Adapt and Improvise; Super light weight bivi kit

It's easy to spend an awful lot on light weight shelter solutions, light weight tents are an option and it seems that nowadays the bushcrafters staple shelter option is the tarp and hammock combination, and the army surplus 58 pattern poncho doesn't seem to cut it any more everyone want's supper light weight nylon branded tarps. That's taking things a long way from the original meaning of the work tarpaulin; which was basically a tarred pall (or cloth, normally made of canvas) used to cover things you wanted to keep dry.   

My solution to a light weight shelter solution is this;

This light weight set up all fits in the bottom compartment of a 65 litre rucksac, this means I can carry all sorts of other kit as well, this was important while I was in Italy recently as I had to carry a weeks worth of clothes and all the material for the workshops I ran at the eee conference. 

In fact this set up takes up so little space that I could carry a jumper and flight bag in the same compartment.  

From left to right; three quarter length inflatable sleeping pad, fly sheet from a £8 dome tent from Tesco, walking pole from Aldi, home made bivi bag, sleeping bag in a dry bag.  

That set up can be erected like this using the walking pole as a central pole and arranging the fly sheet around it tipi style, a few tent pegs are required here as well. 

Home Sweet Home, it may not be true improvisation as all the stuff I show here was originally designed with shelter in mind but perhaps not in quite the same way I use it.