I figure most of those hardcore brownie points just come from people being afraid of really giving the tarp setup a shot.

Plus a cuben fiber bear paw wilderness designs 8'X10' tarp hits the scales at only 8.5 oz. Add stakes, lines, and whatever bug protection you want and I can still be under a #.

Not really sold on the bivy thing though, even though I am using a quilt and I know it will stop drafts. I just want some extra room!