In the past I've seen a tarp as a tent alternative, but it's not. It's nothing to do with saving weight and although there are configurations and layouts to make the most of almost any footprint of land it's not the ability to pitch anywhere that makes a tarp a worthwhile addition to any kit list. Quite simply the difference between a tent and a tarp is the difference between watching a festival on TV and being there! Under a tarp you don't just feel the outdoors you experience it on a whole new level. It's got its advantages but it's not a panacea; like any experience it can be bad as easily as it can be good - the outcome is dependent on choosing to use a tarp at the right time and in the right place.

It's important to remember that using a tarp is a choice - it's not a piece of emergency kit and it's not even the best answer to minimising the space needed to get under cover for the night. There's bivvy bags, hooped or otherwise, for getting your head down in a space to small for tents and there's bivvy bag covers and blizzard bags for emergency use. A tarp really comes into its own when you want to be immersed in the outdoor experience without quite drowning in it. It's a bivvy bag cover with room to sit up and spread your wares around liberally without fear of them getting wet - in most cases using a tarp in Britain will involve using a bivvy bag cover anyway, just in case.

In good weather in the right place nothing beats being able to look up at the night sky unrestricted by zips and doors and feel the breeze in your hair. In the UK, however, rain is never far away and when the inevitable does come even the excellent Rab Ridge Raider or Terra Nova Saturn becomes positively claustrophobic and the chances are your kit wont fit inside your bivvy and your pack's goiing to get a soaking. The simple addition of a covering tarp, though, gives you all the benefits of being able to have your head outside with the security that your kit can stay covered and even in a downpour you can sit up and watch the world pass by. There's room to cook, no issues with ventilation and enough space to change from wet to dry clothes, but while in a tent you feel restricted under a tarp you simply feel free.

The downside, of course, to being this close to nature is that nature's equally close to you. Tarps don't come with bug nets or inners and pick the wrong place at the wrong time and you'll know about it! A summer evening by a moorland pool with minimal breeze is a poor choice even with the security of a tent with inner and with an unprotected tarp you're midge food. In winter, with the wind picking up it's not as warm as a tent and you need to take extra care securing pegs if you don't want to see your tarp fluttering off into the distance. If the wind changes direction in the night you can find you've created a wind tunnel rather than a shelter and the combined weight of tarp and bivvy bag can see you carrying more than a lightweight tent.

Pitch away from the midge table of static water, somewhere with a breeze, however, and the wildlife you'll remember from your tarp trips will be the clear sound of night-time owls, the sight of a sitting mountain hare in the dawn light or the sight of a grouse taking an early morning flight. Nature carries on its daily routines ignorant of your presence to a large scale, but without the restrictions of zips and doors you don't need to remain ignorant of nature's presence.

Equipment featured in the photos: Alpkit Rig 7 tarp and Hunka Bivvy - full reviews coming soon.

Note: This article was restored from the archives. It's published creation date is inaccurate.