The last post I gave on the Little Bug Out(LBO) from Seek Outside(SO) was a teaser to peak some interest. This post will be about giving a healthy picture of what to expect if you purchase one to serve as your next backpacking/camping shelter.
Bear in mind as you read this, I don't review a product with the intent of selling it, or advertising it. This is about discussion of quality products and hopefully what is written here will help you make the decision of whether or not you want to add this to your arsenal.
Background:
This year has been a shorter hunting season in terms of days spent in the hills compared to other years. However, I have still spent close to 30 nights on the ground in some kind shelter. Normal year it could get as high as 50 nights depending on time off. Every trip requires a serious evaluation of what needs are there in terms of the trip at hand. Things obviously such as number of people, temperature ranges expected, precipitation, etc. All of this factors into what shelter will be coming with me.
Generally I categorize everything in terms of people/weather. So for instance if there are three people going on a summer trip, I will be reaching for my SO 6. If it's going to be cold weather with the same number of people then it will be SO 6 and SO medium wood burning stove. If it's a solo trip in warm weather then the TiGoat V5 will be coming with me, if there is cold weather planned then the stove makes the cut as well.
When there is wet weather heading my way that could limit me to the shelter for long periods of time the SO 6 with stove will be making the cut. There is nothing worse than sitting in a tent for long hours waiting for a storm to pass and not having heat or the ability to stand up.
So that brings us to an interesting place with the LBO, this shelter can just about meet any and all needs up to 4 people. It can go with, or without a stove, or you could put a stove jack in just about any of the separate pieces if you so desired.
Introducing the LBO:
The toughest thing to examine with the LBO is that it can be categorized in the solo, double, and multi person shelter niches. A stove jack is possible in just about all of the configurations, and could easily be managed in multiple set ups.
List of Set Ups:
Base
Base+ Base
Base+Vestibule
Base+Tarp
Base+Tarp+Base
Base+Tarp+Vestibule
Tarp+Vestibule
Tarp
All of the square footage measurements are listed here:
http://seekoutside.com/products/ultralight-tipis/little-bug-out-shelter/
Really the options are near endless. Even with standard set ups little things can be adjusted that will allow you to change things even further for features such as airflow during the summer months.
Uses:
This section will come across fairly arbitrary because the shelter can be used for anything, and just about everything shelter wise in the back-country world. It really is that versatile. So bear with me as we look at the uses.
To save some redundancy a trekking pole, or one of the poles that SO sells on their website will be up to the task of suspending the shelter. For testing purposes I was given one of the SO poles to use in combination with the Back Country Shelter pole I already own. SO's poles are made of carbon fiber that telescopes inside of itself to save space in packing.
Also for the sake of not being redundant, the nest can be used with any of the combinations that have the base. The nest gives you the advantages of a floor, and double walled shelter with out having to take off your boots to be inside when combined with the other pieces. The nest can also offer a slight improvement in temperature, as well as protection from the bugs that are often out in force.
Make sure and set up the Nest ahead of any trip at home inside the base several times to practice getting the correct pitch. Floorless center pole shelters tend to have a range of pitches that could be considered effective, rather than just one that comes with your standard tent. When you add the nest the floor needs to be attached to the base ahead of time with some form of cordage. The correct floor space matches the floor of the nest. If the Base is pitched too short, the nest will appear saggy. If it is pitched it too tall it will be saggy on the back end with the floor not wanting to stay on the ground.
Here is a video link to the correct set up for base and nest:
http://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/6880820/1/New_Shelter_Little_Bug_Out
One by one I will look at the effective uses for the many arrangements of the shelter, and make some suggestions to what each would and would not be good for.
Base:
The base alone is a three sided shelter that according to the SO website sits at about 43 square feet. The measurements provided are accurate and there is plenty of space for two to sleep overnight when the situation calls. For my height and size it won't be a double shelter in this form. For me moving solo, light and quick, it will function perfectly.
When it comes to an emergency shelter this will function very well, as well as a bivy shelter. When hunting the higher elevations it is sometimes necessary to stay in one place to keep tabs on an animal. This shelter will function well for that purpose during the early season.
6 stakes are necessary when planning to use the hook off of the beak for stability with a guy-line.
Base +Base
This is the set up I foresee being most widely used for double trips, and can cover a variety of needs, especially with a stove jack install. For a solo trip this shelter would be a castle and could certainly operate in that capacity. At roughly 86 square feet there is plenty of room for one and gear, and for two with gear if you don't mind being cozy.
Dual doors in this set up make for a shelter that is very easy to achieve good airflow as well as not having to trip over your buddy in the middle of the night to visit the bathroom if you laid parallel to the long walls.
One weakness during spring/early summer/summer use would be that there aren't bug screens. This can be negated with the use of a nest in one side or the other, but bug protection would be limited to the sleeping area. For most that come from the tent with vestibules formed by the rain fly this is not a new concept.
