Camping without the inner.

[3spd]

In an effort to save more weight I'm considering just taking the fly'.
What do people do?
Do I take some loose ground sheet or just sleep on my mat?
Use a bivvy bag?
What if it rains and the ground gets wet?

[drossall]

I've seen people put a tarpaulin over a hammock:



(picture from this site).

Personally I'd stick to a complete tent unless you've some experience. Tents can be quite light and compact; what tent do you have?

[DaleFTW]

I use a Luxe Mini Peak II. On a couple of trips, I've only taken the outer and a bivvy bag.

Plan being to sleep in the bivvy, then if it's raining, I have shelter.

Wouldn't do it to save weight or owt mind.

[andrew_s]

If you take a bivvy bag instead of an inner tent, you won't save much if any weight.

You will want some sort of groundsheet unless your trip is short enough that the weather is reliably dry. It's not practical to stop your sleeping bag spilling over the side of your sleeping mat, and rain just before you are due to pitch the tent will leave you with a damp bag. Normally rain doesn't run in under a tent, but it can happen if the rain is particularly heavy or you picked a poor spot to camp
I'd suggest getting some secondary glazing film, which is light, waterproof and cheap (often referred to as "polycro" if you want to check camping forums.

The other job that an inner tent does is to stop any condensation that forms on the outer tent from dripping off onto you and your bag. Condensation is largely weather dependent, and you will get some on some nights even with a flying tarp like that over drossall's hammock (the worst nights are those clear ones where there is a lot of dew in the morning).
How likely condensation is to run down your tent walls rather than drip off onto your sleeping bag depends largely on the shape - largely steep sided tents like a pyramid are better than those with a lot of relatively horizontal roof.

[3spd]

The tent is a cheap Coleman Bedrock which weighs about 2.5kg but it's more the space that I want to save.
Last year I carried a big 3 man tunnel but I don't want to use 4 panniers or strap owt to the top of my rack.
As for the bivvy bag I had no intention of using one as I would replace most of what I had reduced.

[tatanab]

Picture this ---

It has been raining steadily for a couple of days. You arrive at the campsite to find yet another soggy quagmire. You erect your outer over the least muddy part you can find thanking your lucky stars that you saved a pound or so in weight (or a little bulk) and left the inner at home.

On tour a few years ago that is precisely what happened with somebody in my group. I was relatively happy and comfortable in my complete tent. As has been said upthread a bit - it might be ok if you are only away for a couple of days and you can be certain of dry weather and no biting flies.

[foxyrider]

The tent is a cheap Coleman Bedrock which weighs about 2.5kg but it's more the space that I want to save.

Its an element often overlooked, how big the packed tent is. My tent for this summer takes up about a third of a pannier including the poles (it could be much less if i pack the poles seperately) - the tent it replaces took no more space for the canvas but the poles had to be strapped elsewhere and it weighed twice as much (2kg)!

Most manufacturers do give a packed size but in my experience very few consider how its going to be carried, particularly with regard to the poles.

I can't think of any situation where i'd want to do more than an overnight with a single skin, the inner keeps you and your kit away from all the creepies, stingies etc, dry as others have pointed out - i have bedded down in dry conditions only to wake literally floating - thankful for the 10,000mm head groundsheet keeping me and my kit dry. That was in Switzerland in August during a particularly hot spell!

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,
And nobody mentioned flies / midges

Its a nice idea that you travel light but just remember the practicalities first.
I have spent a number of uncomfortable nights even when I have right gear because the weather changed.
If you insist that you carry a big enough tent for your bike as well then you must bear the weight penalty.

1.5 KGS For tent add 0.9 kgs for mat a bag. Cooker and all I have all the gear for summer camping, wash kit etc, etc.
This tent has full sitting height , is 93 " long on inside, I am 6 ' and I have dressed and packed inside tent without my head hitting the top
Two panniers left on bike.

[hamster]

I've never carried my tent in a pannier - it straps on across the rear rack. Provided the poles are 50cm or shorter yours should fit.
Back to the topic - I use a small bivvy tent for brief trips, with a proper two man for when the weather looks more unsettled or more shelter (e.g. for cooking) is needed. I can't see the point of leaving out the inner.

[drossall]

I can get my tent (with poles), a 3-season sleeping bag and an inner bag in one pannier, and my tent is only a Coleman Epsilon 2.