For sea kayaking, a dependable shelter to rest and regroup each night is essential to a successful trip. Here’s a thorough overview of all your options: bivies, tarps, tents, hammocks and more.

Coastal winds, rain and bugs are part of the package on a typical kayak trip in the Pacific Northwest. For shelter, people deal a variety of ways, most commonly with tents. The more experienced the kayakers are, the better quality that tent or other shelter is likely to be. That’s because kayaking is the type of sport, like hang gliding and mountaineering, that you want to tackle when you’re fresh and alert. A dependable shelter zone to rest and regroup between days on the water is critical to a safe and satisfying trip.

A variety of shelters are available. Tarps, bivies and hammocks are small and easy to pack along and reduce our footprint on the beach. On a recent two-month expedition around the tip of Vancouver Island, we had each of these represented. While they all worked well within their design parameters, the choice of one or the other was definitely a personal one. It got me thinking how one man’s shelter is another man’s sanctuary.

When the moisture hits the fan howling off the broad Pacific, we take shelter. Some of us get into it a little more than others. Personally, I relish that downtime in a skookum dry space with nothing more to do than immerse myself in a good book or a board game and listen to the patter of rain. To this effect, it pays dividends to have a shelter that suits your needs. A bomber double-walled tent is at one end of the sanctuary scale, with an open air tarp at the other. Each of the shelters listed below will protect you from the elements if properly deployed. But that’s where the similarity ends.

Tarps

On kayak tour, you’re often on the move and often paddling in prime season. Nevertheless, storms and squalls are an ever-present threat. Driftwood and terrain, trees and rocks, all come into play to create a dry space under the tarp. Long sand spikes are de rigueur. Guy lines are taut and nylon thrums.

Pros: A tarp is small to carry and quick to pitch. In a pinch you can just throw it over you and your stuff. You can pimp it out when you have the time. Although a good quality tarp with grommets might cost more than you’d think; it’s a patch on a mountaineering tent. There is the satisfaction of the minimalist, employing a cleverly pitched tarp.

Cons: Gales and storms can make life rough, particularly for a poorly pitched unit. If bugs are an issue, a tarp alone is no help. Some people enjoy this bikini shelter concept, while others may prefer more buffer from the elements. In extreme conditions, one sleeps with an eye on the weather, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Tested: You can use an Ace hardware grommeted tarp and do fine. We often build a simple driftwood skeleton to put this over, but you can create some nifty dens with creative layout ideas. A better idea is a tarp like MSR produces. The TWing ($230; mountainsafetyresearch.com) (68 square feet at under 2 pounds) is a neat low-to-the-ground tarp that uses whatever you have at hand for poles. MSR’s Zing ($350) (200 square feet at 3 pounds with poles) is a lightweight entry in their Wing line and suitable for moderate winds; will shelter you in elegance.

Hammocks are the most exotic shelter of the group. There is something simian-like about hanging from trees. Not requiring the same dimensional imaging as the tarp, it nevertheless challenges us to find JUST THE RIGHT SPOT between two trees!  The new breed of  camping hammocks are a tent in suspension. Rain fly, mosquito netting, pockets, the works.

Pros: No worries with standing or running ground water, most vermin will be stymied to reach you, level ground is a non-issue and you will have no concerns about sharp objects. In a pinch you can set it up on the ground as a glorified bivy. Packs down similar to a tarp in size and weight.

Cons: If you like to root around in a tent to do stuff or get comfortable or just for the sake of rooting, you won’t like a hammock. Unless you have a big fly with your hammock or a broad tarp to cover you won’t have much dry space to stash you gear. Getting in and out to pee at night can be a hassle. Frustrating if you can’t find the right venue to pitch.