For winter use a stove jack could easily be installed at the peak, with this set up requiring 8 stakes.
Base+Vesibule
This set up can simply be described to some degree as a smaller set up of the Base + Base with some notable differences. This will be my go to set up for June and early July mule deer solo scouting trips.
Solo trips would be my preference in this configuration, but double without gear inside would be possible. Because I tend to leave unnecessary gear at camp while hunting, and most of my partners do the same, more than one would be tight for gear and doubling up. If I am with my wife on a summer overnight fishing trip this would be perfect.
One notable feature is that the Base I tested had beaks that come off the front at the top for several inches and offer very strong protection of the zipper in wet weather. Simply guy out the base over the top of the vestibule and your zippers are protected from any water draining down them. Guying out the beak also adds to stability in rough wind conditions.
Beak guy out as seen from the inside without the vestibule.
This is a 6 stake configuration, and possibly seven with the guy out for the beak.
Base+Tarp
In warm weather conditions when 2 people wanted to be able to spread out a bit, keep their gear inside and still have a little extra space, this would be the set up. If air flow was desired, open up one side of the tarp, or simply lift the bottom of the base as shown in the photo below.
A stove could be used in the middle of the tarp to provide some heat if desired during early hunting season weather.
Base+Tarp+Base
(The photographer requested I mention this isn't pictched
as well as he would prefer)
The is the largest configuration square footage wise and could fit three people and gear fairly easily. 4 users could be done as well if some of the gear were stored outside. The floor space is close to the same as what my 6 man offers, with a couple of clear distinctions.
First, a flat sided shelter such as this makes it easier to get closer to the wall with sleep systems. That alone helps organizationally when planning where to sleep. To some this may be a small thing, but the primary role of any shelter is comfortable sleep. Placement of every individual matters, especially in the single wall section where rolling into the wall and ending up wet is a risk.
Second, there is a little space lost in terms of storage inside the shelter compared to a tipi of the same floor footage. The combination of Thermarest NeoAir and space my body takes forces an offset from the tipi wall. That space is where I tend to store my rifle, spare food, and other needed odds and ends that don't make the daypack cut. That "dead" storage space is nice when the stove is packed in, stacks of firewood take up room on the floor and its nice to have the extra space to work with.
For winter camping this could be comfortable with the stove jack in place in the tarp and heating the entire shelter from the middle. There would also be enough space to hang clothes to get them dry during winter hunts. This is far and away the best feature of any shelter that uses a wood burning stove of any kind. The LBO is no exception.
The biggest challenge in this will be finding the proper place to set it up. Because it is a long rectangular shape in floor space, finding an area of ground that is flat enough to not create gaps where the tarp meets the ground between both bases could be hard in steep country. The gaps wouldn't be an issue in the bases when a nest is used, but it will require some planning when it comes to placement of the tarp.
10 stakes are required as well as two poles.With all of the pieces it would be wise to split the load between partners when preparing to use this shelter.
Base+Tarp+Vestibule
This set up is very similar to the BTB, so not much time will be spent explaining it. Simply substitute one of the bases with the Vestibule and you have it. It is less floor space the BTB set up but most of the considerations are the same.
3 people would be the max I would want, and gear would be a tough fit, especially with a stove.
This is a 2 pole set up requiring 8 stakes, and possibly nine if you chose to guy out the vestibule end.
Tarp+Vestibule
The tarp and vestibule set up is pretty similar what SO used to offer with their tarps. The major difference is that the closed end can be attached or detached depending on preferences. This would primarily be a light and fast set up and could easily function as a stand alone shelter or emergency bivy.
The possibility is also there to add a second vestibule to the other end and make it completely enclosed. When set up this would be very similar to the pup style tent that my Dad grew up using while in the boy scouts. The biggest differences would be that there is much more space, and you can enclose both ends. For quick overnight scouting trips, this form of the shelter would perform very well.
Tarp
The tarp alone is just that, a rectangular piece of waterproof material that can be used with poles and guyouts, guy outs alone, etc.
The only disadvantage to this tarp could be the possible weight added by the zipper attachment points. The advantage to using this tarp for extremely lightweight travel is that you own it as part of an entire LBO system rather than having to own an entirely separate shelter to take this role.
Packed Down:
The LBO can easily compress down to fit in just about any pack. Below you can see that a full Base+Tarp+base as well as a nest could easily fit in my Dragon Slayer from Mystery Ranch. The Dragon Slayer's claim is 2300cui and you could easily fit whatever LBO design you chose inside.
For relative size you can see the Primus Fuel canister placed next to the LBO. For any of the smaller set ups it can be stuffed into just the one stuff sack, and with a little effort nest base and vestibule could fit.
Another nice feature is that the stuff sacks are directly attached to Base shelter. No more wondering where the stuff sack went in high wind conditions.
To Sum It Up:
This is a shelter from a quality company that functions in many roles. Buy with confidence if you have defined what you expect from every set up.
