“The trick to not being discovered until it is too late is to become part of the expected surroundings. Stealth is more the art of blending in with the background than sneaking through dark shadows.”
Raymond E. Feist, King of Foxes
Rubber Boots
Stealth most often requires going where others won’t or don’t. Unless you are in the desert, plan on wet, muddy or at least heavy morning dew on everything. Growing up in Florida, I am always aware of the poisonous and venomous plants and animals that like to be on the ground. Rubber boots are essential to heading off into spending the night the way God intended us to, hanging from a tree or sleeping on the ground. Be very careful and paranoid about what may have decided to spend the night or day time in your boots. Shake them like they have something deadly in there before putting them on. I love the white ones that are used for concrete or landscaping. I feel like Super Cheapskate when I wear them. Just need a cape. $20 at Home Depot, cheaper and found in every hardware store in the adventure zone countries.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/MAT-PVC-White-Boots-Size-10-887010W/202086157
Jungle Hammock
I have had mine for over 15 years and never leave it at home. It packs up to fist size and weighs a couple of pounds. Now the choices are many, but if you plan on a career of cheap travel or just want to hang around your house bug-free, go with a Hennessy. Mine has saved me thousands of dollars in hotel fees and has allowed me to meet some incredible people. I have slept in the forests near Five Star resorts, in restaurants after they have closed, in abandoned and for sale houses, under beach boardwalks, under bridges, and in people’s yards. I stole mine from a car thief in Australia, but you should plan on spending around $250. Pays for itself in a week or less. A must-have!
Machete
Travel anywhere where people have basic daily essentials to a few things they carry and you will find the dudes with a machete. The single most important tool you can pack and the uses are limited only by imagination. Making a fire? A machete will clear the brush, rake away the leaves, dig the hold, chop the wood into any size you need, move the coals, fan the flames, open any can, cut meat, hang a pot of soup by the handle over the heat, cover the fire after you are done and keep you safe from animals or crazy people the entire time. Super cheap in most countries and easy to pack inside your backpack. Here in the United States of America at Harbor Freight Tools they are about five bucks and every hardware store anywhere will have them. Do not try to get it on the flight home with one! Give it away when you leave.
https://www.harborfreight.com/18-in-machete-with-serrated-blade-62683.html
Bivy
I am not a big fan of sleeping on the ground. At 61, I have to take a piss once or twice a night. I have thought of using Depends, but have not reached that stage just yet. But the fastest, quickest, stealthiest way to get down to sleeping position is a Bivy. I like to throw mine under a good-sized shrub (shrubbery for Monty Python fans). The ability to “be a bush” is about as crazy out of sight you can get. A bivy is a must if you are planning on sleeping anywhere without trees such as on beach sand, roofs, the back of your van, golf courses, cemeteries or for sale house yards. They get too hot, so I just like the bug free one from REI for $69. If it rains, throw your tarp over it or run for your car.
Thrift Shop Mountain Bike
Every single thrift shop has some kind of mountain bike, the best ones have tires that are inflated and you can actually peddle without hearing any chain problems, the brakes work and the gears shift. I actually like bicycles without gears, but we are talking dirt cheap here. Yard sales are another source. In every developing nation the bicycle is THE way to get around, often families sharing one bike. You can find repair shops or ask to buy one off a local. Give it back when you leave. This is used only to get you deeper off main roads into parks, along hiking trails, up the beach or deserted lots. All those homeless dudes riding around town on a bike. They are experts at stealth. And they ride bikes. I love them for sightseeing in big cities as well. I recently rode 26 miles through L.A’s back streets. Awesome adventure for around $25! And when you are done, donate it back to a thrift shop or better yet, leave it with somebody who could use it.
Tarp
A tarp has multiple uses and weighs almost nothing. I get the 6′ x 8′ and it is mainly used for hanging my extra stuff high in a tree where 99.9% of people would not think to look up. This frees me to hit the trees, shrubs or beach for a night of no worry about somebody stealing my stuff because it won’t fit into my hammock or bivy. You can build shelters, collect rainwater, wash dishes or clothes, make a “hole in the ground bathtub”, cover yourself during rain in your hammock or bivy and use it as a mat to sort out your car stuff when reorganizing. Less than $3 at Harbor Freight and literally at every hardware store on Earth.
Straps and Rope
Straps fit inside of a quart size Ziploc and useful in so many ways such as hanging tarps, hammocks, clothesline, surfboard straps for the roof of rental cars or taxis, emergency tourniquet, tripwire for early warning system around your hammock or bivy. I get mine at Harbor Freight for $4 and my rope for free at either Home Depot or Lowes. They offer lashing rope for customers at every location outside on a cart. I usually get about 30 feet of that and roll it up into a quart Ziploc.
https://harborfreight.com/set-of-2-1-inch-x-12-ft-lashing-straps-67386.html
Motion Detecting Alarm
We are truly in the best time to be cheapskates and travel. For $5 you can get 2 alarms to attach to your car doors, or strap to a tree, branch or a vertical object. Waterproof and no tools required. I have mine glued to cardboard that hinges on my closed car door. I have used them with my hammock in a ziplock strapped to a tree. An alarm going off in the middle of a forest at night freaks anyone out enough to give you time to get engaged. For under $15 you can get them with security lights or with a wireless warning system.
https://www.harborfreight.com/door-window-entry-alarm-94983.html
Photo credits –
- Boots – Home Depot
- Hennessy Hammocks – Mark Imhoof
- Bivy – REI
- Machete, Straps, Alarm- Harbor Freight Tools
- Mountain Bike – Goodwill Industries
Sleep on Sand 