Shelter suggestions for outings in kind | All at shelters!

A good shelter, it sometimes makes the difference between a miserable trip and a wonderful expedition.

There are different types, from the humble blue patch in $ 15 polyethylene to the spacious palace at $ 670. All have their usefulness. The choice depends on the needs of the outdoor lover, the health of his bank account and his attitude towards discomfort.

Precisely, to cope with the rain, wind and mosquitoes in all comfort, there is the Bear Den shelter of Kuma, at $ 450 at Sail and the rope.

“It is really a strong anti -mosquito castle,” says Léo Bosredon, manager of the Cordée Cathedral Cordée store in Montreal.

You can add opaque side panels for more protection or more privacy. In a luxury version, these panels are included in the price.

“We are able to protect ourselves from bad weather even if the rain arrives aside,” notes Philippe Radermaker, director of the SAIL store in Quebec. On the edge of the river, for example, people like to close one or two walls. »»

And as a bonus, the shelter is very easy to climb: the posts are already inserted into the structure, it is enough to pull each of the walls outwards and the shelter takes shape.

But there is a “but”: once folded, the shelter is still two meters long.

“I cannot easily put a kuma shelter in my car trunk, but people who have a trailer can store it in its storage compartments,” said Radermaker.

We can solve this problem with the Victory de Nemo campsite shelter, practically as large, but lighter and more compact once folded. The price is still substantial: $ 670 at Sail.

“The compact aspect has a price,” recalls Mr. Radermaker. We also pay for aluminum posts, a material recognized for its solidity and lightness. »»

He notes that Sail offers a mosquito net shelter, Shield, only $ 180.

“It is with fiberglass posts, the structure of which costs much less. It is a soft structure: if it is windy, the tent is a little worse. For an prolonged campsite, we might want something that has a little more tone. »»

Glance at the tarpaulins

If mosquitoes are not problematic, a good tarpaulin could do the trick.

“The blue tarpaulin has a good value for money, but its impermeability is relative, especially in the long term,” notes Philippe Radermaker.

Polyester Chinook Heavy Duty tarpaulins are more resistant while keeping a reasonable price, from $ 65 to $ 75 depending on the size.

“It is still something heavier than minimalist tarpaulins and which will require more support at ground level, fairly thick strings,” says Léo Bosredon.

There are several ways to set up such a tarpaulin. The simplest thing is to extend a rope between two trees and make it a rooftop. We attach the corners of the two sides to the ground or to other trees, and that’s it, we end up with a nice roof in a triangle.

“If it rains, the water is pushed back as far as possible from the table or the place where you want to be safe,” says Bosredon. One of the sides can be lowered, sometimes to the ground, to take into account the direction of the wind and the rain.

Philippe Radermaker advises the Paracord, Coghlan nylon rope, easy to handle. There are also small tensioners, such as the Cam Jam of Nite Ize tensioners or the carabiners Figure 9, which facilitate the task of campers by eliminating the need to make complicated nodes to stretch the strings.

“People are discouraged with the knots, they mingle, the canvas is never tense and it looks more like a nightmare than anything else,” says Radermaker.

The followers of minimalism can turn on the much lighter tarpaulin side, such as Rab’s Siltarp shelters, which detail between $ 130 and $ 250 depending on the size.

“It weighs absolutely nothing, a few hundred grams, then it is so compressed that it could be releasing it in a 500 ml bottle,” said Radermaker.

Long -term campers could use this shelter with hiking sticks and a mosquito net to make an ultralight tent, notes Leo Bosredon.

He indicates that ponchos can also turn into a shelter, like the Tarpponcho of Sea to Summit. “It is a fairly expensive poncho, at $ 100, but it is an accessory that can be interesting,” he says.

The outdoor amateur remains to decide the desired degree of comfort. “A shelter is essential,” says Philippe Radermaker. It means that we appreciate the outdoors instead of undergoing it. »»