Tents

[Eztouche]

During my Boy Scout Days 40+ years ago I went to Philmont Scout Ranch for 10 days of Sangre de Cristos backpacking and a tarp is all we had to sleep under. Worked great. (No air matress or foam pad either)
But.... Tarps provide no barrier to voracious Arkansas keeters . I think I'll pass these days

[RomanLA]

The tarps that use your hiking sticks to pitch look pretty cool. I picked up a Kelty Teton 2 yesterday. I could probably get something about a pound lighter, but it's a nice backpacking tent for $120. I used it with a Thermarest Trail Lite and a Sea to Summit Thermolite Reactor sleeping bag liner. That combination definitely helped keep the weight of my pack down.

[okieboater]

Tarps are great in my opinion for minimalist camping in good weather and maybe light drizzle low wind conditions.

However, when the wind bends trees over and rain drops hit like pellets from a BB gun ----

My personal opinion here, "No tarp setup can beat a good tent, well staked and well positioned." I pay the price of a bit more weight for freedom from blowing rain and biting insects attempting to get out of the blowing rain.

After running the Tot Sat, a bud of mine and I pitched two tents at Queen Welihmena (I know spelling is not my strong point) on top of the mountains just east of Mena.

We got a awesome electrical show as the storm clouds built up, then the rain started in earnest and the wind was bending trees over, rain stopped after a while, but wind howled all night and was still howling at daybreak when we left.

My REI Half Dome was staked out with good stakes (not the little wire things) nice and tight. Wind would ever so often blow the sides in but I never got even damp and slept thru most all the night. I do not think anyone could pitch a tarp that would have kept me as dry and comfortable as that real tent.

I'm voting for a tarp system to rig a fly to cook meals under but for real sleeping comfort I think tents are the way to go. If you need portable shelter that you can easily carry.