Honestly it really depends where I am. I've spent days on a rainy west coast trail with nothing but a tarp (an integral designs silwing) and a wide blue pad. There's no bugs, and I'm usually camping on sand around big logs next to the ocean. The sand is comfy, and dry once the tarp is over it, even in the rain. My sleeping bag's warm, I'm good. I've similary spent lots of time just under a tarp in other places when I know there aren't bugs. Rigged over my trekking poles, that silwing weighs about 500 grams and has acres of space under it - so even if the weather isn't great, when it's just me there's plenty of nice dry area under it.


I've also spent lots of time in a hammock, hung under a square silnylon tarp of the same thing as above - heavier, but very comfortable. bug net keeps out the bugs. I've had total howling storms around me and rivers of water underneath me, and been totally comfortable.


I've spent lots of time in light weight one man backpacking tents - six moon designs lunar solo, and my black diamond one shot. These weigh a little more, (the lunar solo about 750 grams, and the black diamond about 1150) - but these are what I use when I'm completely exposed, above the treeline, and with bugs - as they have bugnets and I can escape the mosquitoes.

I normally have a small poncho tarp with me (silnylon) that weighs about 300 grams. I can rig it as a small tarp if I need something to sit under in addition to my shelter. I don't very much.

But what I pick depends very much on where I am going.