An ultralight backpacking combination cloak and tent

Abstract

The invention is a single piece of ultralight backpacking gear that can be configured to a cloak, a one person bivy tent and can be joined to a cloak of the same design to form a two person tent.

1 . A cloak comprising water resistant material in a hexagonal shape, a plurality of fasteners and a plurality of attachment points having five configurations, 
 a first configuration being a garment that can be worn for rain protection, said garment opening down the front of the user and having fasteners to secure said opening closed,    a second configuration being a floor-less open sided shelter having a first edge suspended in the air from line attachment points located at the two ends of said first edge, a second edge opposite said first edge being anchored to the ground by stakes through attachment points located at the two ends of said second edge, and triangular panels of material each having one edge defined by the line between one end of said first edge and the nearest end of said second edge, said triangular panels having at their three corners one attachment point on said first edge, one attachment point on said second edge and a third attachment point capable of being anchored to the ground by a stake, and    a third configuration being a floor-less one person closed shelter having two sides closed to the ground and two ends closed to the ground, being anchored to the ground by stakes through line attachment points located at four corners, and having a ridge running in the direction of the long dimension of said one person closed shelter suspended in the air from line attachment points located at the two ends of said ridge, and    a fourth configuration being a floor-less one person open porch shelter having one side closed to the ground, two ends closed to the ground, and one side raised up and open at one end, said open porch shelter being anchored to the ground by stakes through line attachment points located at four corners and having a ridge running in the direction of the long dimension of said open porch shelter suspended in the air from line attachment points located at the two ends of said ridge, said side raised up on one edge having an attachment point at the raised up corner attached to a line connected to a stick propping the corner up a short distance away from said raised up corner, said line running a distance away from said stick to be secured by a stake to the ground, and    a fifth configuration being a first cloak joined to a second cloak of the same design to form a floor-less two person tent having two sides and two ends closed to the ground, said two person tent being anchored to the ground by stakes through line attachment points located at four corners and having a top ridge suspended in the air from line attachment points located at the two ends of said top ridge, said first cloak and said second cloak comprising said tent being joined together by fasteners along said top ridge and down the two ends of said two person tent, the ends of said two person tent functioning as doors when said fasteners on said ends are separated.    
   
   
       2 . The cloak of  claim 1  in said two person tent configuration, having said top ridge offset towards said first cloak so that material from said first cloak extends past said top ridge forming a flap, said first cloak joining to said second cloak along said top ridge by fasteners underneath said flap.  
   
   
       3 . The cloak of  claim 1  having reinforced openings in the material of the cloak associated with said attachment points located at the ends of said top ridge in said fifth configuration.  
   
   
       4 . The cloak of  claim 3  having attachment points comprising a loop of material attached to said cloak, said flap of said first cloak along said top ridge in said fifth configuration being formed by said attachment point loops being drawn through said reinforced openings from the inside to the outside of said two person tent.  
   
   
       5 . The cloak of  claim 1  wherein some of said fasteners in said first configuration also function as said fasteners in said fourth configuration.  
   
   
       6 . The fasteners of  claim 1  comprised of pairs of hook and loop patches, said loop patches attached to the inside of said cloak and said hook patches attached opposite said loop patches on the outside of said cloak.  
   
   
       7 . The cloak of  claim 1  having line storage pockets located near the attachment points used for tying lines to pitch the cloak in said second and fourth configurations, said storage pockets being capable of storing and securing lines which are left attached to said line attachment points.  
   
   
       8 . The cloak of  claim 5  having a plurality of end fasteners on each end of said shelter in said third configuration, said shelter in said third configuration having loose folds of material at the corners of said ends, and said end fasteners being able to attach to fasteners in said loose folds and secure said loose folds to the ends of said shelter.  
   
   
       9 . The cloak of  claim 1  having a hood attached in the center of said first edge in said second configuration for use in said first configuration, and having means for folding and storing said hood along said first edge where it is attached.  
   
   
       10 . The cloak of  claim 1  having a plurality of drawstrings that, in said first configuration, run from the vicinity of the shoulders of the user to the vicinity of the user's hips, said drawstrings being able to raise and lower the sides of said garment in said first configuration.  
   
   
       11 . The cloak of  claim 1  having a plurality of drawstrings that, in said first configuration, are located along each side of the front opening in the vicinity of the user's chest, said drawstrings being able to raise and gather excess material formed along said front opening in said first configuration.  
   
   
       12 . The cloak of  claim 1  having sleeves that function as openings for hands in said first configuration, said sleeves comprising a flap of material attached to the outside of the cloak covering an opening in the material of the cloak, being located when the cloak is in said fourth configuration on the ends of said two person tent with said flaps covering openings oriented at a downward angle that sheds water.  
   
   
       13 . The cloak of  claim 1  having a stake pocket sewn to the inside for the storage of tent stakes, said stake pocket being located over the chest of the user wearing said garment in said first configuration.  
   
   
       14 . A method of converting a cloak from the fourth configuration floor-less one person open porch shelter to the third configuration floor-less one person closed shelter comprising the steps: 
 firstly, lifting the bottom of the stick off the ground and laying the stick down,    secondly, joining the fastener being located at the corner with the attachment point being tied to the line being tied to the stick, to the fastener being located at the nearby corner with the attachment point being anchored to the ground with a stake, resulting in an edge of the cloak being folded to create a loose flap of material,    thirdly, securing said loose flap of material by joining a fastener in the center of the edge of said loose flap to a fastener in the center of the closest end of said shelter.