is it perfect and made of the latest, greatest, lightest most breathable fabric on the planet? No.  But, it is an extremely versatile piece of kit.  There's nothing quite like carefully setting a small tea-light candle, jetboil or other small stove down between your feet when you want to soak up some heat mid-day when glassing.

http://us.hilleberg.com/EN/shelters/bivanorak/

If doing something like High Buck in some of the more exposed places I like to go where it's oftentimes iffy finding enough footprint room and good soil for pegging down the MegaTarp and there is a strong chance of some super crappy rain, wind, snow, sleet, spindrift, etc., then the Hilleberg Soulo gets the nod.  Freakin' awesome freestanding bombproof 1-person tent.  Love the modularity and I sleep like a baby at night regardless of what Mother Nature decides to dish out.

http://us.hilleberg.com/EN/tent/red-label-tents/soulo/

[cumminsbassguy]

If I'm going deep I just take my GI sleeping bag system
Good to about -10 or so
Waterproof and warm
That and a space blanket if it's raining

   this.. probably end up getting this if i get real serious about going up high

[davk]

Hammock and rainfly.

Only way to go

As long as you're below the timberline 

Then it becomes a ground cloth and rainfly.  Love versatile gear. 

[davk]

Im using a MSR Hubba 1 person tent atm.  Has a small footprint ... and I still hate finding a flat spot for it.  Is actually fairly narrow compared to other 1 person tents I looked at when I bought it a few years ago, but it widens towards the top so it feels much wider than it is.  With the rain fly on it doesnt make it feel too cramped because it goes off to your left and right.  I have a 2 person tent that its like sliding down into a tube ... this feels much less cramped.  Also has good head space.  Hammock and tarp is on the want ... NEED list(if the wife asks).  I sleep like #$@& on the ground.  Something is always sore or falling asleep.  Ive used just tarps a few times.  All depends on where Im hunting, weather, time of year, distance traveling, length of time, how comfortable I want to be.

[duramax588]

Hammock and rainfly.

switched to this setup this year and it's the best sleep I've had in the backcountry

[Highmountaindan]

Everyone has a preference, I started with using a tarp and making my own shelter. Then went to a hilleberg tarp for weight and quality. After having the multiple experience of small critters coming into my sleeping area at night and causing me to not get any sleep. I switched to a KUIU ultralight 1p. It is 17 ounces and is easy to setup, I've been through heavy rain at night with it, I am 6-4' and I have enough room inside the tent to be comfortable. My one small complaint is it does condensate easily inside. But zero critters have woken me up lately.

[skagitsteel]

Every tent/ shelter set up has its place.  I know a lot of guys like floorless, I always wonder how many of those guys hunt the wetside of the mountains in October rainstorms?  I was on top of a ridge in my hillberg the first week of September in breezy conditions and an absolute downpour at about 38 degrees.  When I woke up it felt like a waterbed, the area I pitchedy my tent was a small pond.  I was sure glad I had a floor!  I stayed completely dry and warm for 3 days despite the conditions.  I use a hillberg nallo gt for nasty conditions and an 25oz single wall Cuban fiber tent during summer or when conditions allow.  I have not tried floorless yet, but I hope to some day.  My current hunting locations/ schedule is better suited to a tent

[kellama2001]

tagging

[MtnMuley]

Every tent/ shelter set up has its place.  I know a lot of guys like floorless, I always wonder how many of those guys hunt the wetside of the mountains in October rainstorms?  I was on top of a ridge in my hillberg the first week of September in breezy conditions and an absolute downpour at about 38 degrees.  When I woke up it felt like a waterbed, the area I pitchedy my tent was a small pond.  I was sure glad I had a floor!  I stayed completely dry and warm for 3 days despite the conditions.  I use a hillberg nallo gt for nasty conditions and an 25oz single wall Cuban fiber tent during summer or when conditions allow.  I have not tried floorless yet, but I hope to some day.  My current hunting locations/ schedule is better suited to a tent

What 25oz cubed fiber tent are you using? Z-packs?

[Okanagan]

Every tent/ shelter set up has its place.  I know a lot of guys like floorless, I always wonder how many of those guys hunt the wetside of the mountains in October rainstorms?  I was on top of a ridge in my hillberg the first week of September in breezy conditions and an absolute downpour at about 38 degrees.  When I woke up it felt like a waterbed, the area I pitchedy my tent was a small pond.  I was sure glad I had a floor!  I stayed completely dry and warm for 3 days despite the conditions.  I use a hillberg nallo gt for nasty conditions and an 25oz single wall Cuban fiber tent during summer or when conditions allow.  I have not tried floorless yet, but I hope to some day.  My current hunting locations/ schedule is better suited to a tent

First of all, don't set up in a low spot that will turn into a pond when it rains.     My son and I have tarp camped many times on October and November Western WA backpack hunts.  On our worst one it rained sideways after dumping a foot of snow that mortar bombed us as if fell off of limbs in huge chunks.  It was critical to pitch the tarp and sleep on a raised spot that was not a puddle nor running water.  Finding such a spot is usually easy for one person, more difficult for each body added.   

Lest I get backed into sounding like a stronger advocate for tarps than makes me comfortable, please carry however much weight and stuff you want to provide the comfort level you want.  Anyone can do that without putting down folks who choose lesser options that work if the user knows how to use them.  Have a great hunt!

FWIW, I love the concept of a hammock in our wet forest but when I tried a Hennessey it was too claustrophobic or something for me to sleep well and I returned it.  My loss but a man has to be comfortable with his own gear to hunt well.   

[RallyDawg]

Thanks for all the feedback.  I am likely going to sell my new Nemo Losi 3P and pickup a Seek Outside shelter.  I anticipate using this shelter on the eastside so I like the idea of a floor less shelter with the possibility of a stove for late season. 

[Vo2max]

Parachute cut to fly shape, with a nylon string.

Where do you get a parachute?

He got it at The Gettin' Place
 

[Twang]

Rain is one thing. Dry fine snow is quite another.  Yes it shakes off but more than a few days of wind and fine snow that gets everywhere make a sealed shelter a happy place indeed. Take care of yourself is rule #1. If you have a easy exit plan you can experiment. 2 cents

[Jonathan_S]

Floorless shelters, especially tipis are awesome in the snow. The snow insulates around the bottom and you don't have to worry about getting pebbles and snow on the floor.

I've never felt more sealed than when I was in a large tipi with 4" of snow around the base and a stove inside