Tested: Top choice here is clear: Hennessey’s Safari Deluxe ($220; hennessyhammock.com). Weighing about four pounds, it is ideal for sea kayaking. This model gives you more coverage and is a good idea for wet camping. Also makes a fine ground cover. Entry is via a slit in the bottom and the lay is very comfortable. If hanging from trees is your thing, you can NOT beat the Hennessy design. Nylon version is 1.9 oz; 70D polyeurethane-coated rip-stop polyester is 4lbs, 2oz

Bivies

Steven has just pulled his kayak ashore and sloughed out of his PFD. He grabs dry bags in both hands and sticks a couple under his arms. He heads for the driftwood pile at the back of the beach. Setting his bags on a flat cedar log, he pulls his bivy out of its bag and tosses it on a spot of sand between protecting logs. Done.

Certainly no bigger than a big tarp or hammock, it stows neatly in my kayak and pitched about as fast as I could toss it on the ground. No one has ever accused me of minimalism, but this thing just about made me a convert. I find it perfect for high desert river trips, where I got to feeling some of that tarp-smug Conner was showing!

The most confined of shelter opps, the bivvy does little more than provide a protective shell. Deluxe versions provide valuable head room courtesy of a Delrin or aluminum pole. Not the most ergonomic of shelters in prolonged weather, the bivy is best targeted for probability of dry weather and for those whose concept of shelter is only for sleeping. A tarp in combination with a bivy can make a big difference in utility. Use the tarp as a ground cloth unless it rains. Being more of a garment than the other style shelters, ventilation is achieved primarily by direct transmission of moisture vapor through fabric, especially around the legs and feet. Bivvys come in a flavor spectrum ranging from breathable (lighter weight material) on one end, to durable (heavier) on the other. For kayaking purposes the weight differential is nominal. Go with the stronger fabric.

Pros: Can give you perhaps the ultimate increase in ambient temperature. Emergency versions are so compact as to make excellent survival shelters. If cocoonish is a plus, chalk the bivy up here. With a well designed bag, the pod-like feeling of tailored protection from the elements is subtly satisfying.

Cons: Well, the obvious; you can’t do much in one. With little room for air circulation, buttoning up for hard rain can tend to stifle. Look for a highly breathable bag if you anticipate much rain; better yet, leave it home.

Tested: I love high end mountaineering tents, always have, but  I find myself sleeping in a bivy on high desert river trips in particular. Always on the lookout for the ultimate bivy, when I discovered the Gogo EX ($299; nemoequipment.com), I knew was done looking. Granted, this is technically a one-person tent. It has a full mesh body and a fly and we’re talking 2 lbs, 8 oz. The conceptual beauty of this baby is that you can trust using it in rainy weather, something I ordinarily relegate to my bigger tents. Feature-wise it has great headroom and the fly will tuck back and secure leaving a large open or mesh covered area at head. And talk about TRICKED—an inflatable air tube replaces a conventional pole. It comes with watertight stuff sack, stakes, a repair kit and the world’s coolest little breath/diaphragm pump that snaps into position with an audible click. Just the absolute best!

Tents

Katie is puttering around camp putting the finishing touches to the boats and kitchen. Her VHF radio announced that storm force winds were imminent. With camp buttoned up and the first trace of moisture in the wind, she heads over to her tent. Pitched in the lee of a rock outcrop at the corner of the beach on a rare level spot of sand HIGH above high tide line, squats a yellow/gold mountaineering tent. With double walls and a roomy vestibule to brew up coffee in the morning, she figures she’s set. Bring it on, she mutters and kneels to enter her sanctum.

Tents are far and away the most common kayak shelter. But there are tents and there are TENTS. Requirements for a mountaineering shelter are not that different from an expedition around Cape Scott. The longer you’re out the more important that shelter becomes. In a hostile, vibrant environment, a tent is a touchstone of comfort and regeneration. A good night’s sleep provides a fresh take on a fresh day. Mental clarity and good chi make for good decisions and the wherewithal to carry them out. Think Four Season/Expedition when you shop for a tent for paddling the Northwest coast.

