I do think that the dangers of hiking are often overblown, especially in summertime forests, where most people hike most of the time. But that's a really different matter.

What I'm focused on, is that I've spent many months camping (hiking, kayaking and bicycling) over long period in a cheap puptent in a fairly wide array of conditions, and was perfectly satisfied with the protection it offered during summer months.

Met somebody who had bicycled from Los Angeles to Nova Scotia using something almost identical, with equal satisfaction, except for one evening that involved a tornado.

Other people do quite well with plastic sheeting, or $400 tents. End results can be roughly all the same, though the $400 tent is likely to be heaviest alternative.

One August evening, with a tarp, on a wooden tent platform in New Hampshire, I got a lecture from a near-by camper about how in the White Mountains, nothing but a mountaineering tent was truly safe.

He said my use of a tarp was irresponsible because I might need a rescue, thus subjecting people like him (who might rescue me) to grave personnel personal risk.

Thank goodness that particular camping area was patrolled nightly by federal rangers.