Shelters for adventure racing

The topic of what to use as a shelter for adventure races was raised recently on the National discussion email group. The shelter you choose will depend on;

1. Number of people in your team (pair vs 4's)
2. Season (summer, winter, wet, dry)
3. Terrain & location i.e. Northern KZN vs mountains
4. Your team's experience and ability (front of field vs rear)
5. Your navigational abilities (few, quick errors vs spending hours off-track)
6. Your sleeping/bivvy bag (rated to 0C vs plastic bag)
7. What the race director specifies

A fly sheet is fine for an experienced team who plans to sleep for two hours. They rarely make nagivational errors and to spend two hours outdoors, in summer (no rain), then the fly sheet works to keep wind out - or to sleep on top of it like a ground sheet.

In winter, mountain or cold and wet conditions, a full tent - with flysheet - will be in your best interests. This also applies to inexperienced teams, even if the conditions are warm and pleasant. If you sleep for six hours outside of transition, you may as well make those six hours as good as you can get.

I found the following two shelter examples in the Men's Health Buyer's Guide 2008/2009. There are other brands available (see some available through Ram Mountaineering). The key point is that the lighter it is, the more it will certainly cost.