Look for a tent with a good sized vestibule (15cf and up). Most have two; the small one in back makes a good boot/empty bag room. Organize your dry bags around the perimeter to help seal the space, creating a central area to cook if needed.

Tent height is important. For wind shedding, keep it as low as possible, but make sure it is tall enough to sit up in. Sit on your inflatable chair at home and measure the height from ground up. You can easily get confined to your shelter for several days running in a big storm and you probably don’t want to be lying down the entire time!

Snow flaps on the front vestibule work well in sand to seal up a cozy anteroom. Other things to look for in a tent are pockets. Organization is crucial to keeping your sanity. Pockets make good use of space and are easy to catalog with small to medium sized items. Nature types like green but I prefer gold for the brightening effect. Many tents include urethane windows which allow a welcome spot of light indoors. Tent bottoms on beaches are subject to puncture from crab claws, broken clamshell and barnacle. A heavy duty bathtub floor is important to keep out rain as well as to protect against puncture. You can get a custom footprint ground cover for most tents to help with that.

On a recent expedition to the B.C. coast we took along a pair of high end, single wall mountaineering tents called Moki and made by Nemo in the US. Linked together with a middle panel, we created a 20-foot-long tunnel that endured immense winds and torrential rain. We sealed off our end vestibules and shared the central area with its two doors, to cook and play games while Neptune pissed all over us. It was great: I could keep a proper mess at my end while Steve kept a proper tidy at his, 20 feet distant!

Pros: A reliable, four season, expedition caliber double wall tent is probably the best all around shelter for northwest coastal sea kayak touring. Quick and rote to pitch. It should hold up in hurricane force winds and provide a dry inner sanctum. During a typical summer squall, temps will often chill into the fifties or high forties. Double walls will increase the comfort zone inside by a good 10 degrees.

Cons: Mountaineering tents, particularly base camp units, can weigh upwards of 15 pounds. If you want a roomy sanctuary, it’ll significantly swell the bundle you have to fit into your hatch. While designed to ventilate, they can become uncomfortable in hot environs.

Tested: North Face and Nemo get my vote. Nothing beats a double wall North Face VE-25 ($529; thenorthface.com) for camping at the verge of rainforest and North Pacific, unless it’s one of these: A single-wall Moki by Nemo Equipment ($530, nemoequipment.com). It has excellent livable space, removable panels that allow standing up and EASILY getting in and out. Nemo tent designers are from like MIT and have design issues nailed. The curse of the single wall is condensation and Nemo has damn near neutered the issue, but your walls will still feel like a condom. Nemo has the ultimate set-up as pictured above. Highly recommended if you can afford it.

Base Camps

We’ve been making more base camps of late. A more relaxing if circumspect form of exploring the coast incorporates a base camp. Often affording more comfort and amenities than a steady diet of travel, you can pitch some pretty skookum scenes in the middle of nowhere. If weight isn’t an issue in transporting your camping swag, a big standup family style tent, even a wall tent with collapsible wood stove, is an option. The only caveat with this style of tent (assuming you can get it to where you’re going) is strength and protection. Typically made for families and backyard camping, it is caveat emptor when shopping for the right unit. Shorelines with big winds and/or rain will obviate their use, but we have used both a Eureka Condo and a Coleman Weathermaster tent with some success inland. Designed for subtler atmospherics than the outer coast of northern B.C., they nevertheless have good utility in protected camping applications.

Tested: Both Eureka and Coleman specialize in this shelter niche. Eureka’s Condo ($1,210; eurekatent.com) is a monster of a thing at like 20 x 10. It has cleanliness, lots of windows and a couple of rooms. The Elite Weathermaster by Coleman ($250; coleman.com) is a little smaller with a solid steel framework. We had some rain get in but otherwise no complaints. Again, though, these are NOT at all recommended for intense atmospherics. (Note: Try MSR’s Blizzard Stakes, $5 each, for pegging into sand; mountainsafetyresearch.com).